There is currently no legal requirement for an international pupil to have a formal guardian appointed whilst studying in the UK. The selected school is the Tier 4 Visa sponsor and is therefore ultimately legally responsible for the child’s well being whilst he/she is in the UK.
However, no one really argues that Guardianship, when performed well, is of huge value to young international students and is about a lot more than knowing the whereabouts of a child when the school is closed.
As Caroline Nixon, General Secretary, British Association of Independent Schools with International Students points out; “It is so important that there is someone there for the child who is independent of the school. Additionally, it is hard to see how a school can comply with Visa requirements to be aware of the student’s whereabouts in the UK at all times unless there is a good guardian and it is astonishing that guardians are not presently required to conform to any regulations.”
One of the main challenges to address is what a Guardian should provide, and at what cost, to better ‘make the case’ for international parents to appoint a Guardian.
Certainly, the role of the Guardian needs to be introduced earlier into the parental decision making process, as it is an additional cost some parents have not factored in to their financial planning by the time an Agent or school asks them to appoint a Guardian.
Also, Guardians need to be more transparent in the calculation of fees and schools need to better support quality Guardianship companies, notably those accredited by AEGIS. (AEGIS, a registered charity, is the Association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students).
To read the whole published article, please do visit The PIE’s web site.
Also, please do visit the Guardianship page on our site.