Guardianship

The “mentoring” service is in demand among parents who want to keep control of their child’s life and studies in any international school, correctly understand everything that is happening, and have the opportunity to influence events at any time. And do it on time.

We provide the mentoring service both to parents who have contacted us to find the right school, and to those whose children have entered school without our participation.

Regardless of the country in which children study, be it the UK, Switzerland, Spain, Cyprus, Georgia, UAE, China or any other country where the child is taught in English.

The secondary education system of British and international schools is fundamentally different from the system in many countries, primarily in the maximum isolation of parents from the educational process. A foreign parent receives a report & assessment (academic performance report + teachers' comments), as a rule, 3-5 times a year, and that's it. You need to be able to read between the lines of the report: there will be a lot of praise and very little criticism.

It is possible that the exam grades will be low, and parents will be unpleasantly surprised. As practice shows, foreign parents often do not communicate very well (or are embarrassed to do so at all) with a British or Swiss school, being in guesses (often incorrect) most of the time.

To control the situation and be aware of everything that is happening, you need an intermediary who will in the right form convey your questions and wishes: a rude letter may not be answered and they may even ask to take the child out of school. Often, the construction of phrases that we consider acceptable are perceived as aggression in Britain.

British boarding schools do not have a service mentality, so statements like “let the school work off the money received” are not only inappropriate, but can also lead to the termination of the student's education at the initiative of the school.

Schools do not respond well to letters. Sometimes you can wait a week, and sometimes you don't get an answer at all.

What is written in the reports, and the grading system, which is different in different classes and in different programs, must be deciphered by someone. There were situations when parents took diligence grades for subject grades, and if diligence was excellent, then with subjects the situation was exactly the opposite... Parents discovered their mistake, sometimes, only a year later...

Or, for example, a sporty child suddenly gets a low grade in physical education! It turns out that in England they study physical education not only "in the field", but also at their desk: muscles, loads, nutrition, etc., because you need to do sports wisely. The child got a low score at his desk, and it affected the overall grade. Without the consultant's explanations, the parents were perplexed and scolded the school.

Children from many countries arenot very proactive, and the choice of subjects for university must be made two years in advance. The school actively helps, but believes that help should not only be given, but also taken. It is necessary to do your own research into the requirements of universities, and no one will do it for the student.

After choosing the wrong subjects and ignoring the tutor's advice, panic begins, universities refuse to offer a place, try to change subjects to enter the right faculty, and even try to change schools at the last minute.

All this can be prevented if you monitor and keep the situation under control with the help of an experienced intermediary – us, the Paradise company.

Our services: list and cost

Here is a list of the many actions that we carry out throughout the year for our clients, saving them from trouble:

1. We help parents communicate correctly with the school: we write polite letters for them, explain what they can ask for, and when it is better to refrain.
2. We explain school report cards (reports), which often seem laudatory to our parents. We help to understand what teachers are actually trying to say. We translate, if necessary, into Russian.
3. We send parents a calendar for the entire school year (with a translation if necessary) and give advice on purchasing tickets, as well as explanations on the time of arrival/departure from or to school, since this is done strictlyset hours.
4. If the student is late for classes at the beginning of the school year/semester for valid reasons, we ask the school to arrange a meeting between the student and the tutor, help them get assignments, or join the class online so that the student does not miss the material.
5. We make sure that the student signs up for clubs and activities and attends them. We introduce the parent to the school's opportunities, which, based on experience, they are not always aware of. We recommend which clubs are worth signing up for and why (for faster adaptation, to make friends, and to strengthen their position when applying to a top university).
6. We provide schedules for “clinics” - special free classes with a teacher in each subject, which students are advised to attend if they did not understand something in class. Often parents have no idea about the existence of clinics, and children do not attend them.
7. If necessary, we organize individual lessons both at school and outside of it. For example, in Russian, Ukrainian and other native languages. Or piano lessons if the student studies at a college in London, where there are no such opportunities. (these are just examples).
8. We monitor letters from the school, which often come in large quantities, regarding the learning process, we help you figure out what will be relevant and useful for you, and what is not so important.
9. We order and deliver certificates from an English school for submission to the child's school in any country in the world, provided that the child continues his or her education there. We agree on the opportunity for the child to take exams in his/her home country.
10. We request a letter from the school for parents, in case of applying for a visa.
11. We remind about paying bills for tuition and provide explanations of the bills if questions arise.
12. We provide the student's schedule indicating the time of lessons.
13. We register parents on the school portal and activate the portal (technical difficulties often arise).
14. We inform/remind about events at the school that it is desirable for parents to attend
15. We remind about parent meetings and translate them, if necessary (if the lesson is online)
16. If there is some misunderstanding by parents about a particular situation at school (and this happens very often), we recommend organizing an online meeting with a houseparent or other relevant person: head teacher, coach, department of assistance for applicants to the university, etc., translate this meeting, if necessary.
17. If necessary, we schedule an online meeting with a tutor to discuss academic issues. For example, if grades are a concern.
18. We inform about the exam schedule so that the family can adjust their plans for the summer period.
19. We help with the choice of subjects for GCSE, A-levels, IB. We advise which program is better to choose - A-levels or IB, and tell what is the difference between them. We explain which subjects are respected from the point of view of universities, and what needs to be done to choose a set of subjects suitable for your future specialization.
20. We explain which extracurricular programs are necessary for entering university, which ones provide more advantages.
21. We discuss with the tutor the possibility of changing the set of subjects, if such a need arises.
22. We provide the school menu (there are situations when a student says that there is nothing to eat at school or the food is bad), and we also organize communication between parents and the director of the canteen or provide his answer. We organize lunch for parents at school so that they can evaluate it themselves.
23. We clarify the situation and convey to the parents the real picture if the student has been punished (children often provide incomplete information). If necessary, we organize an online or offline meeting with the school. Communication with the school is key in such situations.
24. We advise what to do if a student shows signs of dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, etc.
25. We help in a situation where a child complains about bullying.
26. We explain to the parent the school's decisions or actions that seem strange. We advise what to do in each specific case. (There are many such cases, and parents often live in complete darkness, not understanding what is happening or giving school events a negative connotation)
27. We explain what needs to be done on vacation (in academic terms, and this needs to be done even when the child is studying in preparatory school).
28. We provide a reading list of literature for the appropriate age. Which is especially important for those who do not have the highest score in English.

Examples from life, when parents turned to us for help:

1. Finances

• The school sent an invoice, which contained incomprehensible figures. The parents, even speaking English, could not figure it out themselves.
• The school has not responded to your question for a week now, and the last payment deadline is tomorrow.
• The parents received a bill from the school on December 30th, payment is due by January 6th, and they need to fly abroad by the 20th. The banks are closed, and the school may not accept the child without payment.
• The parents did not understand why the child bought so much uniform clothes, we received a response from the school and explained everything.
• The child was supposed to go on a tour to Paris with his art class, but did not receive a visa in time. The school said they would keep 200 pounds for the tour. We managed to get 200 pounds back to the parents.
• The parents didn't like that their child was studying English 9 hours a week for an extra fee, they wanted to reduce the number of hours, and we agreed that the boy would attend German lessons with the English, which was part of the main program and included in the cost of education, 4 hours a week, and 5 hours were left for additional English.
• Parents always want to get their deposit as soon as possible after completing their studies, but schools usually take their time. We help get this money as soon as possible.
• The parents want to remove the cost of insurance from the bill. We are looking into the situation.
• We explain to parents the issue of fines if the child leaves school.

2. Everyday issues

• A professional photographer was supposed to come to school the next day for a portrait shoot, but the boy turned out to be unhaired. We asked the house mom to quickly take him for a haircut
• The school often sends news and invitations: to a reception for foreign parents, to a school-wide performance, to an IB and career guidance conference, to a school-wide Christmas service, to educational tours, for example, the geography class is going to Iceland, and the history class to Greece. The school also notifies about victories in sports competitions and various contests, about new clubs and invites to enroll in development programs. We convey all this news to parents in Russian.
• We call the tutor and analyze the situation. If the child complained that "the math teacher hates him." Or something like that.
• Parents want to talk to the tutor to keep their finger on the pulse. They don't understand whether to scold the child for grades or the adaptation period. We agree on their meeting.

3. Studies

Grades are given in letters from A* to F or numbers from 1 to 9. Sometimes grades are given and characteristics are written, and sometimes - only characteristics. Sometimes grades come with special badges that mean a student can get a higher grade at the end of the year.

You should also find out if you can log into the parent portal and see your child's progress on the site (not available in all schools). As practice shows, often parents do not understand how to read grades and teacher comments (you need to be able to read between the lines).

We help resolve the following difficult situations:

• The child did not submit documents to the university, and the deadlines were already looming, the parents turned to us, and we achieved a solution to this issue with the tutor, the head of the school, and the head of the year.
• A schoolboy who studied IB in the final year did not take the CAS until the last, which is mandatory for receiving a diploma, and we helped resolve this situation.
• The schoolgirl's mother wanted her to take the Unified State Exam at a Moscow school, while simultaneously studying in the UK. We agreed with a British school on the possibility of traveling to Moscow for exams.
• One family, who believed that it was necessary to study in both a Russian and an English school, eventually decided to take their girl to Russia: she was not coping well in either. We resolved the issue by discussing with the head teacher of the British school the possibility of canceling a number of subjects and exams. The girl's workload was halved, and she stayed to study in England.
• The results of the 12th grade (the penultimate) exams are decisive for submitting documents to universities. If the results are low, the student can only choose universities with lowrequirements, i.e. non-prestigious. In some cases, we manage to agree on a retake.
• A girl studying fine art could not understand why her teacher was offering her to enroll in the Foundation. She believed that this was a program for those who were lagging behind. We explained to the family the uniqueness of this program specifically for those entering art colleges.
• Due to the changed financial situation, the parents would like to transfer their child, who is finishing the 12th grade in an expensive school, to the 13th grade in a more affordable school (the price difference between the most expensive and the cheapest British school is 36%). Grades 12 and 13, or the 6th form, are an integral two-year program, and the examination boards that schools use differ. It is necessary to find a school that will offer a match in all the subjects studied by the student and in which there are free places. We help to implement a change of school.
• A 15-year-old child entered the 11th year, at the end of the first semester, the parents received a report with grades that seemed illogical to them: A (excellent) in chemistry, and D (unsatisfactory) in maths. It seemed to them that everything should be the other way around. As a result, the parents thought that they needed to take the child out of this school... Which we managed to prevent by explaining that British schools grade differently.
• The boy completed the maths textbook independently by the end of the first semester. What should be done, asks the parent. We raise the issue of participation in Olympiads and competitions so that the child continues to develop at his own pace.
• The boy is writing a book, the parents would like to support his writing talent. We raise the issue and the school offers him a choice of participation in a number of national British literary competitions, including the BBC.
• The child says that he needs additional help in a number of subjects, but he does not understand when and where they are held. We call the school and arrange additional classes.
• The parents do not understand whether the child needs to pass any assessments after the 12th grade before moving to the 13th grade if he took BTEC subjects. We explain the situation.
• Due to the child's low level of English, it was recommended that the course of study on the A-level program be extended to 3 years (instead of 2). We explain to the parents how the program will be structured in this case and what to do with the visa.
• The child wants more swimming lessons. We negotiate with the school about this. 
• The child wants to replace the standard physical education lesson with individual training with a squash coach. We help organize the training. 
• The parents believed that their son definitely needed higher mathematics, which he was not very good at. In fact, it turned out that for the specialties and universities he chose, he just needed mathematics, and higher mathematics could be discarded. They were also skeptical about the tutor's recommendation to take music as a 4th subject. We explained to them why this was a reasonable choice. In addition, several conversations with the parents showed that they relied only on their assumptions when advising their son on choosing subjects. These assumptions were wrong.

Feedback about us

Tatyana Ignatova
Paradise client, Abakan

I want to say a big thank you to the Paradise staff for their attentive attitude. During our cooperation, they have become like family to me. Anna Nikolaeva is simply a smart girl, she never refuses to consult. By nature, I am a bit of a restless person, always worried and anxious about everything. Anna always treats this with great understanding. I give it a solid five for preparing documents, consultations and just a normal human attitude. Thank you very much.

Andrey Potehin
Founder of a construction company, Krasnoyarsk

I contacted the company "Paradise" in 2018 in order to sendto send my daughter Vera to boarding school, and we chose Strathallan. I am a very scrupulous person and like the service to be ideal or as close to ideal as possible, without any rough edges. Everything is so smooth at “Paradise” that there is absolutely nothing to complain about! The staff of this company is of the highest level. I recommend!

Anna Kuryez
Psychologist, Moscow

We met Paradise less than a year ago and were skeptical. We trusted the most important thing we had - our son Philip. The company's employees helped us decide on aschool. For a year, they have been providing full support to my son in England. I would like to thank Natalia Shtrayne, the founder of the company, and all the employees for their amazing professionalism. There are no unresolved issues. No unachievable goals. The employees of "Paradise" are available almost at any time and solve any issues related to the child's education.

The most important thing is that the attitude is informal. Each child is given recommendations for further admission. We are just planning to visit schools in order to have time to enter secondary school, and the choice was the best of all possible. Thank you for your care and guardian, for accompanying and sharing the joy with us. Let's move forward together with "Paradise"!

Olga Chekhova
Client of the company "Paradise", Moscow, olga-712@yandex.ru

When we had the question of sending our son to study in England, we began to look for companies that help find a school that would be best suited for the child. We faced the same problem: companies in Moscow do not have full information about schools in England, only general information.

After searching for reviews on the Internet, I saw advice to contact Natalia Shtrayne, her company "Paradise", which we did and have never regretted it! Natalia talked to my son, understood his main wishes and recommended several schools to choose from, of which my son immediately chose the school on the Isle of Man,King Williams College. I would like to express my gratitude for the great work done by Natalia and her company in selecting a school, preparing for an interview and collecting documents. Everything was done quickly, clearly and as conveniently as possible for us! 

Evgenia Briman
Regular client of the company "Paradise", Barcelona, Spain, evgbriman@gmail.com

I can sincerely thank the founder of the company Natalia Shtrayne and her employees for the wonderful and impeccable organizationof my child's trip. I once worked with Moscow agencies, worked here with one Spanish, and I can say with confidence that only the employees of "Paradise" can react so quickly and clearly, are ready to help at any time and answer sometimes the most stupid parental questions! I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your professionalism and attention.

Larissa Moore
Paradise client, Los Angeles, USA

I thought: I am a British citizen, and have lived in Britain for over 15 years, and it seemed to me that I could do all this (the process of choosing and entering a school) myself, sinceknew England... But after working with you and receiving your advice and analysis of different schools, I realized how wrong I was and how invaluable your advice and expertise were in choosing schools. And especially invaluable - the process of organizing interviews, advice, organizing tutors, etc. You help at every step, are attentive, professional and polite.

Anna Marus
Client of the company "Paradise", Croatia, anna_marus@mail.ru

Based on our experience of working with the company "Paradise", we can responsibly state that we have not met a more competent, systematic, clearly understanding the goals and objectives of the agency's client. Together we chose the right educational institution for our children, prepared, passed the entrance tests and, as a result, received an invitation to study at two leading English schools - Malvern College and Clifton College. We express our gratitude to the stafffor their high professionalism and wonderful human qualities.

Anna Prikhodko
Director of Development, Resonance Techno LLC, Krasnoyarsk

First of all, I appreciate Paradise for its courage to take on such a complex topic. After all, in essence, everything that is most painful is all in one place: children, money, homeland and plans for the future, serious business. I can assess the professionalism, the level of management and employees, the quality of experience and knowledge about teaching children in the UK not only based on our work experience. But also by what I have been simply observing for at least 10-12 years, since the interest in educating children abroad was born almost simultaneously with the birth of these very children.

I see with my own eyes that the employees and director of Paradise travel a lot to schools, are well versed in everything, and keep their finger on the pulse. They communicate with school representatives and even bring real school directors to Russia (I was at one such school, and this is, of course, wonderful), share knowledge, maintain contact with parents and receive feedback. This is very important and speaks of due responsibility.

In addition to personal sympathy and trust in the company and its employees, I turn to Paradise for an expert opinion on the correct selection of a school. My daughter has been studying in England since she was 12. There are so many schools, ratings, deadlines for submitting documents and other nuances, and if you are not oriented in any way, you simply cannot choose. And this is not even taking into account any of your child's characteristics, for example. And I cannot help but thank and note the assistance provided by the Paradise company on its own initiative in sending our daughter from the UK in the spring of 2020 due to COVID-19. It was a really important moment, which I really appreciate in our relationship.