UK Guardians

UK boarding schools take their responsibility for the welfare of international students very seriously – and the appointment of a guardian is often a vital part of this. Alison Blythe explains why international students should have an educational guardian whilst at school

The ever-increasing number of students enrolling to study in British schools – both boarding and day – shows the continued popularity and credibility with parents from all over the world of having a British school education. Students now typically find themselves mixing with a peer group from all continents and all points of the compass, some of whom have to travel for over 36 hours to get to their boarding house. An increasing number of students now come for periods ranging from one term to a full course of two years or longer from our European neighbours.

The Tier4 points-based system guidance notes for visa compliance under ‘Care Arrangements’ clearly requires ‘suitable arrangements for any children for their travel to the UK, reception at port and living arrangements while in the UK’. This statement is very much in tune with the aims of AEGIS (The Association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students) –‘To promote the safety, welfare and education in the United Kingdom of International Students aged 18 or under’. All good schools share this aim.

What can parents expect from a guardian?

The majority of good boarding schools, and a fair number of day schools offering international students a place, now insist that all their students whose parents are resident abroad have a UK-based educational guardian. Generally this person is expected to be over the age of 25 – though some schools insist on a higher age and be living permanently in the UK. Many times I hear the complaint from parents regarding this being an additional cost. It is, however, a form of insurance: the security of knowing that someone is available to represent them in loco parentis in times of emergency. That is what we all pay our insurance policies for: to cover us in the case of an emergency – which you hope never happens.

What emergency? I hear them say. Perhaps a flight is delayed or arrives at a difficult time; maybe for medical reasons; a student’s behaviour warrants a ‘cooling off’ period out of school; or perhaps there is a malfunction in the school itself such as a break-down in the central heating. Apart from emergencies, a good educational guardian will take an interest in the child’s development and progress, as well as supporting the school in good pastoral care. They provide a home-from-home environment for the student’s exeat and half-term holiday stays – and sometimes over the Christmas and Easter breaks as well. They attend parent/teacher meetings and report back to the parents as well as generally monitoring the academic and social development of the student in their care. The school has someone who acts as a link between them, the child and the parent and who is an independent listener. At the same time the parents have confidence that if their child is in need of help or advice, someone is at the end of the telephone, email or text to help support, encourage and advise their child in their absence.

Why AEGIS?

Founded over 20 years ago by a group of boarding school heads and guardianship organisations, the association was created in order to promote a universal high standard of guardianship for overseas students. The Association is active in leading the drive for higher standards. AEGIS can help parents with finding a guardian, and all the guardianship organisations that are admitted to membership of AEGIS have met those standards. The core of the association’s work is the accreditation of guardianship organisations. This year AEGIS has appointed a Chief Inspector who leads the current team of ISI- and OFSTED-trained inspectors who scrutinise the performance of the Guardianship Organisation against an extensive and comprehensive guidance framework. This documentation has now been enhanced in order to take into consideration the ever-increasing number of organisations who are caring for international students attending day schools and therefore living in long-term homestay accommodation, rather than within a school boarding house. The criteria follow guidelines laid down by the main inspection bodies for boarding schools and colleges of further education with residential provision (including lodgings) and the relevant National Minimum Standards, as well as recommendations from local authorities for the welfare and safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults in private fostering situations.

How do we find a guardian?

Schools generally refer parents to the AEGIS website where there is a full list of the accredited guardianship organisations. Sometimes a parent is able to appoint a family member or friend to assume the role of Educational Guardian but quite often they do not know anyone personally to take on the important role of being entrusted with the responsibility of looking after their child. In a recent briefing paper published by the Boarding Schools’ Association, comment is made that ‘AEGIS is the authoritative association for inspecting and accrediting guardianship organisations in the UK’ and it continues: ‘We advise that, where possible, schools themselves do not arrange Educational Guardianship or off-site accommodation for pupils, but instead refer parents to a guardianship organisation, ideally one which is AEGIS accredited, to do this for them.’

There are more than 80 full accredited Guardianship Organisations and over 80 school members who between them extend the AEGIS standard of care to over five thousand international students. AEGIS-accredited members cover the whole of the UK – from the north of Scotland to the tip of Cornwall, from East Anglia, through Wales and Northern Ireland. Interest has recently also been shown from Eire. The high standard of pastoral care is predominant throughout, with schools and parents able to rest assured that students are in the best of hands when not on school premises. The work of AEGIS is supported by subscriptions from school and guardianship organisation members.

Parents need reassurance that as their children’s care is of the greatest importance throughout their time in the UK, schools and guardians can work closely together with the parents to ensure the necessary and relevant support is in place. A happy child will achieve their potential and beyond and the right guardian can make all the difference to their experience in the UK.

Using a guardianship organisation

If you have been unable to appoint a guardian for your child through your own contacts, or you are reluctant to ask friends or relatives to take on such a responsibility, then you will be advised by the school to approach a good guardian organisation. There are various advantages of using a professional organisation:

• A wide choice of carefully selected families, giving you the opportunity to find the ideal guardian for your child and to change if your child is unhappy.
• The conducting of all the proper legal checks on every guardian and host family.
• A professional undertaking, with the responsibilities clearly stated and agreed.
• Full professional indemnity insurance to cover all their responsibilities, as is required of schools.
• Twenty-four-hour support – someone always at hand to provide support in any emergency or crisis, whether your child is in school or staying with a family.
• Long experience of dealing with schools and of caring for international students.
• An ability to adapt to your needs and offer flexibility through a number of options.
• Reliable communication with all parties concerned.
• The provision of an accurate estimate of your child’s expenses and a clear statement of costs.
• Access to additional services to cover all your needs as an overseas parent – visa extensions, passport renewal, travel itineraries and accommodation for parents, booking tickets, holiday revision or language courses, management of your child’s finances, arranging mobile phone accounts, etc.

White House Guardianships

We are delighted to introduce our Guardianship partner – White House Guardianships (WHG), an AEGIS accredited guardianship organisation started in 1992 by Duncan and Jane Hume and today run by their children, James, Peggotty & William.

WHG offers local guardianship support to students studying in British state and private schools. They have a network of 40 Local Guardians, so there is always a WHG presence close to every student ready to assist with transport, host family accommodation, daily support and emergencies. Across Great Britain, they have over 600 host families. Each host family is recruited by WHG to guarantee the QUALITY of accommodation. Host families can be used at any time of the year to provide a SAFE and comfortable place for students to stay. WHG undertakes checks which provide reports from Police records, Social Services Departments and
Child Protection registers on all host families, staff and taxi drivers.

From their Head Office in Bournemouth, they monitor students’ welfare, travel and host family arrangements. They also have a 24-hour 7-day emergency service for students, parents, schools and agents.

‘I would like to take this opportunity to leave on record our gratitude towards WHG. Their help has been invaluable: during these two years their first priority has always been the benefit and welfare of our child and we are very grateful for this.’ – Parent

Website: whitehouseguardians.co.uk/
Email: info@whg.eu.com
Telephone: +44 3 458 686 688