New Au Pair expects to go to language class every day -

I know a lot of APs here and they are nothing like you describe - they all do have sole charge (but then, they have active brains and are responsible sorts of people).

ROFL
I think you'll find Anna,....if you actually had an AP... that they spend soooo little time with the dc's (especially in any sort of sole care capacity) that their level of intellectual ability is actually of little consequence. More their ability to push the hoover round occasionally and play a game with dc's while you cook dinner.

blueshoes - the family:au pair matching business is obviously a complex one.

But - to come back to the OP - if the AP was coming to England on the entirely legitimate understanding that she would be attending regular English language classes, the family does have a responsibility to ensure she can attend these. The family cannot decide unilaterally that the AP is being too demanding for wishing to do so.

Personally I don't think there is anything "dreadful" about requiring some standards of people in whose care I leave my children

ah, nowire, can you name that international charter, pls? if it is the one I think it is, it is not binding in the UK, as you alluded to. With the increasing number of new EU countries, the aupair market has moved on somewhat.

Anna, I would admit I have no experience with private language course aupairs, despite being in an area with at least 3-4 private language schools. I did place an ad in all those schools for an aupair in September, but no one responded except one who expected her pocket money to cover her course fees. And another student who responded to my ad on aupairworld but then tried to talk me into paying/subsidising her course fees.

Like I said, each aupair and each family has their requirements. An aupair who needs to attend English language courses every day (particularly if it would conflict with the afternoon school pick up) would have a much smaller pool of families to choose from who would be able to accommodate such an arrangement. Just a question of matching the requirements, as Anna, I am sure you do in your voluntary role.

I wouldn't leave my children in the care of someone who didn't speak excellent English and didn't have a high level of education. That would be a compromise too many.

I might leave them in the care of someone whose English/French was not great (but who was learning) but who was clever and articulate in her own language.

I might leave them with someone of English or French mother-tongue and culture who wasn't very bright but a good childcarer.

OMG Anna!!!!!!
Read back your last sentence...!!!!! that sounds dreadful!
Are you really suggesting a girl (or boy) who may not have huge academic aspirations are somehow "inferior" and not quite "top notch" enough to look after the dc's!
so,..common sense, kindness, empathy, fun are insufficient then?

And yes,I've actually made all but 1 of my AP's attend college. some didn't want to but quickly realised it was the way to make a decent social life

blueshoes - I am not talking about university exchange students - the APs are attending language classes, not university courses. Those language classes have fixed hours (but are at least 4 days a week, with an exam at the end).

Sure, I believe your experience. It really isn't universal - the families and APs we match up are only interested in meeting people with a high level of achievement and ambition (both parties).

Out of interest, are you happy leaving your children in the care of girls with that level of education/aspiration? Did they all attend English classes or not?

anna is not wrong she is completely right, there is an international au pair charter (or something) that states the au pair should be attending english lessons as part of the deal. Of course no one has to stick to this but given its existence an ap is perfectly entitled to think she is going to attend english classes every day and be upset if she's not
AU PAIRS ARE NOT CHEAP NANNIES, though sooo many people - usually not mnetters - don't seem to understand this, or choose not to understand it

Uni Exchange 'aupairs' are a totally different kettle of fish IMO. I have a nearby university that is always on the lookout for host families. If I was approached by the uni to take on a student who would 'remunerate' me in kind (ie childcare and housework), rather than cash, then of course it goes without saying that this student must be allowed to attend all the classes they need as that is the main reason why they are in the country to begin with.

As the risk of generalisation, I do think French aupairs' English tends to be on the poorer side and I can understand their need for intensive lessons. But as a host family, my need is for good English and hence I would never take on a uni exchange English course 'aupair'.

There is a suitable family for every aupair. I take it upon myself as my responsibility in loco parentis to ensure that our profiles match as much as possible. Not all aupairs require English lessons and if they do, not want to do or afford intensive private lessons.

Anna, if aupair rights arise by contract, I agree rights can arise verbally, not just in writing. Even if the aupair mentioned she would be taking english lessons, I would also have told her what the working hours are (specifically a 3 pm pickup). So unless all the details are hammered out in advance (which it cannot as I have explained re: ESOL courses), there is a grey area contractually if the aupair wants everyday classes that interfere with the 3 pm pickup. In practice, I specifically query my potential aupairs about whether they want english language courses, explain the estimated cost and time commitment of ESOL classes and how to get to them, the difference from private classes and how they are going to fund the classes. This way I avoid any misunderstadings.

LOL
In all my years of having an AP (which has been many) from all sorts of EU countries (mainly Germany, Poland, Romania, Czech Republic, Spain) I have never had 1 who has gone on to further education nor have been offered one.....
and Definitely not knocked down prices here don'cha know...lap of luxury all the way.....

Of course they are - there are students from Eastern European countries in private language schools all over the place. You are obviously unaware that there is a huge issue going on right now in English language schools because French/Germans/Spaniards/Italians are very unhappy about the high numbers of Eastern European students on residential courses. French students are currently asking for a guarantee not only of under 20% of other French speakers but also of no more than 20% Russian speakers.

Are you implying that you employ uneducated girls from Poland/Czech Republic at knock down rates to take care of your children?

Actually Anna I think you would find it is unusual in many EU AP's! Do you really think girls coming from Poland, or Czech Republic are Uni Educated and can afford private lessons?
I'm going to leave this discussion now because actually your experience is so limited it's practically non existent.

Students aged between 18 and 23-ish. Not all university students, but will be or have been if not currently (but this is hardly unusual for young people).

Anna you are wrong, and biased...
As I understand it your AP experience is for University Exchange AP's coming from the and to the UK.... Is that right?

There is also demi-pair (very popular here in Paris) where the girl gets no pocket money at all, just board and lodging, in return for 12-15 hours work per week.

Ingles2 - I am not wrong. If the raison d'être for an au pair is to learn English (or French or whatever the language of the country is) by attending English classes, it is completely necessary for the family to ensure that she will be able to follow those classes satisfactorily in order for her stay to be a success, from her POV.

If the family only wishes to consider its own childcare needs itneeds to employ a nanny who will be available all day (but who will also cost a lot more).

25 hours is the norm for aupairs in the UK. 30 hours would make them an aupair plus.

Our area has loads of aupair classes (they start at 9.30am, so you can get the school run out of the way). It is really preferable for aupair to attend these classes, because they get to meet other girls in their situation - instant friends.

We've had a few aupairs who have been fluent in English and not attended classes. It was a good set-up for us when we had a child in half-day nursery, which is not compatible with English classes. But since it is so much harder to make friends, they tend not to stick around for more than a term.

25 hours is the norm for aupairs in the UK. 30 hours would make them an aupair plus.

Our area has loads of aupair classes (they start at 9.30am, so you can get the school run out of the way). It is really preferable for aupair to attend these classes, because they get to meet other girls in their situation - instant friends.

We've had a few aupairs who have been fluent in English and not attended classes. It was a good set-up for us when we had a child in half-day nursery, which is not compatible with English classes. But since it is so much harder to make friends, they tend not to stick around for more than a term.

nope, you are totally wrong and totally biased Anna, most people I have met and just about every MNetter I've spoke with over the years has tried to organise a fair deal for both AP and family with our without an agency,.. you are so completely wrong it's untrue.
However I can tell you of a number of agencies who have taken a large sum of money from me for an AP placement and have done absolutely nothing for it.

Evangelina - you highlight the problem. You thought you were giving your AP a lot. She felt like she was getting very little.

An AP who is not attending regular, good language classes is extremely likely to end up feeling put upon/exploited as all she will be doing is rather dull domestic work for very little reward (pocket money). If she is doing proper language classes and making good progress, that is her reward (as it always is supposed to be).

It's a university arrangement.

blueshoes, I'm intrigued too. Surely even if there is a contract, the terms including whether or not to attend English classes are up to the parties?

ingles, your point about all the work for the host mother is a good one. I posted on here at the beginning of the summer about our prospective au pair. I was very worried about it, for good reason, as it was a complete disaster and she left after a week. While she was here, I felt very much like I was the one doing her a favour. 5 hours a day (which only amounted to ironing and sitting in front of the TV with the children) seemed like very little to me in return for £60 a week, a safe, secure environment, full board and lodging with all the hidden costs of this and the general aggravation of having a stranger in your house.

Anna, I'm interested as to why you work on a voluntary capacity on behalf of au pairs? I do think this gives a slightly biased view. There has to be some flexibility about the classes, for example because the school test them and might put them in class which is completely unsuitable for the host family. In reality, there will lots of changes and flexibility (in my case, I was hoping for someone to look after my one year old but this didn't happen at all as he screamed every time she went near him) and the au pair needs to be flexible too.

The trouble, Ingles2, is that the "au pair" arrangement when not brokered by any kind of intermediary who vets both the family and the au pair and brokers a (albeit totally standard) agreement, quickly degenerates into an arrangement whereby the family tries to get domestic help on the cheap and the au pair tries to learn English on the cheap. When both parties can't quite afford what they would really wish for, both tend to end up dissatisfied.