Guardianship & AEGIS

A major concern for parents sending a child abroad to study is that they will not be present to care for them. It is therefore necessary to find a suitable alternative; this may be as easy as putting them into the care of a local relative, or it may take longer to find a suitable guardian, or 'homestay' family.

ISC schools require an international student to have a UK based guardian, for care on 'exeats' (weekends out of school) and any holiday breaks for which the student may not be able to travel home.

There are many guardian families, of various ages, with or without children, in the country or in the city. It is often possible to put forward a request for certain criteria to met - perhaps the number or age of other children in the family or the religion of the family - so that a child is as happy as possible for the time they need to be with a homestay family. The guardian parents are usually very close to the school and are therefore available to attend school functions, parents' evenings and generally support the pupil's performance.

Guardianship can, however, be difficult for parents living outside the UK to organise, so there are several organisations that can help. Most importantly, AEGIS is the Association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students. It brings together schools and guardianship organisations to promote the welfare of international students.

AEGIS was founded in 1994 by several leading boarding schools and guardianship organizations and now includes 68 UK boarding schools and 12 Guardianship Organisations. It inspects and accredits guardianship organisations in the UK in accordance with a strict Code of Practice and current child care legislation and also provides a forum for sharing best practice and up-to-date information through regular workshops and conferences.

The designated contact is Janet Bowman, who can be reached in the following ways:

Janet Bowman
Secretary
AEGIS
66 Humphreys Close
Randwick
Stroud
GL5 4NY