International Education > Young Students Guardianship
ONE-STOP SERVICE FOR GUARDIANSHIP
Young Students Guardianship
INTRODUCTION
What Is A Guardian Studying In The UK
MM Education provides one-to-one guardianship services tailored for each child. Advanced, standard, basic and emergency guardianship services are available for you to choose flexibly. Our guardians think about you, worry about your concerns, and respond to more than 60 cities in the UK at any time. Our services are certified by AEGIS, professional, reliable and deeply trusted.
From your child’s perspective, a guardian will play many different roles. They will be a familiar voice at the end of a phone, and a familiar face when there is a problem. They will be someone who can listen, help and support at all times.
Your child’s guardian will quickly seem like any other family friend: someone who would do anything to help when their parents were away. Your child will know their guardian to be that person who can help fix those little problems which sometimes arise out of misunderstandings, or from cultural differences between home and the UK.
Your child will also feel comfortable going to them with their questions and concerns about school, work, house issues and everything else that goes through a child’s mind when they are far from home.
UNDER THE AGE OF 18
Why International Students Need A Guardianship Service
From a UK Home Office perspective, it is important that suitable care is provided for children under the age of 18 at all times when they are in the UK, and not just when they are in the care of their school.
It is important for us at MM Education that we go above and beyond the official requirements. We know that a guardian will help your child settle into their school routine and give you peace of mind that your child is safe and being well cared for.
We know through experience that even the best behaved children occasionally get into situations where prompt involvement of a responsible adult is required.
Missed plane connections, lost passports, health issues, conflicts at school and urgently required travel visas – these are just some of the situations we come across in our daily work.
SAFETY AND WELL-BEING
Accredited Guardianship Services For International Students
Some parents’ first instinct may be to appoint their friends, acquaintances and relatives as guardians in the UK. Whilst it is certain they will care deeply about your child, they may not always have sufficient knowledge of the British educational system and safeguarding, know how schools work and how best to communicate with them. If this friend gets ill or needs to go away on business or holiday, the child will be left with nowhere to go if he needs to leave the school in case of emergency.
At MM Education we strongly believe that it is essential for the safety and well-being of your child that all students whose families live overseas have an officially appointed guardian resident in the UK with both the compassion to care for children’s well-being, and the knowledge to handle education-related matters.
From our own experience of living in the UK, we appreciate that moving to a foreign country and changing schools can be a challenging and a potentially difficult experience for children.
We have over ten years of experience in helping children settle into their new life in the UK. We are flexible and accommodating, always on hand to answer any questions and manage any issues that may arise and ensure that problems are resolved as quickly as possible.
MM EDUCATION
Our Guardianship Service Packages
Our guardianship service provides total care package for your child from the first day of their stay in the UK and for the duration of their study period based on your needs:
Premium Guardianship Service (School Care Premium)
The School Care Premium Guardianship package is a bespoke service designed to meet the requirements of overseas pupils boarding in the UK. The most comprehensive of our guardianship packages, Premium Guardianship entitles parents to year-round academic and pastoral support for their child, as well as a wide range of additional services, including a permanent telephone/internet connection with their designated guardian, translation services and up to three school visits per year.
Standard Guardianship Service (School Care)
The School Care Guardianship package is specifically designed for overseas pupils boarding in the UK who are not yet fully independent and require support throughout the year, and whose parents have a good understanding of English. The School Care Guardianship entitles parents to year-round academic and pastoral support for their child, as well as a wide range of additional services, including a permanent telephone/internet connection with their designated guardian and one school visit per year to attend a Parent Meeting.
Basic Guardianship package (School Care Limited)
The School Care Limited Guardianship package is specifically designed for overseas pupils boarding in the UK who are fully independent and whose parents have a good English. The most cost-effective of our guardianship packages, School Care Limited Guardianship entitles parents to year-round emergency support for their child, as well as accommodation and transport arrangements when necessary.
WHAT WE DO
What Is The Role Of A Guardian
Perhaps in the eyes of some parents, guardians will only help in emergencies; other parents think that guardians are just a formality. But in fact the role of a guardian is much greater than that. The role of a guardian includes:
1. Promote communication between parents and schools and help children secure school resources
British schools use English to communicate with parents, and written documents such as report cards and teacher comments are not exclusively written in Chinese. Add to this the eight-hour time difference, international long distances and other issues, and communication between schools and parents will face many difficulties. Guardians who are fluent in English can help parents communicate with the school and become a bridge between parents, schools and students. Although small class sizes are prevalent in the UK, it is difficult for schools to take care of every student, and sometimes they inevitably favor local students. With a guardian, you can help your child fight for their rights, such as changing classes and arranging a change of dormitory. In addition, the school holds 1-3 parent-teacher conferences every year. If parents are unable to attend, they can entrust their guardians to attend, ask questions and requests on their behalf, and provide feedback to parents on the teacher’s opinions.
2. Take care of children’s lives and guide their growth
The UK's education, climate, water and soil, lifestyle, interpersonal interactions, etc. are all very different from those in China. Even many graduate students in their twenties need a year and a half to adapt. In addition, young international students are still in adolescence and are not familiar with worldly affairs. They can easily feel lonely and homesick when they are alone outside, which makes them unable to concentrate on their studies. They may even make bad friends and develop bad habits.
Therefore, it is part of the guardian's responsibility to take care of the lives of young international students and help them handle police station registration, stationery purchase and other matters like parents. At the same time, guardians should also help children actively integrate into the new environment, regulate their psychological emotions, and cultivate correct values.
3. Pay attention to the child’s health condition and make appropriate arrangements for medical treatment
The bodies of young international students are still growing, and the British climate is cold, windy and rainy, which can easily make children with weak constitutions feel uncomfortable. Children at this stage don’t quite know how to take care of themselves. Therefore, it is another responsibility of the guardian to pay close attention to the child's physical condition and make a timely appointment with a GP (doctor) or private doctor for the child. The UK's NHS universal health insurance system basically provides free medical care, but the medical treatment process is complicated and time-consuming. If you don't know how to see a doctor, it's normal to have to wait in line for two or three weeks if you have strep throat. Therefore, it is very necessary to have a guardian who understands British medical care and has medical experience.
4. Reasonably arrange a total of 4 months of vacation per year
There are many holidays in the UK, which can take up one-third of the whole year, including half-term holidays, Easter, summer vacation, Christmas, and Exeat (that is, dormitories have weekend holidays and students must leave school) up to 6 times a year. Except for winter and summer vacations, other holidays are neither long nor short. Children may not have time to go home, and parents may not be able to fly to the UK. So what should children do during their holidays? At this time, the guardian can arrange for the child to live with a host family. Homestays are often local British families, which is an excellent opportunity to learn English and a window to integrate into British culture. In addition, guardians can also find tutors for their children, assist their children in arranging travel transportation, accommodation and meals, and ensure their safety, or participate in volunteer, internship, scientific research and other activities to enrich their holiday life. When returning to China during the winter and summer vacations, the guardians mainly help the children select suitable air tickets, arrange transportation, and are always ready to deal with various problems during the journey.
It can be said that teachers are “parents at school” and guardians are “parents outside school”.
5. 24-hour emergency contact
Guardians are on call 24 hours a day to handle emergencies, such as sudden illness, traffic accidents, property damage, international flight delays, and campus situations, such as school violence, suspension, and dismissal. Professional guardians do not strictly have off-duty hours, their phones are always on, and they are located at most three hours' drive from the school. However, their role is still very important. After all, parents are far away from home. Who doesn’t want someone to come to their children as soon as possible to help them get out of trouble?
