All Chinese Language Assistants are qualified teachers. This is an academic year exchange, after which the CLAs return to their Chinese schools.  The programme takes people directly out of the country and culture for a year so that they arrive with their country's culture embedded in their thinking and way of life and return to China with new perspectives, ideas and understanding.

CLAs can work in a wide range of ways to bring the language alive in a classroom. Depending on the current provision of Mandarin in your school, they are able to:

• work with Chinese teachers in the classroom if Chinese is already formally taught at your school
• work on their own with small groups of pupils if they are introducing Mandarin Chinese to your school
• work across the curriculum, contributing a Chinese perspective to enrich other subjects like art and design, technology, geography and history etc
• run lunchtime Chinese clubs where the focus is mainly on Chinese culture.

A CLA can be used to help set up and support international links with schools in China and develop joint curriculum projects.

Chinese Language Assistants are mainly responsible for teaching Mandarin Chinese but also contribute to a range of subjects such as citizenship, history, geography, food technology and sport. School partnerships between the UK and China have been greatly strengthened by the presence of CLAs, with many assistants taking responsibility for joint curriculum project work during time in the UK.

Local authorities will often use a CLA to run Chinese clubs or taster lessons in both primary and secondary schools that are considering introducing Chinese onto the curriculum . CLAs have also assisted with the development of a Confucius Classroom Hub in schools and with preparing students for competitions such as the HSBC/British Council Mandarin Speaking Competition

CLAs are contracted to work 12 hours a week and should not exceed this unless previously agreed. Permission for additional hours must also be sought from the British Council in line with the Home Office’s immigration rules, If additional hours are agreed, CLAs should be paid on a pro-rata basis and should not work more than a total of 18 hours per week. Where possible, the timetable should be blocked to allow reasonable free time and one full day free each week.

Each CLA can work across a maximum of three schools, with one school being nominated as the host school.

The host school must pay the assistant’s allowance for a minimum of nine and a half months at rates set by the relevant government body. In 2012-2013 the salary for 12 teaching hours per week is £879 per month. Assistants working in the London area will also receive London weighting allowance. Teachers from China should not have to pay UK income tax due to the Double Taxation Agreement.

The Chinese assistants’ travel and visa costs are paid by the British Council.

The British Council provides pastoral and professional support for the CLAs throughout their year in the UK. The CLAs receive a two week course prior to their departure from China followed by a three day induction course upon arrival in the UK. The British Council also runs two additional training days in November and February in partnership with experienced teacher trainers and funded by HSBC. CLAs have access to resources on our website FLAsonline throughout the year and have a dedicated online mentor who offers support on a monthly basis.

For schools hosting CLAs, the British Council runs a mentor teachers briefing day in June in Edinburgh and London and provides a detailed booklet of guidance on hosting an assistant.

Once you have been allocated an assistant, one school needs to be the host school for the CLA and co-ordinate the timetable and arrival arrangements with any partner schools. You will need to write an offer of appointment and a contract. A pro-forma for both is available on our Contacting your Assistant page.

The British Council provides a booklet on the administrative procedures for both schools and assistants, which covers important issues such as registering with a doctor, completing income tax forms and opening a bank account. The link to the booklet will be sent with your assistant’s dossier. You can see this year’s booklet here