Day school hosting provides an alternative to the boarding school model –  one where integration and assimilation into British culture is at the forefront.   

 

International students who come to the UK for their studies will discover that integrating into British life and culture, as well as interacting with the local community and other students in their school, is essential to their education, playing a significant role in a student’s academic performance and engagement.  

 

Questions asked by international families, here at Gabbitas, confirms this narrative. These include: ‘How do schools help international students integrate better locally?’, ‘What actions do schools take if students are struggling socially?’ and ‘How do schools support students on weekends?’     

  

Day School Hosting   

 

Watch our interview with Will Croston, Director of the International Program and UCAS advisor at Norwich School, where we discuss the benefits of day school hosting for international students. We explore how this model has benefitted both international and domestic students, as well as the support process provided. 

Day school hosting provides an alternative to the boarding school model – one where integration and assimilation into British culture is at the forefront.   

 

Gabbitas, in collaboration with Norwich School, was the first British independent education consultancy to offer a day school for international students.

 

This has created new opportunities for international students to fully immerse themselves in the day-to-day activities that British families offer their children, providing them with a more authentic experience, immersing them in the English language and setting them up for life in the UK after they leave school.    

 

Since 2014, Gabbitas has helped hundreds of international students in qualifying for places at top British independent day schools, which would otherwise have been inaccessible to them.

 

Through a model that combines guardianship, host families and collaborations with schools, students receive well-rounded support in all aspects of their lives including academics, school life, as well as local and cultural integration.

 

These pioneering initiatives have given international students the ability to enjoy everything that a day school has to offer whilst being able go home to family life at the same time.   

Learn More

To learn more on Norwich School’s International Pupil Integration and Development initiatives, visit their website, or email Will Croston at wcroston@norwich-school.org.uk.   

 

If you’re interested or want to know more on having a guardian in the UK for boarding or day school entry, contact our guardians by emailing guardian@gabbitas.com or visit our guardianship page.

1. My daughter’s primary school has suggested she may fall into the ‘gifted and talented’ category. I’m a bit uncertain as to what this means, so would it be a good idea to get further advice and/or look for a school that has expertise in managing her academic and pastoral needs?

Answered by Anastasia Hatvany — Senior Schools Consultant and SEN Specialist

The Department of Education and Skills defines those supported by the national programme for gifted and talented education as those with abilities at a significantly higher level to their peers.

The word ‘gifted’, is usually associated with academic level, and ‘talented’ refers to other areas such as sport, drama, art or music.

At Gabbitas, we are often contacted by anxious parents who say, “my daughter came out of school in tears today as she was asked to put her hand down and give the other children a chance to answer in class.” It is any wonder that a bright child may become disengaged from classwork and start to either switch off or become disheartened.

Many primary schools have an excellent provision for G&T children, but parents may like to consider the private school option where class sizes are smaller and, as such, the academic pace is a little faster.

If finances are an issue — as they are for so many in the current climate — many private schools offer scholarships in different disciplines such as academic, music, the arts, and sport to pupils who are particularly gifted and talented. Furthermore, these scholarships can also be supplemented with a means tested bursary, with some schools offering extremely generous bursaries of up to 100% for a particularly talented young person.

Every school has a different procedure for scholarships — whether that be attaining the best marks at the academic assessment, an excellent reference from their current school and an impressive interview or more specific assessments for music, all-rounder or sport.

Applying for a scholarship is the easy part, applying for a bursary can take considerably longer — and not everyone will be successful — but if your child is happy and thriving at school, the hard work and form filling is a necessary evil.

It would be a good idea to seek further advice and explore the options available to ensure that your child achieves their potential. If you decide you would like more advice on finding a suitable school for your daughter to excel at, please do get in touch with us at info@gabbitas.com.

 

 

2. Our child’s self-assurance and academic motivation seem at a really low ebb after remote school. We are wondering if a tutor could give the support they need to help boost both learning approach and confidence. What are your thoughts?

Answered by Anastasia Hatvany– Senior Schools Consultant and SEN Specialist

In a report by The Lancet, June 2020 the opening paragraph states: ‘Adolescence (the stage between 10 and 24 years) is a period of life characterised by heightened sensitivity to social stimuli and the increased need for peer interaction.’

Is it any wonder that many teenagers and children have found distance learning extremely challenging? Schools have gone above and beyond to try and engage pupils with their learning and make lessons more accessible and enjoyable but, when much of the fun has been taken out of day to day living, sitting in front of a computer can be rather a dry experience.

Feeling isolated and lonely is horrible at any age but even more so as a teenager — and these feelings can be exacerbated when learning online is difficult. It is all too easy to fall behind in class and become demotivated — it becomes a vicious cycle.

We have suggested to many families during this difficult time to engage a tutor or a mentor. A tutor/mentor is the best of both worlds. The best tend to be young people, with energy, motivation, leadership qualities, teaching ability and an engaging personality. A good role model can have an extraordinary impact on a teenager’s confidence and wellbeing.

Tutors can help pupils revisit topics and talk through areas that they are unsure about, thereby increasing pupils’ confidence and ensuring they have full understanding of a subject, but also helping them enjoy learning once more.

Agencies like Gabbitas can help you find suitable tutors, please do get in touch with us if you’d like to hear more.

 

 

3. We’ve been put on watch that my job may require a spell overseas in about 12-18 months’ time. This would be a bad time to move our older son out of UK education. We don’t have a big family support network, so would guardianship be an option and how does this work?

Answered by Diana Gwynn — Guardianship Manager

Guardianship (to cover exeat weekends and sometimes half terms for boarders) is obviously a big decision. Schools will normally insist that a guardian be within a maximum journey time from the school of around two hours.

Obviously, many would choose family, but when they do not have any like yourselves, or feel the responsibility may be an unfair burden to place on family and friends, guardianship agencies (such as Gabbitas) are set up to fill that gap.

The agency itself is the ‘guardian’ and can give support and advice on a whole range of issues and act as a central point of contact between the school and parents. Agencies vet and recruit a network of host families to provide support and accommodation to students whose parents are based overseas.

The profile of these families varies from those whose own children have flown the nest to those who still have school aged children but perhaps want to broaden the family’s horizons. Good agencies visit all applicant host families and carry out vigorous checks and take up several references.

To ensure that you are happy with the regular host family for your child, you will usually be sent details of a couple of families for you to choose from and there may also be the chance to visit them and form a direct contact before you depart overseas.

As well as linking you up with a host family, the agency will assign a named consultant to your child who can provide ongoing support to you and your child throughout their time at school on a myriad of issues such as buying school uniform, setting up a bank account for pocket money and liaising with boarding and academic staff at the school.

Having an agency and a host family support your child also means that there is also always 24/7 cover in an emergency and a reserve host can be found too if necessary.

Bonds made between host families and students can last long after school life finishes!

If you’d like to find out more about how guardianship works, get in touch with us at guardian@gabbitas.com

 

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This article was originally published in the Spring 2021 edition of Absolutely Education

Also known as a Homestay, Day School Hosting enables international students over 16 to attend an independent day school and live with a host family in the local community. For the last six years Gabbitas has been at the forefront in providing this unique service for schools and international families.

Why would international students choose Day School Hosting over boarding?

Overall the total cost of the Homestay and day school fees work out much cheaper than the cost of an average boarding school. But there are many more benefits than just the financial cost. Living with a host family provides a cultural and linguistic immersion which far outweighs what a boarding house can offer.

Indeed, Day School Hosting is particularly popular with Chinese families, as evidenced by the Independent School Council’s 2019 Census which showed that 50% of international pupils who are day pupils come from China.

How does Day School Hosting help schools?

Day School Hosting helps schools tap into the international market, something they may have previously been unable to access easily due to lack of boarding facilities. Along with this, comes a financial benefit as naturally, more pupils result in more fees being paid to the school, enabling more investment in the school’s facilities and future.

This in turn makes the school more attractive to prospective parents, whilst also encouraging a more diverse school community.

An additional benefit is that schools rarely have to do much on their side for it to work smoothly and efficiently. Indeed, the schools merely need to help with applying for a Tier 4 Visa and supplying the students.

Agencies like Gabbitas then handle liaisons with host families and act as the link between parent, child, guardian, and school.

On the Homestay side there is no direct cost to the school – the contract is between the parents and agency.

 

If you would like to find out more about how Day School Hosting could work for your school, please contact us at guardian@gabbitas.com, call +44 (0) 203 026 7443, or download our brochure here.

To read some success stories, head to this article or follow this link to find out more about our other Guardianship services.

 

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This article by Diana Gwynn, Guardianship Manager at Gabbitas, first appeared in the January 2021 edition of Independent Education Today magazine.

Families with a spare room having had their children leave home for university or careers in a different part of the country often miss the vibrancy of having youngsters in their lives.

So too, families with children still at home who like the company of young people and would welcome an overseas student into their home to add to the dynamic of their family life. It is also a positive opportunity for families with one child who want to create sibling style experiences for their only child.

Hosting an overseas student attending a Day School can have many benefits not least the ability to learn about a different culture and to have that child’s experience impact on the lives of everyone in the family. Horizons are broadened and in many cases the relationship between the student and the family continues for many years after the student has left. Holidays in the former student’s country and continued connections go on for many years when firm friendships have been made.

Host families take an international student into their home during term time and that student lives with the family taking part in British family life for the duration of the academic year. They are expected to go home for the long holidays and for half terms unless otherwise agreed. The student can learn about British culture and to get involved with normal family activities from playing games together to going to the cinema or park for some relaxation. The student can also teach the family about their customs and way of life and can sometimes be found in the kitchen helping to prepare their traditional dishes. Students are expected to keep their rooms tidy and to play their part in helping with family chores such as washing up and laundry. Encouraging students to practice their English is also important!

The primary role of a host family is to offer a welcoming and supportive home environment for the student and to ensure they are treated in the same manner as other members of the family in terms of rules and expected behaviour. The hosts provide a safe environment for their student with a room offering space for them to study. The family will also play a role in liaising with the school on normal parental matters.

There is also the opportunity to have an international student, who is attending a boarding school, stay as part of the family on an occasional basis. Education Guardians provide accommodation for students, whose parents live overseas, during their occasional weekend ‘exeat’ breaks (usually 2 per term) and half term holidays if they are not flying home.

The motivation for doing this is primarily to get to know and support an international student with the chance to have a positive input into their lives and share your British home with them.

The Guardian agency will handle all the arrangements with the student’s family and will be responsible for ensuring the host family is fully security checked prior to agreeing to the arrangement. They will also act as a liaison with the host family and the school, to provide help where required and to deal with any issues arising. They will be in touch on a regular basis to ensure the both student and host family are happy with the arrangement. Families are reimbursed for the student’s accommodation together with any agreed additional costs.

Gabbitas has been involved in placing students into host families for over 100 years and so have much experience in this field. They provide Day School hosting and a full range of Guardianship services.

If you are interested in becoming a host family or guardian please contact danielle.flood@gabbitas.com. Gabbitas operate on a national basis throughout England and are happy to receive applications from all geographical areas.

Our team of highly skilled education consultants here at Gabbitas in London answer many questions of concern to parents about educational options for their children at state and independent schools. Here are just four examples. Don’t forget to contact us for free and impartial advice.

 

Q

How do we decide whether our child is best suited to a prep school that finishes at Year 6 or Year 8?

A

A well-chosen prep school will provide a solid foundation for a child’s academic career. It will play an enormous part in determining the options available to them when it comes to senior school and will prepare them for a smooth transition. If consideration for the prep school is intrinsically linked to the senior school, one must look at the intake ages at the desired senior school. Does the senior school provide entry at age 11, age 13, or both? This is vital not only so there is a smooth flow from prep to senior, but also to avoid a ‘small fish in big pond’ scenario whereby an unprepared 11 year old may be overwhelmed by the additional demands and expectations of their new environment.

If the child is assessed as being confident and ready, then a prep school with progression into a senior school at age 11 would make sense. If there is doubt, however, then a two-year gap can be a useful testing period.

There is never a ‘one-size fits all’ solution to choosing the best prep school for your child, and that’s what makes my work so interesting. From our experience, the best decision ultimately relies upon an unbiased (and unemotional) perspective on a child’s abilities and needs. Every family has a different set of circum­stances and its my job to understand them and advise objectively. Some parents are surprised to hear that their first choice prep school might not be the best place for their child to thrive and prosper, but with hindsight they are always grateful they took good advice.

Catherine Kelsey, Director of Elite Clients

Q

My daughter’s schoolfriend has told her that she is already being tutored for an entrance exam for our preferred senior school which they will sit in 2021. Is this over the top or are we falling behind?

A

First of all, don’t panic! It’s very easy as a parent to worry about what other families are doing but common sense will tell us that each individual child should be treated as just that. What we would suggest you do is take a look at your child and decide whether there are any areas that a private tutor could help you with. If the entrance exam is written by the school it will normally focus on verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, Maths and/or English. If the school uses the Common
Entrance, core subjects are Maths, English and Science. If your child is at a prep school, then the school should have already given your child some coaching. If your child attends a state school then it might be sensible to prepare your child.

In either case, use a good tutor agency who can provide an objective assessment test and a mock interview so you can understand where your child is now and recommend a plan of action. And although starting a year in advance seems excessive, it’s never too soon or too late to start: remember, preparation is everything!

Kirsty Reed, Lead Tutor Consultant

Q

There is a lot of talk about gender and diversity at our school gates, in the press and in general. How are schools changing to adapt to this new environment and how can we as parents help?

A

Whilst it is positive that increasingly young people feel comfortable identifying as who they wish to be (straight, homosexual, non-binary, trans, faith, no faith etc), with this comes a responsibility for schools and families to understand what this means for their young people.

Written by educators, educational specialists, consultants, diversity practitioners and parents, Inclusion Matters is the first resource of its kind to provide background information on English state and independent schools’ statutory obligations under the Equality Act 2010. It offers practical questions in an easy-to-use checklist format to help empower parents and carers to consider and discuss a school’s commitment to LGBT+ inclusion. More and more young people are rejecting the rigid boundaries that society puts on gender labels. Schools need to catch up in order to provide an environment that young people can thrive in. Encouragingly, steps are slowly being taken; last summer saw the first independent school participating in the Pride March in Brighton, a growing number of schools are embracing the need for inclusion training for staff, and more schools are providing non-gender specific uniforms. But there is still a long way to go.

The Inclusion Matters guide is available online at diversityrolemodels.org.

Helen Semple, Senior Consultant, Executive Team

Q

A family at my son’s school recently became the guardian family of a nine-year old girl from Thailand. I have a son the same age and am interested to find out more about what it involves, the rewards and how it could affect my son.

A

International students who study in the UK should have a UK-based Education Guardian appointed by their parents to represent their child and act on the parents’ behalf in the event of an emergency. Some families choose a family friend, but many families now appoint a professional Guardianship Agency to find, check, approve, support and monitor their Guardian Family.

Guardian Families come in all shapes but most importantly they will all be ‘caring families who like the idea of supporting an overseas student in the UK. Guardian Families also need to be homeowners and provide a room with some space for clothing and a desk for studying and they will be paid according to the amount of time a student stays with them.

Having a younger child should not be a concern as the agency you choose should work hard to ensure you have the right student to fit in with your family. So whether you would prefer a similar aged child so that they can grow up together, or an older child who can act as an elder sibling, it can work to suit you. It is a wonderful experience for UK families to participate in, and to know that you and your family have helped a young person to settle in and make the most out of their UK school experience is a rewarding achievement. Friends are made for life.

Danielle Flood, Student Support Services and Guardianship Manager

 

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This article from the education consultant team at Gabbitas, first appeared in the Spring 2020 edition of Absolutely Education

For close to 100 years Gabbitas has been helping families living overseas find a ‘home from home’ for their children who are studying in the UK. An important service for both international students and for UK families domiciled abroad. The range of Guardianship services has been expanded over the years and now embraces both ‘Full Support’ and ‘Stand-By’ Services for boarding school students offering fully vetted (DBS checked) guardian families who have considerable experience in looking after international students. Now there is a new service for students over the age of 16 pioneered by Gabbitas – Day School Hosting.

New support service for Norwich School

Some five years ago Gabbitas created a new support service for international students wanting to study at Norwich School. Working with the school and the parents of international students they found local families, familiar with the school, happy to take students into their homes during term times and provide them with a normal home life that would match that of local day students. A great benefit for the students who not only receive a well-rounded British education but also learn about life in the UK away from school. There was also an improvement in both language and cultural development for the students.

The chosen Host Families are paid for their services and not only have the opportunity of helping international students learn about life in the UK, they sometimes still have children of their own at home who also benefit from learning about another child’s culture and experiences.  For the school itself, it has had the added benefit of being able to attract more international students into classes where there is capacity; and removed the need to create additional boarding houses which is a costly option. The scheme has worked extremely well for Norwich School and currently there are 28 international students on this scheme.

Day hosting for Ipswich School

In Ipswich School, there was a problem in accepting more international students as their small boarding house was full, Gabbitas was able to solve this with supporting them with a day hosting option. Other schools seeking to adopt a similar scheme include The Maynard School in Devon and Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital School in Bristol.

The advantages of being able to attract international students is not only good for the school itself, in having classes filled and fees paid, but it also brings a new dimension to the students already at the school giving them access to a variety of cultures both in the classroom and in the wider community.

With the proven and continued success of the Day School Hosting programme, Gabbitas is now in the process of finalising a new Consultancy Programme aimed at helping other schools attract more international students.

More British educational opportunities for international students

Gabbitas is able to provide a tested blueprint for their Day School Hosting programme and help schools establish the scheme using local families linked to the school in question, plus assistance with finding co-ordinators who will be fully trained and vetted by Gabbitas . The new Consultancy Programme will provide training and support in setting up the scheme and is designed to work for Day Schools as well as Boarding Schools with limited capacity for more boarders!

Having the opportunity to enable overseas students to study at Day Schools raises the school’s profile as the addition of international students is seen to be hugely beneficial not only financially but also culturally in the development and growth of the school. Evidence suggests that having this scheme suits certain international cultures far more than the traditional boarding school route. According to the ISC Census 2019, 50% of all international day pupils come from China. Suggesting that living in a British home, rather than in a traditional boarding environment, is a popular choice for Chinese families.

The demand for Day School Hosting is in line with the increase in the number of international students studying in British Schools – in 1990 it was just 13% and in 2020 is expected to rise to over 40% of all boarders in ISC-member schools (source: ISC Census 1990 and 2019)

Gabbitas is at the forefront in providing this important and unique service for international student families. It has been providing its traditional Guardianship services almost since the company’s inception– it was the second new service following tutoring that the company adopted. There are now fewer ex-pat families and more international families for whom Gabbitas now provides its Guardianship services. A founding member of AEGIS (the association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students) Gabbitas has had all its processes and procedures inspected by the NSPCC.

Please see our family services page on school guardianship for more information.

 

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This article from Vanessa Miner, Managing Director of London-based education consultant, Gabbitas, first appeared in the Spring 2020 edition of Independent Insight

When a child from overseas under the age of 18 comes to study in the UK, schools require them to have a guardian that can provide support in lieu of their parents, and to have a safe and welcome home for them at exeat weekends, half terms and in an emergency.

Carefully selected school guardians

At Gabbitas, we’ve been providing a guardianship service for over 100 years and our service has become fine-tuned to the needs of our clients. We carefully select our guardians, using our contacts with former parents and staff at the top UK boarding schools. We recruit from community groups and our networks in specific geographic areas. All guardian families and any dependents over the age of 16 are DBS checked. Each home is visited by a member of the Gabbitas team to ensure that the standards are high and that it is a caring and supportive environment.

Life with our guardianship families

We interview prospective guardians and send families their full profile. We do our best to match each child with the right family, taking their tastes, interests and even sense of humour into account. Of course, a host family will never replace their own, but children have a break from their school’s boarding house and get to stay in a home, eat home-cooked food and, if they enjoy it, help with cooking or baking.Their host family takes them to the cinema, excursions or a picnic in the country. They go back to school having had a different experience, having learnt about the culture of families living in the UK.

Guardians to safeguard your children 24/7

At Gabbitas, we do everything we can to make their experience as vivid and enjoyable as possible, by choosing the right family and providing a range of other services. Whether a student missed their flight, forgot their passport at school and remembered half-way to the airport, had flu with fever and had to be taken out of school – our guardians are there to help 24/7. We have so much experience, we’ve seen it all, we are there to support.

Learn more about our guardianship services

For a discussion about the reassurance, support and home-from home experience we can provide your children while they are studying in the UK, please contact us at any of our offices.