Many parents are reluctant to put their 5 year old in a class with a 10 year old and I can understand your concern. However, since Spanish is new to most of the children, they all need to start with the very basics. (Even ones who have taken classes in the past can use a refresher.) The way Spanish Club is structured, vocabulary is introduced first, followed by phrases and split into topics. The children are then taught to put it all together in sentences. It is reinforced by a fun activity or a game. Since virtually all children like to play games and the material is equally new to everybody, the students end up not caring about their ages. In fact, if anything, the younger children usually retain the vocabulary faster while the older students understand the concepts of the games and activities. Confidence is gained, Spanish is learned and fun is usually had by all.

Your child will get the most out of this program by enrolling all year, in all the sessions. In fact, students typically enrol for Spanish Club for many years. We teach a different topic each session and we have 7 years' worth of lesson plans to keep things fresh and exciting for all children — both ones new to the program and those returning for more. To be able to get a good grasp of the basic words, we would recommend at least one academic year. For your child to have a basic conversation in the language we would recommend a longer term commitment. All details of the programme, and any materials for lessons can be found in the parents area on my website.

Our focus is on conversational Spanish, using games, songs and engaging activities with a few of our activities involving reading and writing. Overall, we try and keep the focus verbal, as that seems to be the way most children learn best.

Spanish Clubs are offered at lunchtime and after school. After a long day of sitting and learning, children's attention spans are almost exhausted and therefore any more than 40 minutes ends up being too long. Most children lose concentration, no matter how exciting the game. For our lunchtime clubs it is about trying to balance learning Spanish with still having time for lunch and playing with friends hence the 30 minutes.

Spanish4kids is an independent company, not paid for by the school. At the present time, many schools do not offer Spanish at the preschool or primary school. Spanish Club gives children an opportunity to learn Spanish that they might not otherwise have. Think of it as an extracurricular activity, like football or music lessons. Your tuition pays our tutors for their time and expertise, covers the cost of materials like printing, liability insurance and building-rental fees charged by the school.

Due to the current size and structure of Spanish4kids we are not currently offering discounts for siblings, and I do appreciate this may be different to other clubs.

For lunchtime clubs, the school make lunchtime supervisors and class teachers aware so as to remind children. We do also ask parents to remind children especially in the early days, and if their child is new to the club. For after school clubs again the teachers are made aware and if they are in reception, a teacher may bring your child to the club. All our collection points are detailed under the parents area on my website. For those getting picked up, you are expected to be there on time, as our tutors often have other teaching commitments and we simply cannot wait with your child for an undetermined amount of time. You will be charged a late fee if you are not there to pick up your child on time. This fee will be enforced even if you have somebody else picking up your child.

We allow you to send your child with a snack, but we ask that it is one that is quick to eat and easy to clean up and as per your school’s food policy. Basically anything you wouldn’t send into school please avoid sending to Spanish Club!