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Guardianship > Guardianship services for international students > Our guardian families
Our Guardian families
A guardianship familiy.Our Guardian families come in all varieties. Some have children at school; others may have grown-up children. Often they have lived abroad themselves and understand what it is like to be a visitor in a strange new country where customs and day-to-day life may be unfamiliar. In all cases we look for loving, responsible families who are committed to the welfare of our students and who appreciate the opportunity to welcome an overseas student into their homes.

What do guardian families do?We choose our families very carefully and are extremely fortunate in receiving many recommendations from our current families who promote the Guardian Family role to their family and friends. We also carry out extensive market research throughout the UK to ensure that the publications that we use to aid us in recruitment are aimed at the most suitable target audience when bringing new families on board. Some of our families have houses in towns or cities; others live in more rural locations. The houses themselves vary a great deal in size and design, from the very new to period properties that are over 100 years old. We ensure that the accommodation provided has a warm and comfortable environment in which students can relax or study during their stay.

 

To contact us regarding your child's guardianship needs, click here.

 

To apply to become a Gabbitas guardian family, click here.

 

Where do they live?The level of involvement that our families have is very much dependent on the level of service that parents opt for. For those on our lower service (Sapphire) the family will provide accommodation and food at weekends (exeats) and half terms as required. For students on our higher levels of service (Diamond and Gold) the family will:
  • Provide a home at weekends away from school (exeats) and half term holidays and communicate with the school and with Gabbitas over these arrangements
  • Involve the student in family activities
  • Liaise with Gabbitas and the school over matters of welfare and academic progress
  • Attend school functions e.g. parents’ evenings, (Diamond and Gold) concerts and speech days (Diamond only)
  • Liaise with the school over special arrangements for shopping, medical treatment etc.

 

To contact us regarding your child's guardianship needs, click here.

 

To apply to become a Gabbitas guardian family, click here.

 

How do we match a family to a student?We ask parents to tell us as much as possible about their child’s interests, personality and preferences so that we can look for a family with whom they will settle in quickly.

 

We visit all prospective guardians in their home environment so that we can experience first hand the type of family they are e.g. sporty, artistic; this enables us to make informed decisions as to what type of student would fit into their family home.  We complete a detailed report on family members, the home and the local area, take up two professional references and carry out enhanced CRB checks on the family's background before deciding whether or not to accept them for Guardianship.

  

When we have found a family that we feel suits a student we send the report to parents for approval.  Once they are happy with our recommendation we arrange a "taster" weekend with the family, and if all goes over the weekend we confirm the arrangements with parents, the family and the school.  We have a very high success rate in making the right match of student to family, and the relationships that they build often last through the whole of their time at school and beyond this to university.

 

To contact us regarding your child's guardianship needs, click here.

 

To apply to become a Gabbitas guardian family, click here.