Oxford Guardians delivers the highest level of guardianship to international students
“Oxford Guardians is a highly professional guardianship organisation. They are a caring company who have excellent systems in place to ensure that students receive the best of care whilst studying in the UK.” (AEGIS Report)
As the parent of an international student educated in the UK, you want to know that someone local will take the very best care of your child. Someone who will safeguard their welfare, make sure they are cared for, and provide the help and support they need in their education.
Oxford Guardians are Gold Standard education guardians. We work with international students studying at schools, colleges and universities in the UK, giving local support so that their parents can rest assured that their child is in good hands.
In this blog we will look at the inspection and accreditation system for education guardians, and explain why securing Gold Standard approval is so important to Oxford Guardians.
What is AEGIS
AEGIS is the Association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students, an independent body set up to provide a benchmark for education guardianship services. The word ‘aegis’ is identified with protection by a strong force, rooted in Greek mythology. AEGIS builds on this to demonstrate to parents the protection offered by education guardians who meet its demanding standards.
What is AEGIS Gold Standard Accreditation?
Gold Standard is the highest level of accreditation awarded by AEGIS. As Gold Standard education guardians, Oxford Guardians have shown that they meet the high standards expected of the very best education guardians.
Why did Oxford Guardians seek accreditation with AEGIS?
The accreditation process with AEGIS is demanding, requiring significant time and investment. Many education guardianship organisations do not bother to become accredited, because it is not a legal requirement.
However, at Oxford Guardians we wanted to prove to parents that we are excellent at what we do. By gaining Gold Standard accreditation with this independent body, we demonstrate that parents can trust us to be good at our job: safeguarding their child’s welfare when they are educated in the UK, away from home.
How does AEGIS accreditation work?
The inspection process for AEGIS accreditation is triggered by an application from the education guardianship organisation. AEGIS provides a rigorous set of Quality Standards to be met, and a Code of Practice. Education guardians must provide copies of all their relevant policies and procedures for review against these standards and the code.
During an accreditation inspection, questionnaires are sent to all overseas parents, homestays, students and schools. The inspector interviews a sample of school staff and students. A selection of homestays (host families) is also visited and vetted against a checklist of health and safety requirements.
The inspector then meets the education guardianship organisation, which must demonstrate its ability to meet the AEGIS Quality Standards. For Oxford Guardians, this was an intensive two-day meeting with our directors and central office management team.
Oxford Guardians’ AEGIS Report
Following our inspection, AEGIS provided a detailed inspection report praising the quality of our education guardianship and awarding us Gold Standard.
The Report covers a range of areas, including:
- Pre-arrival support
- Student induction
- Travel arrangements
- Homestays
- Safeguarding, Child Protection and Welfare
- Liaison with Partner Schools
Oxford Guardians met all the standards for achieving Gold Accreditation. We were also delighted to receive praise for our education guardianship in many areas! Here’s a small sample of the Inspector’s comments:
What Gold Standard accreditation means for parents
Oxford Guardians’ excellent accreditation provides reassurance to parents. Though you may be miles away, you know that your son or daughter’s welfare is constantly supported by an expert team.
As the Report confirms:
“Responses from students, parents, homestays, and schools were overwhelmingly positive… Importantly, all parents who responded to the AEGIS questionnaire stated that they would recommend the guardianship organisation to others.”
Gold Standard accreditation for our team and our host families
Our Gold Standard accreditation from AEGIS also allows us to recruit the best education guardians and support staff, because they want to be proud of working with one of the best education guardianship organisations.
Host families are reassured to be working with an organisation that has high quality processes and documentation in place, and offers wide-ranging support to ensure that the international students sharing their home are properly supported.
We make a difference to every child
Our AEGIS accreditation report concludes:
“Oxford Guardian’s aim is to make a difference to every child in their care. They explain that ‘our purpose is to look after our children and young people during their studies so they can make the most of their time here in the UK’. It is apparent that they are wholly successful in achieving their aims and objectives.”
We are proud to be gold standard education guardians. If you’d like to hear more about our education guardian services for international students studying in the UK, please contact the friendly team here at Oxford Guardians on 01604 859 331 or email [email protected].
