why is my boarding school asking me to appoint a guardian?

Appointing a UK guardian remains an unfamiliar concept to many overseas parents sending their child to the UK for the first time and so, naturally, this can cause a lot of confusion.

A guardian can be either a responsible adult living in the UK that is known to a student's family or a professional guardianship organisation. Although they can act in loco parentis in emergency situations, they are not the child's legal guardian but a representative of the parents.

The majority of UK boarding schools now insist that all overseas students have a UK guardian. This helps them to meet their UKVI responsibilities and adhere to the guardianship standard that now exists within the National Minimum Standards for Boarding.

Guardians play a key role in supporting international students and their parents throughout the academic year. Although parents choose a UK education with the hope of helping their child to succeed, being separated by hundreds or even thousands of miles can be a dauting prospect. What happens if the child becomes ill or is suspended from school? A UK based guardian, living or operating close to a school can step in to support the student and help to keep the parents in the loop.

Guardians can provide assistance with airport transfers for arrivals and departures, homestay accommodation or residential programmes during the school holidays, liaise with a school on the parents' behalf and offer day to day assistance.

In recent years, the need for guardians to understand mental health has become necessary and parents choosing a guardian should ask if their guardianship company has staff who have had mental health training.

As part of being a Child Student visa sponsor, schools are responsible for their international students at all times, both during term time and also during the school holidays, if they remain in the UK. Although most schools close their boarding houses during the school holidays, they still need to report the the UKVI on a student movements. Schools rely on guardians to make holiday arrangements and to provide information on where a student will be staying for all students and not just those on Child Student visas.

Guardianship remains an unregulated industry in the UK. Any individual can set themselves up as a guardian and start looking after students. In an effort to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their international students, many schools are now recommending that parents look for a guardian that has been accredited by AEGIS (the Association for the education and Guardianship of International Students).

AEGIS has a robust inspection framework, which ensures that accredited organisations meet strict safeguarding criteria, including fully inspected host families, criminal record checks on staff and a safeguarding policy and mission statement. This provides peace of mind for both parents and schools. Bright World holds Gold standard accreditation.