We are delighted to let you know that we have been approved for AEGIS Gold Standard Accreditation. This is the most prestigious accolade that a guardianship organisation can hold and signifies the highest standards of safeguarding and care in the guardianship of international students.
In this blog article we are detailing our plans for the safe return to school for our international boarding school pupils.
Firstly, we are very pleased to announce that both of our guardianship pupils who contracted Co-vid19 whilst travelling home are now out of hospital. They have both recovered and are now spending time with their families and catching-up with their on-line lessons.
September 2020
We are currently preparing to welcome our Guardianship pupils back to the UK in September and we are working collaboratively with our schools and vetted drivers to ensure that we taking every possible action to safeguard our pupils when they return to school.
I wanted to give you a quick up-date on our progress and the current guidance that we have received from our government.
Quarantining on arrival
The government has announced that people entering the UK from overseas will need to quarantine for a period of 14 days upon arrival in the UK. Travellers arriving from Northern Ireland and France will be exempt. At the moment we do not know when this will start or how long this will be in place for and we await further guidance.
It is likely that pupils arriving in August or September will need to be quarantined and we are currently working with our schools to formulate a plan for our pupils. The majority of the schools we are in partnership with plan to open the boarding houses 14-days before the start of term. We would much prefer our pupils to be quarantined at school, in a familiar environment, where we know they will be safe and secure, rather than a quarantine centre arranged by LLE. It will not be possible for pupils to be quarantined with their host family at this stage.
Masks and face coverings
We would recommend that pupils wear a mask whilst they travel to the UK and bring a supply of masks with them. We would also encourage pupils to wear a mask or face covering whilst attending school. Please let us know if you child feels uncomfortable about wearing masks or has any concerns about returning to school and we will be happy to discuss this further with you.
Airport Transfers
We have been working with our vetted drivers to carry out Risk Assessments to ensure the safety of your child whilst they are travelling. We have ensured the following..
- All drivers and pupils will wear a mask/face covering.
- Drivers will sanitise doors, door handles and seats using disinfectant spray after each journey.
- All drivers will wear gloves when handling pupils luggage.
- Drivers will carry hand sanitiser and both pupil and driver will sanitise their hands before entering the vehicle.
- Pupils will be asked to sit in the back of the vehicle behind the passenger seat
- A window will always be kept open. To maintain a flow of fresh air into the vehicle.
- Pupils and drivers should carry their own tissues in-case they cough or sneeze and dispose of them at the nearest service station if required.
Testing for Covid-19
We are awaiting further information upon the availability of testing for our pupils upon arrival in the UK and also for our host families before pupils arrive for the first Exeat weekend, as soon as we receive further guidance then we will keep you up-dated.
Host Families
We will be working with our host families and carrying out on-going Risk Assessments and screening questionnaires to ensure that neither pupils nor the host family are put at risk. For Exeat weekends and half-term holidays, we will operate a one student per family policy and we will need to ensure that each student has access to their own bathroom facilities. If a student or host family member develops Covid-19 symptoms during the pupil's stay, then the family and pupil will need to self-isolate for a period of 14 days at the family’s home as per government guidelines. If the pupils develop symptoms at school then as per current government guidelines they will need to be isolated at school.
Our Guardianship Services
Please see a brief overview here. If you would like any further information, please get in touch.
