We’re British Council Accredited Until 2029 – But What Does That Actually Mean for Our Families?

We have some news that we are incredibly proud to share.
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BLISS has had its British Council accreditation renewed until 2029.
For us, that's a wonderful achievement and recognition of the enormous amount of work that happens behind the scenes at BLISS. But actually, this isn't really about us. 

It's about you and what it means for you.

When you send a young person away from home to spend part of their summer with us, you are placing an enormous amount of trust in BLISS. You need to know that the people looking after them are doing things properly. You need to know that their English lessons are being delivered to appropriate standards and you need to know that there are systems in place for their welfare, supervision and safeguarding.

And you need to know that when we tell you we operate to high standards, we're not simply saying it ourselves.
That's why our British Council accreditation matters.

What is British Council accreditation? Accreditation UK is the British Council's quality assurance scheme for UK providers of English language teaching, run in partnership with English UK. Accredited organisations are independently inspected against established standards covering management, resources and environment, teaching and learning, welfare and student services and, very relevant for us, safeguarding under-18s.
So accreditation isn't simply a badge that we put on our website.

It means our provision has been looked at independently and assessed against recognised standards. For a summer school welcoming young people from around the world, we think that's incredibly important. Quality inside the classroom. Of course, BLISS is about incredible summer experiences, new friendships, activities, trips and having fun, but we're also an English language school and the learning matters.

British Council accreditation looks at areas including academic management, course design, teaching, learning, assessment and the support given to teaching staff. For families, that provides independent reassurance that there are proper academic structures sitting behind the fun of summer school.

We want our students to enjoy coming to class. We want them talking, laughing, participating and using their English. But behind that relaxed BLISS atmosphere there has to be substance.

Fun and quality aren't opposites. We believe you should expect both.

Standards outside the classroom matter just as much. For us, one of the most important aspects of accreditation is that it doesn't stop at the classroom door. The British Council's standards also consider student welfare and, for organisations such as us under-18s, safeguarding. That matters enormously to BLISS because our responsibility doesn't end when the morning lessons finish.

Our students live on campus with us. They eat with us, travel with us, take part in activities with us, go on excursions with us and come to us when they're worried, homesick, excited, tired, confused or simply need someone to talk to. Summer school at a boarding school is a 24-hour experience.

So the systems surrounding that experience matter.

What does this mean when you're choosing a summer school?
There are lots of summer programmes available in the UK, and websites and brochures can all look fantastic.
As a parent, it isn't always easy to know what sits behind them. Accreditation gives you something independent to look for. The British Council says accredited centres must meet quality standards and are subject to regular inspection. Full inspections take place every four years, with ongoing monitoring that can include unannounced interim visits. That means accreditation isn't something an organisation achieves once and then forgets about. Quite the opposite, standards have to be maintained. And that's exactly how we think it should be.

Families shouldn't simply have to take our word for it when we say quality, welfare and safeguarding matter.

There should be standards. There should be scrutiny. And there should be independent reassurance that the organisation you've chosen takes those responsibilities seriously.

We're delighted that BLISS will continue to carry that reassurance.

British Council accredited until 2029.

And very proud to be so.
Suzanne and the whole BLISS Team