What is a Guardian?
Day or Boarding schools require all international students to have a Guardian aged over 25 who is a resident in the UK and AEGIS accredited. Whilst schools are responsible for your child’s welfare during the school term, there are many times, such as exeats, half terms, holidays or when your child is sick, when the responsibility falls to the Educational Guardian to take care of your child.
In studying abroad, your child is embarking on the educational adventure of a lifetime. A guardian acts as the safety net. A guardian ensures that your child gains all the benefits and opportunities of adventure, independence, confidence, and new experiences, without the accompanying risk.
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A guardian gives you peace of mind, some say we are their British Mum! There to answer any questions and support them with day-to-day life and needs.
Helen Herridge | Company Director
HOW WE WILL SUPPORT YOU
Whilst UK Guardians is caring for your child, we are responsible for the following:
Childs Wellbeing
Your child’s Guardian Angel will regularly visit your child in their boarding school to provide ongoing communication back to you, the parent. Your Area Guardian Angel will take a genuine interest in the wellbeing of your child and these regular visits reflects the personal service we pride ourselves on. (Chinese speaker on request)
Host Family
Appoint a friendly, welcoming and fully inspected host family, which is close to your child’s school. The host family provides a home for your child during all weekend breaks, half terms and holidays (as needed), according to your child’s requirements. (Chinese host family on request)
Travel Arrangements
Greet your child upon their arrival into the UK, and make all personal travel arrangements for weekend breaks, half terms and holidays with one of our designated drivers if requested.
24 Hour Support
In the event of a crisis, the UK Guardians team will support your child by providing advice and assistance. Guardian Angels are on call 24 hours every day to help you and your child with any difficulties or problems that may arise
Future Schools
Advise and assist you regarding placements with future schools including handling the applications for you. They will also organise suitable English Language and revision courses for the holidays when needed.
Personal Development and Medical Support
Provide genuine care and take an interest in your child’s progress at school both academically and in their personal development as they grow into adults. Provide support, help and advice on medical issues and counselling.
View Schools and Applications
Arrange visits to schools or universities for interviews. Assist you with Visa applications and Police Registrations if required.
School Uniform
Support with purchasing your child’s school uniform and keeping up to date with any increase in sizes due to growth.
Academic Progress
Represent both you as parents and your child’s needs through good communication with your child’s school and host families. Support your child’s academic progress and attend parent/teacher meetings when required and feedback to you a full report.
Expenses, Bank Accounts and UK Mobile SIM
Organise the purchase of UK mobile SIM cards. Manage your child’s pocket money and expenses. Assist with opening UK bank accounts
Our services
We understand how important it is to find the best partner to support your family during your child’s time at school and we believe our quality service will ensure your child is safe, happy and successful.
We provide a range of services aimed at ensuring your child has all the support he or she requires. In consultation with you, we will tailor a suitable programme depending on the level of service you choose.
UK Guardians offers a high-quality guardianship programme at over 400 UK boarding schools, colleges and universities across the UK in most schools and regions (except Ireland). In each area we have a Local Coordinator and an excellent network of established host families and drivers to take care of our students.
Application Process
Follow our step by step guide or apply now »
STEP 1: CONTACT
Make contact with UK Guardians [email protected] our Admissions team will respond. We understand that this is a very important decision to make and that you will have lots of questions. This first stage takes as long as you need to be certain that UK Guardians is the right Guardianship service for your family.
STEP 2: REGISTRATION FORM
When you have decided that you would like to use UK Guardian, the next stage is to complete a registration form giving us important information about your child and confirming that you agree with our terms & conditions.
STEP 4: AREA GUARDIAN ANGEL INTRODUCTIONS
Once we have received the agreement, we will introduce you to your allocated Guardian Angel.
STEP 3: VIDEO CHAT
We will schedule a video chat to meet you and your child to ensure we know you better so we can provide the best service to suit your needs.
STEP 5: CONFIRM GUARDIANSHIP WITH SCHOOL
At this point you will need to confirm with the school that you have appointed UK Guardians. If we don’t already have close links with the School, we will introduce ourselves to the School at this stage too.
STEP 6: APPOINT HOST FAMILY
Next, we will match your child with one of our host families close to the school and send you information about the family for your approval. We can also arrange an online meeting for you, so you feel comfortable with your allocated host.
STEP 8: PREPARATIONS
We will make all the necessary arrangements for all family members coming to the UK, co-ordinating travel, and accommodation as well as uniform purchase and anything else we can help you with before arrival.
STEP 7: SHARE HANDBOOKS
We will share with you our informative parent and student handbooks to help you with all you need to know before arrival in the UK
Packages & Pricing
UK Guardians offer a single all-encompassing guardianship for all its students. UK Guardians students all benefit from a comprehensive range of care, support with an emergency 24/7 contact number answered by trained professionals.
Guardianship fees 2024/2025
£995.00
per term (inc VAT) *
Inclusions listed below
First airport pick up and transfer by a member of the UK Guardians team.
24/7 emergency assistance for cancelled flights, school suspension, illness, or injury.
Your own allocated Guardian Angel manager available to you at UKG head office.
Liaising on your behalf with school regarding exeats and holiday arrangements.
Allocation and placement into your chosen fully risk assessed and inspected host family.
Twice yearly Guardian Angel visit with report on academics and personal development.
Enhanced DBS checks, annual inspections, screening of host families and drivers.
Help to source school uniforms.
Help opening a UK bank account and managing pocket money/allowances.
Placement onto one of UKG’s holiday or revision programmes during school breaks.
Arrangement of flight, train, taxi or UKG driver transfers.
Support with medical appointments with accompaniment if required.
Regular communication from the school – interpretation to parents in spoken language.
Regular check-ins with boarding staff.
Regular contact with parents.
You are one of the UK Guardians Family
Additional Charges
If Needed **
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Host family accommodation £50.00
Daily average cost. Please enquire for specific rate.
-
Host family mileage for collection and drop off £00.65
Per mile
-
Additional Parents Evening or school visit £80.00
Plus mileage
-
Extra visits to school or host family on request £25.00
Per Hour. Plus Mileage. (EG: to attend a bank to help open an account, school tutor meetings, medical appointments.)
-
Out of hours emergency attendance £45.00
Per hour plus travel. EG: At hospital, school or host family by UKG Representative between the hours of 9pm-9am.
-
Travel and airport transfers within the UK POA
Organisation of safe and efficient transfers
-
Emergency removals for serious illness £80.00
Plus emergency accommodation fee (including Mental Health issues)
-
Transport provided by UKG with UKG driver £1.50
Per mile
-
Taxi Fee At Cost
Charge for arrangement of £5 to UKG
-
Angel accompaniment service £25.00
Per hour
*For students who are looking for short term guardship to cover at the start of university if under 18 or a student in an emergency situation who needs help please contact us and we can tailor as package for you [email protected]
**UK Guardians recommend a £500 expenses deposit, which is held by UK Guardians for students to pay for additional expenses such as books, uniforms, school visits, transport, host families etc. The remainder money is refundable at the end of study.
If you require a Guardianship package that provides additional support, please contact us we can tailor a package for you. [email protected]
Frequently Asked Questions
Guardians
What is a guardian?
A guardian is the legal educational guardian for your child whilst studying in the UK. This can be a company or an adult over the age of 25 that has residency in the UK.
Do I need a guardian in the UK?
It is not a legal requirement to have a guardian. However, it is a requirement for Child Student visa application process and many boarding schools require an accredited guardian as part of their application process.
Who will meet my child at the airport?
On your child’s first arrival they will be met by a member of the UK Guardians team or a UKG driver and transferred to school or host family.
Do you find host families for students?
All students that are on a UK Guardians programme are allocated a carefully inspected host family that helps to support every child during their time in the UK
What is the price of a UK Guardians guardianship?
Our guardianship fee is £995 per term and provides a comprehensive service. More details can be found in the price and packages section of this website.
Do you offer additional services?
Yes, we do, and this can be found in the price and packages section of this website. If you require a service that is not advertised, we are happy to discuss your needs.
Will UK Guardians be my child’s legal guardian?
UK Guardians will only act as an educational guardian a legal guardian is appointed by a court of law. UK Guardians will act on a parent’s behalf whilst their child studies in the UK.
How do I know I can trust a guardianship company?
Currently there is no legislation in the UK for the guardianship, protection, and safety of international students studying in the UK. Parents should be aware of lower priced guardianship providers offering accommodation over holidays and EXEATS. If you don’t choose UK Guardians to look after your child, please select an AEGIS Gold Standard accredited or BSA accredited guardian. Your child’s safety and welfare is our priority.
Are UK Guardians accredited?
Yes, UK Guardians are accredited by AEGIS to the highest level of Gold Standard. AEGIS inspects all its guardianship under very rigorous standards and inspects guardians every 4 years to ensure standards are maintained. UK Guardians are also accredited by the BSA The Boarding Schools Association and by the British Council for the Teaching of English in the UK.
How far will my host family be from my school?
We have host families all around the UK and we do our best to match you with the best host family to suit your needs. Some host families can be as close 15 – 30 mins from school.