host family meeting service - a guide

1. Parents should complete the Host Family Requirements form detailing when the host family is required for the year and any special but reasonable requests (such as no pets or location). This will be emailed to you when you enrol with Bright World by your Guardianship Care Manager if you have indicated on your application form that a host family is required and/or the school in question has compulsory exeat weekends.
   
2. Parents should settle full guardianship fees before we will make a host family selection and therefore will arrange any visits. We cannot give out any host family details, such as names and addresses, until our contract has been completed with parents and we have contacted the host family with specific dates and student details.
   
3. Parents should be aware that our policy is to have our Local Coordinator in attendance. This is so they can also meet parents and answer any questions parents may have. We make a nominal charge of £30 per hour for this plus mileage to and from the visit at 55p per mile. We expect the visit to last no more than one hour. The cost will be deducted from your son/daughter’s Bright World Disbursements Fund.
   
4. Most parents make their own way to and from the host family meeting. Bright World is happy to assist with taxis as an alternative. Local Coordinators are not expected or insured to transport parents on these occasions.
   
5. As arrangements take a lot of organising, we ask Parents and/or agents to complete a Host Family visit form, linked below, in order to tell us all we need to know to start organising the visit.
   
6. Last minute requests are accepted but due to the fact that we need to make sure all parties are available for visits we cannot guarantee that we will be able to make the arrangements to parents’ satisfaction and to fit in with their plans. A minimum of 2 weeks’ notice of a visit is much more manageable for us and this is what we would ask agents and parents to use as a guide.
   
7. We will do our best to secure all arrangements but we are reliant on all parties being available. Availability of host families can be difficult in school holiday times as they are often away themselves with their children. August is a particularly popular time for British families to be on holiday so it is less likely they will be available at this time. Local Coordinators for Bright World are also very busy in the first few weeks of September so again bear in mind their availability will be limited at peak times.
   
8. Cancellations by host families. From time to time, we have experienced a last minute cancellation from a host family for the arrangement due to matters outside their control (family illness/work commitments). More rare is our Local Coordinator cancelling for good reason. We apologise in advance for these occurrences, but please note that they are outside our control and unavoidable. We make all arrangements in good faith that all will go well.

This is rarely the case but should parents not think the host family is suitable, please ask them not to tell the host family, but to let either the Local Coordinator know in private or contact their Guardianship Care Manager who will make alternative arrangements.