The Eye Level Education Franchise

Our Programmes

From your local centre(s) and our unique online software, you’ll be able to deliver the highest quality, tailored tuition to local children.

We go above and beyond the standard UK National Curriculum; our English learning material has been uniquely devised with Cambridge University Press and includes the essential skills of critical thinking and problem solving (as required by universities and the jobs market).
No other provider has this level of learning.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How long will it take to open my own Eye Level learning centre?

From initial enquiry, we can approve an application and a business plan usually within six (6) weeks to the point of preparing a license. Once licensed and having attended initial training we can organise the first paid adverts to go out to attract your first student (s) almost immediately. We aim to have all the materials out to you within seven (7) days of confirming you are ready to go and so it is best to have everything organised before attending Initial Training so you can hit the ground running.

2. I have seen/attended Eye Level centres in Asia and the US so is the UK set up to deliver the same?

Eye Level has been established in Asia since the 1970s and developed internationally since the 1990s but even though we have taken our philosophy, technology and products from our corporate centre we have adapted our English + Summit programmes for the UK market with the help of Cambridge University Press and curriculum experts. Our maths and critical thinking programme is applied across the globe but we have developed an 11+ package just for the UK market.

3. Do I need child safeguarding checks?

Yes. As part of the application process you will be required to have all necessary child safeguarding checks. This will take place prior to initial training with Eye Level.

4. What do Eye Level look for in a potential franchisee?

Eye Level franchisees around the world come from many walks of life but we are predominately looking for graduates that are passionate about education whilst having an entrepreneurial spirit and want to be able to organise their own life as they see fit. Our best franchisees are excellent communicators that are able to inspire confidence in the students and parents that put their trust in them. Education is still a uniquely human endeavour and although we believe we have the best product (s) in the Primary market it is the quality of our people that is essential to future growth and development. If you have passion and are able to communicate we believe we can train and support you to run a successful centre.

5. Is being an Eye Level franchisee a full or part-time job?

Our franchise opportunity is designed to deliver the equivalent of a full-time salary within flexible hours of your own choosing and like any business the more you put in to it the more you will get out of it. We do not accept applicants that do not have some level of ambition and with our multi-site offer the sky really is the limit. Our average centre size in Asia is 500+ subjects so this is not a cottage industry type opportunity.

6. What does it mean to be an Eye Level franchisee?

As an Eye Level franchisee, you will be joining a global family of other passionate entrepreneurs from around the world that apply the Eye Level method, materials and curriculum to enable children to become advanced problem solvers and critical thinkers. This in turn will enable those students to become more successful at school and beyond. You will be able to adapt to a very flexible mode of working using your skills and flair to build a successful business whilst helping hundreds of children in your own local community. Our license is a 4 in 1 offering with an education, marketing, financial and operations system ready to go from Day 1. As an independent it would take a huge investment of time and money to replicate these systems which is why you are able to license them from us in return for a royalty payable on your fees from parents

7. How much will it cost to open my own Eye Level learning centre?

When buying an Eye Level franchise, we would recommend having access to liquid capital of between £15,000 to £55,000 which will cover license fees, deposits, a marketing fund sufficient to reach those first 50 students and the rental/fit out costs to open either a communal centre or a fully fitted commercial unit. On a resale of a successful centre you will be able to recoup but by being sufficiently capitalised at the beginning it will ensure you reach profitability well within that critical first 12 months of trading.

8. Why become an Eye Level franchisee?

Eye Level offers a proven business model that is successful around the world and by becoming an Eye Level franchisee you are establishing a relationship with one of the world’s most successful educational services company established for 50 years. Eye Level has over 2.5 million students worldwide and through a process of product development and innovation plans to continue to be a global leader in education.

Outside of North America the UK is the only G7 country that Eye Level is currently offering franchise licenses and with the high take up of supplementary education combined with its unique demographic profile we believe this offers a unique opportunity to individuals that can recognise the product and technological superiority of our offering.
In addition, we believe in giving our franchisees a sense of security over the geography that they will spend time and money developing. We work in partnership with our franchisees to develop at both a national and local level and we can reach our goals without needing to create inter Eye Level competition. We do not follow the business model of other leading global players in the market here.

If you want a business venture with meaning and purpose using a product that works and is best in class on a global level working with people that want you to be successful and will protect your interests over the long run then Eye Level is for you.

9. Can I become an Eye Level franchisee and only offer online classes?

Eye Level franchisees are required to offer both in centre and online classes in order to provide a full service to their students and their families. Our main focus is on the Primary sector and although we have a world class offering in On Air, we believe that our in-person classes will remain popular and essential going forward.

10. What is the Eye Level Method?

Eye Level believes in the application of individualised education based on ability rather than age. When we first meet a potential student, we use diagnostic tools to test their arithmetic, word problem and critical thinking skills in Maths. In English we look at grammar, comprehension, phonics, reading and writing. The results of those tests will determine a starting point on our curriculum that will give the Instructor the opportunity to build the student’s foundations and study skills to enable them over time to work beyond their natural curriculum level at school by following a logical and systematic approach to learning. We combine world class academic rigour with a fun and rewarding system of learning from the ‘eye-level’ of the child. A long-term Eye Level student will have superior academic attainment levels compared to their peers and will have become a truly independent problem solver and critical thinker.

11. What does a student do at Eye Level?

Eye Level provides an appealing and welcoming environment where a student receives coaching, instruction and practice via self-directed learning using our unique materials from workbooks, teaching tools and audio files. Each student works independently of other students, following a curriculum based precisely on the student’s individual needs. When a student comes they will have a set amount of work to complete and will leave the centre when it is 100% perfect. On leaving they will take some homework to complete in between classes.

12. Why do parents enrol their children in Eye Level?

There are many options in the UK market now for parents to choose from but many are short term and reactive i.e to be used when an exam or a problem presents itself. We are positioned to be a proactive enrichment solution for parents that want to invest in education from an early age. Our curriculum reaches GCSE level but it is our Primary offering that is “best in class”. Parents choose Eye Level because they trust us and they can immediately see the quality of our curriculum and our materials that children genuinely love to use. However, the two biggest reasons that parents give us are firstly that we offer both maths and English – the two core subjects that influence each other ie. you can’t do word problems in maths without good comprehension skills. Secondly, Eye Level is a household name in Asia so we have a very high expectation of what our students can achieve combined with a local applicability i.e relevant curriculum. However, our parents have an international outlook and they want to go beyond the British national curriculum which they consider, to have low expectations especially in Maths. They have no interest in an offering that simply coaches what is already being done in schools. Critical thinking is the No 1 skill that Universities and Employers are looking for and we are the only provider in the market with this offering.

13. Can I open more than one centre?

Yes, this is a business model with the potential to scale to your ambitions, whatever they are. However, it’s crucial to get your first centre established and running smoothly before expanding into further sites. At the moment, we would allow over time for someone in the UK to run 5 centres offering a potential £1million turnover opportunity but we are of course also happy for 1 individual to run 1 centre as well. You can scale if you want to scale but it is not a requirement.

14. What are the ongoing expenses of running an Eye Level centre?

Other than the royalties, expenses typically include:

• Monthly rent for a ground floor retail or communal space in your community (approx. 600 to 1,200 square feet)
• Ongoing marketing
• Local and national taxation
• Staff to help with the smooth running of the centre

15. Do I get an exclusive territory?

Yes. Each franchisee receives an exclusive territory designed so that they have an incentive to cooperate with one another and not compete for the same students. Your territory will be based on comprehensive demographic data highlighting the potential opportunity for your centre. This is a dearly held principle of the Eye Level franchise model and we know from experience that it leads to a better outcome for all parties.

16. How much money will I make as an Eye Level franchisee?

As with any business, it depends largely on your own effort – particularly important are the quality of service you provide, and whether you promote your centre in line with suggested best practise. As a guide, you should be aiming to earn the equivalent of a full-time salary within 12 months and to have a six-figure turnover within 2 years. Your profitability will depend on how much retained earnings you want to re-invest or indeed open further centres.

17. Do I have to teach children myself?

As an Eye Level franchisee, you are only required to personally participate in the management and operation of your centre(s). However, our goal is to make you comfortable with overseeing all aspects of running the centre-including working with children. Any business operates better if you’re hands-on. Your plan will include hiring instructors on an as-needed basis as your enrolment increases, but you should be willing to invest your time and energy in all functions of the centre, including teaching as needed.

18. What are the typical hours of operation?

The hours may vary depending on your location, but most Eye Level centres are open for instruction after school Monday until Friday from about 3pm to 7pm, and some open on Saturday or Sunday too. A communal centre must be open for a minimum of twice a week for a total of 6hrs and a commercial centre must be open for a minimum of four days a week for a total of 12hrs. To maximise its potential as a centre we would recommend 20hrs a week.

19. What type of training does Eye Level provide?

Running an education franchise is not like learning the operations manual and then applying the same process over and over again. It involves working with young people that require a whole range of strategies and applications in order to enable them to be happy, motivated and to ultimately succeed. Every class you run will be a learning opportunity but in order to get you off to the best possible start we will cover all the basics of our approach, the curriculum, the product(s) and the operations/marketing side at Initial Training. Our approach to this will be to conduct it in a flagship centre so that you are able to see the practical as well as study the theory of what we do and how we do it. Beyond that we have a comprehensive learning and development platform called Eye Level University which covers every aspect of what we do both from an operational and educational perspective – this can be studied and used over a prolonged period of time as your centre develops i.e higher levels of the programme. You will also have a support peer that will be able to answer questions with a quick turnaround and regular review meetings to discuss progress and enable further development. As with our students we want to individualise the training so we can focus on the areas which you feel you need support on as we appreciate that many of our franchisees will come with a wealth of experience that we also want to be able to collectively tap into in. Every Eye Level centre is a constant work in progress and that is what keeps it interesting as you endeavour to become the best learning centre in your community.

20. What type of marketing support can I expect?

Eye Level will be able to provide marketing suggestions and promotional materials in the same way you would expect from any reputable educational franchise. However, we want to go one step further by actually showing you how to conduct a successful digital marketing campaign in your locality. This marketing package will be unique in the market and whilst the growth of your centre will ultimately be your responsibility as there are many factors beyond marketing you will be able to focus on your students and parents knowing that we have digital experts focused on helping you get off the ground.

21. What happens if my application gets declined?

Around the world we are positioned as a premium provider of supplementary education and we have developed a brand and a range of products that reflect this. We therefore believe it is important to attract the very best people as our franchisees and we will not proceed with an application if you do not currently fulfil our criteria – based on what we know needs to be in place in order for that individual to be successful running an educational franchise in a competitive market. However, sometimes we find a good match and that individual or HQ are not quite ready to enter into a license agreement but with further time or experience that becomes a possibility and in that case, we can offer a paid opportunity as a tutor in order to gain further experience with our products and students before making a longer-term commitment.

22. Is the Eye Level business seasonal?

Eye Level students study all year round and there will be events that drive demand throughout all the seasons but September to March is the busy period and April to August is slower with the summer holidays disturbing parents and student’s routine. However, since developing our Summit and On-Air products we can work globally with our students and so a student going to a different country for 6 weeks will not disturb your class as long as Wi-Fi is available – we now retain 90% of our students through- out the summer break as a result of these innovations.

23. What locations are currently available to open a tuition centre in?

We are able to offer licenses in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (the UK) and we have a list of locations that meet what we deem to be required to be able to have a class of 200 subjects. As a new provider, we have a number of high value locations available and plan to map the entire country and share our network plans for the next decade so franchisees can see exactly what is planned and can also see what they could potentially expand into overtime.

24. What is the process of joining Eye Level’s franchise network?

If you’re wondering how to set up an educational franchise business and are interested in opening your own learning centre, simply fill in the application form and we will be in touch to discuss the next steps and get you on your way to being our newest franchisee.