Ideal Schools - The Book-keepers Forum (UK)

Ammers · Veteran Member

Ideal Schools

Wella · Expert

Hi Anne-Marie

I used Ideal Schools for all three levels plus payroll and never had any problems with them.

From my experience, this does not seem to be the normal standard of response.

It might be an idea to talk to them about it. I always found Brian McVean very approacheable and helpful (he has contributed on here too).

Contact details from their website

brian@idealschools.co.uk Tel: 0141 248 5200

Bill

ClareB4 · Senior Member

I agree with Bill. I have also used Ideal Schools for all mu studies and found the tutors helpful and encouraging. Have you tried calling them? Always better to discuss things over the phone I think.

Ammers · Veteran Member

Thank you for your replies. I have heard from a lot of other people that Ideal schools were very good but I don't seem to be experiencing that so far. I can't do anything about it till monday anyway but to be honest I'm too upset to phone them.

Stardoe · Guru

Hi Anne-Marie,

I am currently studying Level III with Ideal Schools as well and am just about to submit Assignment 3. I have already done Level I and II with them. On the whole I have found them very good, but then I haven't needed much actual help so far (probably change from now on!). There was one occasion recently when I had to re-submit an assignment because I failed to check it thoroughly before I sent it and they lost the re-submission. I had a heck of a job to get through to them that it was the re-submission they had lost as they kept on sending the original Assignment back to me. It was quite frustrating. However, most of their comments have been helpful.

Did you do your Assignment by hand or on the computer (Excel)? If you would like me to have a look at it and make some suggestions, (helpful ones) I am more than willing!

Above all, don't be downhearted just because of one set of unhelpful comments. If you are at Level III, you're doing well

Ammers · Veteran Member

Thanks Stardoe, I think what it was, I purchased some bookkeeping templates and was using them instead of typing my own up. I thought it looked professional and better but there were sections that were shaded in etc so maybe thats what they didn't like. I suppose I would feel better if there comments were more constructive and explained how they would like to me set it out and what I had gone wrong on, rather than just impying that I hadn't really made an effort at all. Which couldn't be further from the truth as I am really trying hard on this and with 4 children under 5 its hard enough as it is...
Still your right I suppose.. I shouldn't let it get to me.

Stardoe · Guru

Well done you for even attempting this with 4 children under 5! Good idea to give them a call on Monday (or whenever you can!) and tell them how their comments made you feel. After all, it's their job to help you pass the exams and negative comments aren't helping. What you need is constructive criticism and pointing in the right direction.

Pauline

Peasie · Expert

Stardoe wrote:

What you need is constructive criticism and pointing in the right direction.

That's what they gave me for the exact same assignment.
"95%. Answer to question 3 has let you down a bit. The rest is excellent"

remington · Veteran Member

Hi Stardoe

I am currently studying with Ideal Schools, and I do my assignments in Excel or Word, then I email them to Ideal Schools, which do you think is the best method post them or email, I emailed my first assignment and on 1 September and I have not received the assignment back yet.

Remington

Wella · Expert

Hi Remington

I emailed all my assignments and it only made it quicker by removing the 2-3 days extra it would have taken by post. The results are still posted back.

It didn't really make it much quicker (just cheaper - no postage, or paper/ ink to print the reams of paper). It was the only frustration I had with Ideal Schools; that it took anything from two weeks to, on one occassion nearly a month to get assignments back, which is the main reason it took nearly eighteen months in total to complete the course.

I would say that your results are probably due to arrive about now.

Bill

Peasie · Expert

Wella wrote:
I emailed all my assignments and it only made it quicker by removing the 2-3 days extra it would have taken by post. The results are still posted back.

They must do things differently now - I get my results back a a pdf file. Apart from one occasion when I think there were two or three asignments, a lot of paper - I think it was easier for them to post them back.

One thing though - I sent my assignments as a Word file. I copy and paste Excel spread sheets into the Word file so it is just one document they receive to cover all the questions rather than a number of different files in an email.

Wella · Expert

Peasie wrote:
One thing though - I sent my assignments as a Word file. I copy and paste Excel spread sheets into the Word file so it is just one document they receive to cover all the questions rather than a number of different files in an email.

I did the same, or if appropriate a pdf.

Just had a look at the last assignment I emailed to Ideal, it was over a year ago, so they probably have changed the way they return assignments.

Bill

nicx27 · Member

I'm also currently studying level III manual book-keeping with Ideal Schools. Like Stardoe, I found them excellent whilst I was studying levels I and II, but for the same reason - I didn't need that much help. I've found I have needed a lot more help with level III, and by and large they have been really helpful and come back to me very quickly when I do ask for help. However, with my most recent assignment, I had to resubmit it twice and twice I got exactly the same comments back, which didn't help me as I was obviously making the same mistake. I did get there in the end though, after some help from on here.

I submit my assignments as one Word document, and they now return them as a pdf.

My overall experience with Ideal Schools so far has been really good, and I would recommend them to other people. The one downside for me is that they lack a personal touch sometimes, particularly when marking assignments.

-- Edited by nicx27 on Sunday 12th of September 2010 07:06:00 PM

-- Edited by nicx27 on Sunday 12th of September 2010 07:06:35 PM

-- Edited by nicx27 on Sunday 12th of September 2010 07:06:58 PM

Ammers · Veteran Member

Yes thats the impression I am getting as well. They definately lack a personal touch. I suppose I am just used to HLC and although they were very expensive I found them very very helpful. I know I shouldn't compare them as they are totally different but I guess I expected a bit more feedback than I got. I have found the whole thing very impersonal and a little bit rude with the comments...
Still I have been looking back through the question I got wrong and I can see where the error is now, I have also changed the format and layout for all my questions so hopefully this will be more "acceptable" for them now..
Thank you for all you comments.
Hopefully my experience with them will get better,

Stardoe · Guru

Hi @ Remmington,

Sorry, this thread seems to have run away from me....must have been asleep for a while! lol

I used to post my assignments as they give you all the stuff to post them, but I ended up emailing them to make things cheaper. I do most of my Assignments in Excel and Word and then save them to pdf. It doesn't seem to make any difference in the speed of receiving them back though...still seems to take a while. They email them back as pdf's as well.

@ Nicola & Anne-Marie - I think the lack of the personal touch is the downside to home studying frankly. Hope your experience with Ideal Schools improves Anne-Marie!

Pauline

Scotchpie · Veteran Member

I also began studying towards the ICB level 1 exam with Ideal Schools but like you Anne-Marie, I was not impressed.

The personal touch definitely wasn't there and I got the distinct feeling that the person marking my papers was just someone copying from an answer sheet. When I was correct there was just a tick and when I was wrong there was just a cross, no explanation.

I did ask them one question once and had to wait some time as the admin person who received my email had to query the instructor whose email address I wasn't given. So I felt there was no tutor-student relationship at all. Also the admin person who had to ask the instructor was the same person marking my assignments, hence the feeling he was just copying from an answer sheet.

I am pleased to say I dropped out! I am now studying with Kaplan and the experience is totally different with interactive assistance, a forum for Kaplan students to discuss their modules, a personal qualified tutor I can contact, and an online website were I can read the course book for my course via the browser. A little more expensive but in my opinion money well spent as you feel you are part of a student campus rather than someone sat in their bedroom alone reading a book.

-- Edited by Scotchpie on Wednesday 15th of September 2010 03:48:03 PM

remington · Veteran Member

-- Edited by remington on Wednesday 15th of September 2010 04:22:06 PM

Robertson · Member

Like other correspondents, I was none too impressed by Ideal Schools when I took the Diploma in Small Business Financial Management (IAB - old regulations). Written comments on assignments were often hard to read - some materials were out of date or did not match the assignment set. When I finished, the Diploma did not arrive for many months until I contacted both IAB and Ideal Schools.I did the course when there was a discounted offer available which reduced the cost considerably so all in all it was reasonable value for money, as it enabled me to find out if bookkeeping was the right kind of activity for me. Subsequently I did 3 other qualifications with IAB without using a training provider - just the IAB textbooks or appropriate texts I purchased off EBay. Ideal Schools may have smartened up its act since I used it - it all seemed a bit like I remember correspondence colleges were in the 1960s but with WWW/e-mail one expects things to have 'moved on' a bit since then.