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How our virtual debating courses work

1.

Purchase a course

New customers

Create an online account and choose the course your child would like to take part in. This is where you can register your child’s details and tell us when you would like their sessions to run. You can also create an account for your child and tell us any information that you would like us to be aware of.

Existing customers

Log-in to your existing account, choose the course you child would like to take part in and update your child's details, and day/time preferences! If you are signing up a new child, you can register them in your account too.


2.

Get set up and ready

Register your details

In order for us to allocate your child to the perfect club we need to collect some details. In a very small number of cases we may ask you to change the day of your club.

Specify club day & time preference and then we'll match your child to the best group based on their experience.


3.
Take part and have fun!

Parent and student secure online account

Access your sessions each week through our online dashboard. Your child can learn from wherever they are as long as they have access to the internet! With one class a week after school, your child’s schedule is top of mind for us.

Develop confidence, key skills and feel engaged

Using Debate Mate's award-winning curriculum, your child will develop the fundamental skills necessary using a range of group activities and personalised feedback.

Receive awards, certificates & reports

During the course you will receive reports on your child’s progress and areas of improvement. Once they have completed the programme they will receive a final certificate.

Discover learning resources & future courses

Your child will get access to high quality resources to use between sessions. Finished a course? We have lots of options so your child can continue to debate, develop their skills and engage in current affairs

Ages 6-8: 6 students per club.
Ages 8+: 8 students per club.

Every club is led by 2 DBS checked mentors.

We have 9 sequential levels to our Fundamentals of Debating Pathway. Students are automatically allocated to the next level up when they re-enroll.

No debating experience is required for our Level 1 course, which all new students are automatically allocated to. If your child is an experienced debater, and would like to start out on a higher level, please get in touch via [email protected]

Ages 6-8: Sessions are 45 minutes long.
Ages 8+: Sessions are 1 hour long.

We ask that you log in to the session 5 minutes early to check your video and audio settings before the club begins.

Once you have bought your child’s place, you will be asked to choose a club time out of the range of options available for that course. You can double check the times available on the course page.

Your child will then attend their club at the same each week for the duration of the term. If you can no longer make your chosen club time, please get in touch with us at [email protected]

Our courses cost £20 per session.

True to our social purpose, we provide a number of discounts to make our courses accessible to children from all backgrounds. If you are worried about accessing our courses, please get in touch and our team will do our best to provide the right type of support.

  • We offer an 80% discount for low income families - UK residents eligible for Universal Credit or non-UK residents eligible for an equivalent scheme in their home country. Email us for a discount code.
  • We offer a 20% discount for the children of NHS staff, social workers, police officers, armed forces and teachers. Email us for a discount code.
  • We offer sibling discounts - 7.5% off the 2nd child, 15% off the 3rd child and 22.5% off the 4th child. This discount is automatically applied at checkout.

To help you book with confidence, we offer a full money back guarantee in the unlikely event that your child doesn’t enjoy their first session. We ask that if you have any concerns or are unhappy with the level of service, to get in touch and we will do our best to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.

You can request a full refund at any time up until the end of Week 1 by emailing us at [email protected]

Due to the nature of our eBook products, we are unable to offer refunds for eBooks.

All Debate Mate sessions are hosted on Zoom and can be accessed securely through the Debate Mate portal. You just need to login to your account and hit the ‘Join Now’ button.

The Debate Mate Learning Zone is a complementary database of catch-up and consolidation resources that your child has access to alongside their Debate Mate club. If they miss a session, there is a wealth of videos, activities and games to help catch them up on that week’s content.

A member of our team is always on hand to help during club times. If you run into any issues, you can email us at [email protected] or call us on 020 3398 5644 and we’ll do our best to help you get connected.

Yes, Debate Mate is an approved activity provider. Our courses are suitable for the Bronze, Silver and Gold skills sections of the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Please let us know before the start of term if you would like Debate Mate to act as your Skills Assessor.

We will keep you updated about your child’s club via email. You will be emailed our Parent’s Newsletter each week, and at the end of term, you will receive a detailed progress report from your child’s mentors.

If you don’t seem to be receiving our emails, please check your junk / spam folder and add [email protected] to your address book.