Kids&Us is a new language school concept for children from the age of one. The Kids&Us Natural English method is based on the natural process of mother tongue acquisition, and over 150,000 children across Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Vietnam, Czech Republic, Andorra, Morocco, Mexico and Japan are learning English across over 527 Kids&Us language schools.
The Challenge
Kids&Us has more than 6,000 users from their corporative network (between franchisees, directors, academic coordinators, and teachers) accessing its training platform. Each year more than 2,000 new users access the platform to learn more about their business and how to apply with success the unique Kids&Us language learning methodology.
Previously, Kids&Us used Moodle as its LMS. This solution required a lot of manual intervention, with manual account setup, no way to link users with their real names and no reporting ability.
Additionally, their previous approach to training required a lot of logistics for face-to-face training. Instructors had to travel to physical venues to deliver training workshops, which was both expensive and time consuming. Kids&Us knew that they wanted to shift all of their learning online, which required a new LMS to automate processes for their global learner base.
The Solution
Kids&Us chose to work with Actua Solutions, as a local, Spanish Totara Partner. They chose Totara Learn as their new LMS, mostly thanks to the breadth and depth of the reporting functionality available, the hierarchy system and the ability to automate many of their previously manual processes.
Reporting is set up to allow the centralized Kids&Us team to analyze learning activity across all of their teachers and franchises, as well as allowing the franchises and schools themselves to see their own data, including how many users they have, who is participating in what training and the results of those trainings.
On top of the reporting, Kids&Us also uses Totara’s seminar functionality, which enables learners to self-register for seminars, and programs, which ensure everyone knows exactly what they need to do next.Audiences are also used extensively across the platform for the different countries, roles and schools. This enables Kids&Us to give specific training to specific schools, countries and roles, and ensures that reporting data is kept separate. For instance, Kids&Us is currently opening in a new country with a specific training program which will only launch for the schools of this country. Using audiences, Kids&Us can make sure that only those schools are enrolled, which is proving to be a very easy, time-saving solution.
The type of training delivered depends on the school and the audience. For instance, teachers access the training about the Kids&Us methodology of language learning, while directors and the people running the franchises may learn about academic management, marketing and sales.
Another huge step was, with the help of Actua Solutions, the integration of the LMS with the ERP, linking the training platform with other corporate platforms, automating the process of user creation and management, as well as KPI monitoring and training delivery.
E-learning is created using Articulate, which comprises videos, online lessons and documents, and uses gamification strategies to maintain learner engagement.
The Results
Currently, 150,000 children learn from more than 3,600 teachers, and this number continues to grow.
Actua Solutions’ new LMS has helped Kids&Us save time and money on the transition from face-to-face training to online training. Kids&Us is growing fast, and Totara Learn is the ideal solution to adapt with them. For instance, they recently opened in Vietnam, which previously would have required a huge amount of training logistics to set up. With Totara Learn, all courses were prepared for all the schools involved, and it’s all connected, integrated and ready to go.
Since upgrading to Totara 15, Kids&Us has been evaluating the possibility of moving to a multitenancy setup. This could be useful as they continue to grow, so switching from their current audience-driven structure is under consideration for future iterations of the platform.
They are also considering deploying the Totara Mobile app in the future. Currently, around 10% of learners access learning via a mobile device. If this number increases in the future, Kids&Us may implement the app for the best possible learner experience.
“What we love about Totara is its flexibility and ease to adapt to our global training needs, in an environment of constant change and evolution.”– Albert Villalonga, E-learning Specialist, Kids&Us