Hi everyone.

I worked at this school XYX Kindergarten 男孩女孩国际幼儿园 Yinchuan Ningxia China from when it opened in September 2012 to September 2015.

If you have ever seen an advertisement or recruitment ad, it was me.

I was the Head of the International Department, and the main advertising force behind the company.

As Im sure many of you working in China will be aware of, the foreign face is very important.

I'd like to share my experience.

The school itself, as a physical entity, is very very nice, it is made and looks fantastic.

The Chinese teachers are also qualified.

Now, these are the only positive things I can say looking back on my time.

I was contracted for 2 years and then 1 year after. I did NOT receive a release letter and instead had to fly home and go through the gruelling chinese visa process once again.

Bear in mind that I was used for all marketing events, and helped bring in a massive amount of students, (which led them to opening a second school in WUHAI, inner mongolia).

My responsibilities here were translating (there is not one single member or staff who speaks English at a proficient level), organizing and planning all english classes and lessons for all classes. Creating speeches that were used in marketing events, and presenting almost every single school event to date.

I have, and had told my bosses at the school that one teacher was not enough to take care of 9 different classes, one of which was the international class, where parents pay a very high monthly amount because they think the foreign teacher is there for the full day teaching all subjects in English. Clearly not the case if the remaining 8 classes also require 2 english classes per week (although parents are told they receive them daily). This is why even though I received many applications, none were taken seriously by my superiors until the second school had opened.

At this point it was the end of my initial 2 year contract and I was ready to leave anyway. This is because, I was not paid 2 years annual bonus (a total of 26,000RMB), each year I was told I would not receive it in September (because its annual and 12 months is a year), but instead on Chinese New year, where I would receive a bonus, but it was 500RMB. Quite a difference.

Upon explaining my grievances at the end of contract, I was then misled once again and lied to being told that I would indeed receive my last 2 years bonus but it would be 20,000RMB and again in Chinese New year, unfortunately for this no one is to blame but myself for believing these people, and I did enjoy the job (i.e. teaching kids that I had seen grow and spend more time with them than their parents). The same thing happened once again.

I had also mentioned and told my superiors at the school that more was neeeded to provide kids a quality learning environment (e.g. more teachers, more exposure as 2 25 minnute classes a week is really not enough), I have written yearly reports and all of them were ignored. I made weekly lesson plans that are all saved on the school computer and were ignored. These were the reasons that they used to deny my 2 year bonus in that new year.

However I was still contracted and really did not have a choice as I realised no release letter would be given and I might aswell just finish my contract.

Now, because of the problem that I had with the bonus and holidays (promised 2 weeks paid a year, did not receive any), my final year contract was AMENDED to state clearly that a bonus would be received in AUGUST of each year because contracts are up in September.

At the end of July, on the way to work I was involved in a biking accident and subsequently broke my foot.

This meant that for the last month of my contract I was unable to work. And this was the excuse they used once again to deny me of my annual bonus. (At this point 14,000RMB as I had a pay rise)

Not only this, but I was not paid for my last months work (2 weeks paid holiday was unable to be used)

In september I returned to the UK and changed my passport so that I could return to China on a different visa with a different company, however I am still in the same city. I am now getting paid 9,000RMB a month, so Ive taken a pay cut but I really dont mind as I believe we should be treated honestly and of course we do not work for free

I returned and did ask for for one days salary from that school that they still have on file and record (I had to do this as my contract ended Sept. 12 and I was able to work for one day, that they threatened me with by showing up at my house and knocking on my bedroom window while me and my gf were in bed), yes one days salary might seem petty, but it is the principle that matters. They will NOT give me this until I return their school uniform, which guess what? I had left in the school and has magically disappeared on my return. They had me waiting there for 3 hours to tell me this.

Please do understand that I did a damn lot for that school.

The question of a bonus to some may seem a bit petty or greedy. However these are things that are agreed on and most working places provide in China, and considering our importance and how much money we make those schools (international class here was 5,000RMB a month and I had 15 students in that class, do the math), I think we deserve them. As it is with holidays. Because we need time to go home, or go on a trip for a break.

In March 2015 I hired a Moroccan national who lived in the same complex that the kindergarten is based. The school only agreed to this because they drafted another contract for him behind my back, telling him it was standard. They take 1,000RMB of his salary monthly telling him that he will receive it at the end of the year. He is now the only teacher left at the school, also being asked to go to the other school in inner mongolia wuhai on a monthly basis. Also being asked to find other teachers who will fall into this schools trapped and he is being threatened with a cancelled visa if he chooses the 1 month notice for resignation which in the contract. On top of that, they are telling the parents that he is American. Also quite funny that I might aswell add, they told parents I was British with an American accent. No, Im just British. With a Yorkshire accent.

Im now happy to be free of that school and no longer face the moral dilemmas involved, nor the cheating and constant lying. The management there is purely focuses on making money for themselves, the turnover of Chinese teachers is ridiculous, (they are forced to work overtime with no pay) and in 2015 the two main managers of the school themselves quit their jobs, albeit incognito. The main boss is business woman, who owns furniture shops, and has little or no knowledge at all of education.

The last time I saw her, on my return, she asked me rhetorically, dont you miss us? after 3 years dont you have any feelings for us? Well why do that to someone whose served three years and treat them like that?

We do not work for free. No one does. And ive made you quite a bit of money.

The school is a complete sham and I was not going to review until I found out they wouldnt pay my last days salary (let alone denying 3 years total bonus of 40,000RMB, holidays, and my last month salary), after having a friend call them to negotiate they are making me wait till the 15th of this month for that one days paycheck, even though its 3 months overdue.

Like I said it looks brilliant. IT is far far far from it. They focus on image and image alone. Huge event days with immense pressures on teachers, who these days seem to be dancing (overtime till 8/9pm with no pay) more than teaching for school events. A very good marketing force with very little quality on the real product.

Im writing this also because Im aware that they now have a member of staff recruited in America who is on a recruiting mission and I do not want to see the same thing happen to someone else. The moroccan guy who works there is a friend and it is sad to see the way they are treating him and what he has to go through.

My salary was considerably higher and so I guess that was what appeased me. They are still using me for advertising which should not be happening.

I hope the school itself also learns, and tries to match the image they present with some honesty and quality in English teaching.

The school is called XYX International Kindergarten and they really emphasise the International bit. However its just a standard Chinese Kindergarten with a foreign teacher.

http://xyxschool.com/ is the schools website, and the gmail account linked to the school is no longer available as it was mine.

Any contact you have with them now will be the guy who is based in Canada and on their 'payroll' so to speak. He is not a teacher and his pay is commission based.

If you have any questions please dont hesitate to reply, and I hope this will be of help to someone.