Pupil guardianship with Gabbitas: everything you need to know

In anticipation of the imminent launch of our global schools guide, we’re looking at the benefits of coming over to the UK as an international student. We asked Diana Gwynn, guardianship manager at Gabbitas, to tell us all about the positive aspects a host family can add to that experience, in addition to the advantages from a pupil’s point of view – and if you’ve ever thought of becoming a host, how it can enhance your family life...

Tell us a bit about what Gabbitas does and the services you offer

Founded in 1873, Gabbitas is one of the oldest educational consultancies. As well as guardianship for international students, we provide school placements and higher education advice, tutoring, holiday courses, immersion and academic support programmes.

Guardianship was one of our earliest services and for close to 100 years we have been helping families鈥痩iving overseas鈥痜ind a鈥�‘home鈥痜rom home’鈥痜or their children who are studying鈥痠n the UK.鈥疶raditionally this has been guardianship for international students attending boarding schools, but in the past seven years we have also worked with some independent day schools to provide a day-school hosting service to accommodate international day students in local host families full time during the academic year.

We believe we offer the best of both worlds. Our small guardianship team with a named consultant for each student means that it is a very personal service. That consultant will have met all the host families in the area and will be well placed to decide the best fit for the child. This member of our team becomes the pupil’s educational guardian and is the central point of contact between the school (on pastoral and academic matters), the parents and the host family, to ensure total wraparound care. As a wider company we also have access to our other educational services which may be of help. The team in London includes speakers of Mandarin, Cantonese, Russian and most European languages and we are an international company with offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing and a Russian desk in London.

Talk us through a pupil’s experience if they’re coming to a UK school from overseas, and being looked after by a Gabbitas guardian?

A boarding school student under our care can expect to have the same host family for their exeat weekends and any half-terms they want to stay in the UK. We take responsibility for organising transport between school and the host family on these occasions as well as to and from the airport when pupils are flying home or returning to school. The student has their own room, with a desk and access to a bathroom (sometimes this may be ensuite). Hosts provide three meals a day, drinks and snacks and help with laundry over the longer stays.

Host families live all over the country in very different settings so offer students a range of experiences from feeding pet lambs, to watching a live performance of Cirque du Soleil and much more in between. Ultimately, house rules are what the host family is comfortable with – on the basis that ‘It’s your house, your rules’, but there is, of course, dialogue with parents too about what they think is appropriate.

Who are your host families, how do you recruit them and what checks do you do on them?

We advertise for host families on our website. For our day-school hosting, we also advertise through the schools we partner with as the parent body is very much the best place to start to find local host families that know the school and can provide the best support to the student. Word of mouth is also important. Friends of host families see that it is a positive experience and then apply for themselves. All of our host families have to complete a lengthy form and then are visited by a member of our team or a representative to look around their home and talk to them about the role and their motivations. Every adult over 16 in the household needs to be DBS checked and we also take up two references for the principal host.

If I’m interested in becoming a Gabbitas host, what factors do I need to consider? What are the benefits and responsibilities?

We have host families with many different profiles. Some still have their own school-aged children, others are ‘older empty nesters’ with time on their hands. Some are married, some are single. The motivation for doing this is primarily to get to know and support a foreign student with the chance to have a positive input into their lives and share your British home with them. This may involve attending parents’ evenings and perhaps watching sports matches or school productions and, of course if the child is interested, showing them local places of interest.

Many of our hosts have kept in touch with their students and families long after they have left school and have enjoyed holidays visiting them in their home countries. You do have to be over 25 and we will carry out a DBS check on you and any over-16s in your home and check references. In compensation, you can claim £40 expenses per day or part of a day (£50 in Greater London) that you host a student. You can also be reimbursed for your travel costs and time if you want to collect them from school or the airport.

How do you choose a host family for my child? Do I get a choice of families?

We pride ourselves in making good matches between students and host families and if we have a number of suitable families in the area, we offer parents a choice. There are always lots of variables to balance, though – taking into account the best family in terms of pets (or no pets), musical instruments, the structure of the household that will fit best with the student and the amount of ‘entertaining’ a child will want. Some studious teenagers want to be left alone to study undisturbed, others want to be taken on outings and socialise a lot with the host family. Despite all this, sometimes (although rarely) it does not work out. We say in any case that the first visit is a trial on both sides and we are always happy to move someone to another family.

And finally… what can you tell us about students’ experience of living with a host family?

Our students’ experiences are overwhelmingly positive. One child attending Norwich School as a day pupil recently told us ‘I’m so lucky to live with such a lovely family. They’re really friendly and thoughtful, and it’s joyful to participate in some activities with the family, such as playing Monopoly or having an excursion. I’ve experienced the daily life of local family and local traditions deeply, which wouldn’t appear in my life if I chose to be in a boarding school.’

Many instantly become part of the family, with one host commenting 'Hosting N has been a pleasure! N is like a big sister to our young boys; she has fitted in with our family perfectly. She is a lovely young lady and we enjoy having her stay with us!', while others make friends for life: one father told his daughter’s host family of his delight that ‘Eri has found a good friend in your daughter’.

Gabbitas are always interested in hearing from those who think they would like to be a host family – particularly those living in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Bristol, Exeter and west and north-west London. More details can be found on Gabbitas’ , or alternatively you can get in touch with the team by emailing guardian@gabbitas.com.

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Pupil guardianship with Gabbitas: everything you need to know

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