Every overseas child attending a UK boarding school requires a guardian. We appreciate that selecting a guardian for your child is a very important decision and we aim here to give you an insight as to what we at guardians etc. believe in and how we work. However, the best way for you really to know is for you to talk to parents of children for whom we are and have been guardians. We are very happy to arrange this: just let us know.
We only offer one level of service! We don’t believe in a tiered service level: every child deserves the best. We believe our service is very comprehensive and allows us to support all our students in all aspects of their life whilst they are under our care – we will do anything to support their wellbeing, whether it’s academic, pastoral, developmental or social. We build very close relationships with your child’s school – their house parents, heads of year, tutors and of course you as parents. The closer these relationships and the more interaction there is, the better we can support your child. We liaise with the school on all matters and we will keep you, as parents, fully up to date with everything, allowing you to choose if and when you wish to be more directly involved. All parents have different circumstances and constraints and we discuss with you at the outset how you would like to work with us.
We firmly believe that a child can only flourish when all aspects are being cared for and monitored – your child’s safety, happiness and academic progress are as important to us as they are to you. Our values are centred round making their life in the UK as trouble free and positive as possible – we can’t be their true family but what we do create is our own special “guardians etc. family” – something the children talk about a lot. It goes without saying that trustworthiness and attention to detail are critical to us as well as our understanding of a wide cultural spectrum. This enables us to assess the educational and pastoral needs of each child as an individual – something which we believe our experience and size of our guardianship agency allows us to do.
On occasions children need additional academic support whether it be short term for exams or on a longer term basis. We have access to a number of specialist tutors in many subjects and we regularly arrange this extra support during the holidays to give your child that added boost.
Parents say:
“Amanda was the guardian for our 15 years old son whilst he attended school in the UK. From my first telephone call with her we had a very warm, trustful relationship and my former prejudice to hand over the responsibility to a completely unknown guardian service agency were completely gone. Our son often told us that he believed in Amanda as his trouble shooter!
As a Mother I would highly recommend ‘guardians etc.‘ to any international parent, the kindness, support and nurturing shown to our son truly allowed him to thrive.”
“Guardianship with excellence, we would say.”
“Approach as a guardian is one of compassion and understanding as a mother, really kind and tender, but also have a no-nonsense approach to serious issues that require a straightforward solution.”
“I feel really safe that my daughter is being taken care of, a lot of attention to detail, from “finding that extra blouse, buying a huge Birthday cake to our daughter and bring it on the early morning on our behalf, and give our daughter a huge hug.”
Students say:
“Thank you for everything you do, you are like a 2nd Mother to me whilst here at school in the UK. Your belief in me and encouragement you have given me have been invaluable to my happiness.” – Year 9 student
“I love cooking at Amanda’s house, sometimes we make fairy cakes and sometimes we make muffins with sprinkles! I love practising in the music room at Amanda’s house, I can practise on her piano and play my violin and she helps me.” – Year 6 student
“I can always rely on Amanda to help me out when I am in trouble. Her hospitality made me feel at ease from the first day. She truly cared for my well-being and this led to forming a strong relationship that is beyond expectations.” – Year 10 student