Choosing an educational guardian is as important as choosing a school
As a parent sending your child to be educated in the UK, you will give lots of thought to choosing the right school. You’ll look at statistics and accreditation to check that the school performs at the right level, then refine your choice based on other aspects such as their pastoral care and cultural values.
Caring for your child outside school
It’s the same with choosing the educational guardian who will be taking care of your child when they are not at school. You need to know exactly what service you are getting (for example, how many visits and meetings?). You need confidence in core areas such as safety, and emergency support. All this should be clear from the educational guardians’ website, especially if they have Gold Standard accreditation from a trusted authority like AEGIS.
But you’ll also want to know whether the organisation is a good fit for your particular family. Will they treat your child like an individual? Will they get to know them so that they can support them well and help them thrive?
We’ve put together some key questions that go beyond the basics, to help you find the best educational guardian for your child during their studies in the UK.
Will your child be treated as an individual
We know that every child, and every family, is different. When an educational guardian acts in place of parents like you who live abroad, they must ensure they provide the tailored care that you would have provided as a parent. This will help your student to get the most from their time in the UK. You might ask:
- Does the guardianship organisation provide a ‘one-size-fits’ all service, or do they personalise their care according to each family’s needs?
- Do local educational guardians each support just a few students, or is their time split between many?
- How often will the educational guardian actually meet your child during the year? Will it be enough to build a good relationship, so they are comfortable with each other and can share any issues?
Will the educational guardian support your child’s education?
A British education is at the heart of your ambition for your child. Good educational guardians can support their learning, and help solve any issues quickly. Your questions could include:
- Will the educational guardian stay in good contact with your child and the school, so that they can help address any issues, and celebrate successes?
- Will they help your child succeed in their British education by arranging extra help from the school, or extra (private) online lessons, if appropriate?
- Will the educational guardian encourage and reassure your student, help prepare individual revision plans, or suggest ways to improve their performance?
- Can the organisation provide native speakers if you or your child sometimes need help in understanding English?
How will the educational guardianship organisation help your child thrive?
Good educational guardianship organisations are ambitious to make a difference to every child, and care about more than simply education. They want international students to embrace cultural change, try new experiences and grow in confidence during their time in the UK.
If this is what you wish for your child, you might ask:
- Will the guardianship organisation support your child in enjoying new experiences whilst they are in the UK?
- Can the organisation offer help with arranging extras, such as work experience?
- Does the organisation as a whole work to help each student gain in confidence?
Getting the right answers
By finding the answers to these questions, you will learn whether you are happy to entrust your own child to the care of an educational guardian in the UK while they study for British qualifications.
At Oxford Guardians, we know that it can be hard for parents to remain abroad whilst their child studies in the UK. We want you to feel comfortable that we will do the best for your student, and will treat them as an individual. Please get in touch now if you have any questions for us – we’re here to help.
Contact the friendly team here at Oxford Guardians on +44 1604 859 331 or email [email protected].
