How many hours has he got left?
A business student has bought a package of one-to-one hours on top of his general English course. He wants afternoon lessons, but his favourite teacher teaches groups until 3pm on Tuesdays. One lesson was cancelled by the teacher, one was missed by the student, and he has asked to use two hours on a Saturday before his presentation at work.
The office keeps his hours in a spreadsheet. On his last Friday he says he still has four hours left. The spreadsheet says two. The teacher's own notes say three.
Why packages are hard to track
- Lessons are scheduled around group classes, so availability changes each week.
- Students book, move and cancel lessons informally with teachers.
- Your cancellation rules decide whether a missed lesson uses hours, and they are applied inconsistently.
- Some packages must be used within the course dates, some are flexible.
- Teachers are paid for one-to-one hours, often at a different rate.
The package balance is a running total that three people keep separately.
Business and exam students make it harder still. A company paying for an employee's package wants a statement of hours used, sometimes with a short note of what each lesson covered. An exam student wants extra lessons in the fortnight before the exam, exactly when teachers are busiest. A student who adds one-to-ones half way through a group course needs them fitted around a timetable that is already fixed. Each of these ends up as a conversation in the corridor and a line in someone's notebook.
The cost of a fuzzy balance
Disputes about hours at the end of a stay are unpleasant, and the easiest way out is usually to give the hours away. Teachers are paid for lessons that were not recorded, or not paid for ones that were. Rooms are double-booked for one-to-ones squeezed into gaps. And because the booking happens between teacher and student, the office cannot see teacher capacity to sell more one-to-one hours.
The one-to-one scheduling we build
- Each student's package is recorded with hours bought, any expiry rule and the course dates.
- Teacher availability for one-to-ones is calculated from the group timetable and the teachers' own available hours.
- Lessons are booked by the office, the teacher or the student, only into slots where a teacher and a room are free.
- Each booking reduces the available balance, and a lesson marked as taught confirms the hours used.
- Cancellations follow your rules: cancelled in time, the hours come back; missed or cancelled late, they are used, with the rule shown.
- Students see their balance and booked lessons on their phone and get reminders.
- Hours taught feed teacher pay, at the rate for one-to-one lessons.
| Event | Effect on package balance |
|---|---|
| Lesson booked | Hours reserved |
| Lesson taught | Hours used |
| Cancelled within your notice period | Hours returned |
| Cancelled late or missed | Hours used, rule noted |
| Teacher cancels | Hours returned, lesson offered again |
A balance everyone agrees on
The business student books his Saturday lessons himself, sees that he has three hours left after them and uses them before he goes. The teacher sees her one-to-ones on the same timetable as her groups. The office sees how many one-to-one hours teachers could still teach this month and sells packages with confidence. Payroll gets the one-to-one hours already counted.
One-to-one students are often the most demanding and the most profitable. A clear balance and easy booking make them easier to look after.
Sponsors and employers get something out of it too. Because every lesson taught is recorded with its date, length and teacher, a statement of hours used can be sent at any point, and the teacher can add a line on what was covered if the sponsor asks for it. When a company rings to ask whether their employee has used the hours they paid for, the office can answer while they are still on the phone.
Recognise the one-to-one muddle?
- Package hours are tracked in a spreadsheet.
- Students and staff disagree about hours left.
- Lessons are arranged directly between teacher and student.
- Late cancellations are handled differently each time.
- One-to-one hours are counted separately for teacher pay.