Questions families ask us before they begin

All bookings go through our student coordinator. Reach out via WhatsApp or email and they’ll take care of everything: language, level, teacher matching, and scheduling. Once your first session is confirmed, your weekly timeslot and class link stay the same. No rebooking required week to week.

We understand that life doesn’t always follow a schedule. Here’s how our cancellation policy works:

We’re always happy to make exceptions for genuine emergencies. Reach out as soon as you’re able and we’ll find the right solution together.

If your teacher needs to cancel for any reason: illness, personal leave, or anything else — your session is credited in full with no expiry. Our coordinator will reach out proactively to reschedule at a time that works for your family, and where possible we’ll offer a priority slot.

Inspire doesn’t follow a school calendar. Sessions run as usual during most school holidays, breaks, and PD days. Your child’s learning doesn’t stop when school does.

If your teacher is taking personal leave or vacation, you’ll be notified well in advance. Sessions will either be rescheduled or credited, never simply lost. Many families use school breaks to intensify their learning. It’s often the most productive time of year.

Of course. School schedules, extracurriculars, and family life shift throughout the year. For a permanent timeslot change, we ask for at least 2 weeks’ notice so we can adjust your teacher’s schedule without disruption.

For a one-off swap — moving a single session to a different day or time that week — 48 hours’ notice works well in most cases.

All sessions take place on Zoom. Once your first session is confirmed, your child is assigned a permanent class link. Same link, same time, every week. No hunting for it, no logging in to a new platform.

Your student coordinator will send the link to you directly before your first session.

Inspire holds the Zoom subscription. Your family just clicks the link. No account, no subscription, and no app purchase required. If your child is joining from a device that doesn’t have Zoom installed, they can download the free Zoom app or join directly from a browser.

A laptop or iPad works best. The screen size makes it easier for your child to see materials, follow along, and engage actively with the teacher. Phones can technically connect, but the smaller screen tends to make sessions less effective, especially for reading or writing activities.

More important than the device is the environment:

• A quiet space with minimal background noise and distraction
• A stable internet connection (wired is ideal, strong WiFi works well)
• Good lighting so your child is clearly visible to their teacher
• A comfortable seat at a desk or table rather than a sofa or bed

A good environment makes a bigger difference to session quality than the device itself.

All Inspire sessions are recorded automatically as a standard safeguarding measure. Because we work with children and minors, maintaining a session record is an important part of how we protect both students and educators.

Recordings are stored securely and never shared: not with other families, not with third parties, not externally in any form. They are accessed only in the rare event that a concern about a session is raised, and by authorized Inspire staff only.

This policy is outlined in Inspire’s Terms of Service, which families acknowledge at enrollment. If you have any questions about how recordings are stored or handled, our coordinator is happy to walk you through it.

Parents are welcome to be nearby but don’t need to be present in the room or on screen. In fact, children tend to be more relaxed and more willing to speak when working with their teacher without a parent on screen.

Think of it like dropping your child at any other class. You trust the teacher. Your child gets to feel some independence. That confidence carries over into how they participate.

For very young children (ages 4–6), it’s perfectly fine for a parent to sit nearby off-camera during the first few sessions while your child settles in.

All scheduling and admin goes through our student coordinator, not the teacher directly. Your teacher focuses on teaching. You have one clear contact for everything else.

You can reach our coordinator anytime via WhatsApp or email. Response times are typically same-day during business hours.

All sessions are paid in advance. Here’s how billing works by plan:

• Flexible plan: each session is paid before it takes place.
• Regular plan: billed monthly at the start of each month, covering your four sessions for that cycle.
• Intensive plan: billed bi-weekly, covering every eight sessions. This keeps individual payments manageable.

You’ll always know exactly what you’re paying and when before a charge is processed.

We accept credit and debit card payments processed securely through our payment platform. All major cards are accepted.

We don’t accept cash or e-transfers. All payments are processed digitally, which means you always have a clear transaction record, useful for families using ESA accounts or other education funding programs that require payment documentation.

Every Inspire invoice includes:

• Inspire’s company name, address, and website
• Session type (French, Spanish, or English — FSL, Immersion Support, DELF Prep, etc.)
• Session duration and number of sessions
• Hourly rate and total amount
• Date range covered

For families using ESA accounts, state education funding, or other reimbursement programs, we can provide additional documentation upon request: course descriptions, learning objectives, and hours-of-instruction summaries. Just let your coordinator know what your programme requires.

We never want a family to feel trapped in a plan that’s no longer working for them. Our refund policy is designed to be fair to both sides:

We don’t issue cash refunds for unused sessions, but unused sessions are never simply forfeited. If a family’s circumstances change and they’d like to pause or stop, we’ll handle it graciously.

If you have a specific situation that doesn’t fit neatly into the above, just reach out — we’d rather find a workable solution than lose a family over an administrative issue.

Both — and it’s entirely personalised to your child’s goals. Some families want structured between-session practice to reinforce what’s being taught; others want support with specific school assignments they’re working through. Your teacher will take their lead from you and your child’s learning goals at the start of enrollment.

What we don’t do is hand out generic worksheets. Any practice materials are chosen specifically for that student. Not a one-size-fits-all packet.

Not necessarily — it depends on your goals and preferences.

Without a textbook: Inspire has its own curriculum, lesson plans, and resources. Your child’s teacher will work from these, supplementing with additional activities based on the student’s specific needs, pace, and interests. No purchases required.

With a textbook: Many homeschool families prefer a workbook running alongside sessions, and we’re happy to work with one. If you already have a textbook in mind, share it with us and we’ll incorporate it. If you’d like a recommendation, your teacher will suggest one appropriate for your child’s level and goals.

Inspire has developed its own language curriculum aligned to the international CEFR framework (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). This covers six levels per language — from A1 beginner through B2 upper-intermediate — with four pillars of language development at every level: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Our curriculum was built by qualified curriculum writers — not assembled from third-party resources — which means it’s cohesive, level-appropriate, and designed around how language acquisition actually works, not just what looks good on paper.

For students preparing for DELF exams, AP Spanish or French, or Ontario FSL requirements, sessions are additionally aligned to those specific frameworks alongside our core curriculum.

We welcome students from age 4 onwards. Our youngest learners work with educators who are specifically experienced in early childhood language acquisition — sessions at this age are playful, gentle, and built around short bursts of engagement rather than formal instruction.

If you’re unsure whether your child is ready, the free language assessment is the best way to find out — it’s low-pressure, conversational, and tells us as much about readiness as it does about level.

Yes — when you enroll more than one child, everything is managed through a single point of contact. Your family has one coordinator, one WhatsApp thread, and one invoice that covers both students. Different languages, different levels, different schedules — none of that changes the simplicity of the admin side for you.

And don’t forget: the second child enrolled receives 10% off every session for as long as they’re enrolled. The discount is applied automatically — just mention at booking that you’re enrolling siblings.

Our student coordinator communicates fluently in English, French, and Spanish. Whether your family is more comfortable corresponding in English, reaching out in French for an immersion question, or discussing your child’s Spanish program in Spanish — we’ve got you covered.

It’s a meaningful difference — not just a marketing one. Here’s the honest comparison:

• Marketplace tutors are individuals — often native speakers with varying teaching experience — working independently. There’s no shared curriculum, no accountability structure, no progress documentation, and if your tutor leaves the platform, you start over with someone new.
• Inspire is a structured organisation with a CEFR-aligned curriculum, Ontario Certified Teachers and DELF examiners, formal progress reports every 12 weeks, a student coordinator handling all administration, and 14 years of continuous operation.

You’re not paying for someone to spend an hour with your child. You’re paying for a dedicated specialist, a documented programme, and an organisation that will still be here next year.

After the assessment, you’ll receive a written report from your child’s teacher — documenting their current CEFR level, specific strengths, areas to develop, and a recommended starting point. There’s no obligation to enroll and no sales call to sit through.

If you’d like to move forward, your coordinator will help you choose the right plan, match your child with the right teacher, and get your first session scheduled. Most families are booked within a day or two of the assessment.

If you’re not ready to start yet, the report is yours to keep — it’s genuinely useful regardless of what you decide.