Have you considered offering care and support to an international student at boarding school, during the occasional weekend and half term holiday?
Imagine if your child were attending a boarding school in Moldova and the reassurance you would gain from having a local family to support them and keep you regularly informed on how they are getting on.
This is an excellent opportunity:
- For your own children to make new friends and to learn about other countries and cultural understanding.
- To fill the ‘empty nest’ when your own children have perhaps gone off to university or left home.
- To become involved in the school life of a young person, supporting them through attendance at school matches, concerts, parents’ evenings.
- To build lasting friendships with international families overseas.
- To put your spare bedroom to good use.
Children
studying at UK boarding schools whose parents live overseas require a UK-based guardian
family, who live close to the school, to offer them accommodation at their
exeat weekends and half term holidays, as well as act as their ‘English family’
to be there in case of emergency, monitor their academic study, be the friendly
face at the airport that welcomes them back to the UK at the start of each term
and ensure they are well-settled and happy.
Guardian
families come in all shapes and sizes from large families, couples without
children or children who have flown the nest, retired couples to single mums.
All have a common interest in offering care and support to children and
teenagers from overseas. All you need is a little time and a spare room in your
home!
WHAT DOES THE ROLE ENTAIL?
The child
will be living in a boarding house at school during the term-time and will
return home to their parents during the long holidays at Christmas, Easter and
over the summer holiday.
The guardian family will be required to do the
following:
- Provide a bedroom within your home for the child at exeat weekends and half terms. Schools usually have one exeat weekend each side of half term, so during each term, this usually amounts to two weekends and a week during half term. Sometimes an overnight stay is required at the start or end of term, where flight times do not fit with school term dates.
- Acting as the key contact with the Houseparents and tutor, to make sure the child is making good progress at school, discuss and resolve any issues and to confirm arrangements when exeat weekends and half terms are approaching.
- Being there quickly if an emergency situation arises such as accident, illness, suspension or an incident which requires the school to close temporarily.
- Attending school parents’ evenings and reporting back to the parents or The Guardian Family Network staff team on progress.
- Attending school concerts and sports matches to offer support to the child. How much you do this is left to the guardian’s discretion and it depends on the individual talents and extra-curricular involvement of the child.
- Communicating successes and concerns to or The Guardian Family Network staff team or the child’s parents back home.
COMMUNICATION
Communication
and being well-organised is a vital element of acting as a guardian family. The
experienced staff team at the Guardian Family Network will be on hand to offer
you support and guidance should you have any worries or concerns while the
child is in your care. We can also assist you if there are any teething
problems while the child is settling in, or further down the line if things are
not as you expected.
You will
also be in regular communication with the Houseparents and tutor at the boarding
school, The Guardian Family Network staff team and the child’s parents or their
representative, if the parents do not speak English.
An ability
to respond promptly to email is vital and having access to Skype is a useful
way for the child to keep in touch with home.
GUARDIAN FAMILY EXPENSES
Although
this role is voluntary, expenses incurred in the care of the child are
reimbursed. These are to cover the costs of food, heating, electricity, fuel
and an allowance for both the commitment and responsibility and your time. The
table below gives an idea of what you will be entitled to claim.
|
GUARDIAN EXPENSES
|
|
|
Termly Retainer (responsibility
allowance)
|
£150
|
|
Stay per night
|
£35
|
|
Travel for school pickups and
entertainment
|
45p per mile
|
|
Per day without overnight stay for example
coming home for Sunday lunch
|
£15
|
|
Airport runs
|
Mileage plus £7.50 per hour
|
|
School events/parents’ evenings
|
Mileage plus £6.50 per hour
|
|
Holiday responsibility allowance for
taking student away for example to a holiday home or skiing. (In addition to
the trip cost)
|
£15 per day
|
|
|
|
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Does my house have to be large?
No, not at
all. Often the children live in small apartments in large city tower blocks so
even the most cosy UK home seems large to them! We just ask that the child is
able to have their own bedroom, so that they have a space to call their own
should they need a bit of quiet time. Boarding school life is so hectic and
they often sleep in shared dormitories, so having a bit of private space is
welcome at their guardian family.
What will the child expect to do
while staying with me?
The children
go to stay their guardian family so that they can experience being part of a British
family. As such, they should just join in with your usual family activities.
Their lives are so busy at school, often they just want to sleep in late, watch
TV, eat and relax. Cinema, take-away and shopping trips are popular with
teenagers. Younger children often like a bit more of your time and
entertainment. The trick is to welcome them as part of your family and for them
to just join in with your usual family life.
What do I do about insurance?
Guardian
families will be required to inform their home and car insurers that they are
taking on this voluntary role. This rarely gives rise to a problem or incurs a
charge, but it is important to have it noted on your policy.
Does it if matter if I have pets?
Animals are
a part of British family life so in most cases they enhance the experience for
the child in your care. Often the children have pets of their own back home. We
just ask you to tell us about your pets on the application form, incase we have
a child with allergies or a fear of animals, so we can be sensitive about this
when placing the child with the right guardian family.
Do I have to do airport pick-ups?
If at all
possible it is nice for the child to be welcomed back to the UK by a friendly
face at the start of a new term and to be waved off when they leave. If the
child is younger, they will travel unaccompanied minor, so the airline requires
proof of ID. However, airports are not for everyone and if the guardian family
is unable to do the airport runs, we can arrange for a driver to collect them.
Often the school will make arrangements for them to travel with friends to the
airport at the end of term.
For an informal discussion about becoming a guardian please call 01865 522066. More details can be found on our website
No comments:
Post a Comment