The presence of a guardian or curator is compulsory for all children under the age of 18 who are not residents of the country, reside in the UK without parents and are trained for more than 12 weeks.
This duty is governed by the "Children's Acts" of 1980 and 1989. Employees of private schools in England are not allowed to become formal guardians for foreign students, so parents of a young student should take care of this in advance - a UK resident aged 18 and over is required anywhere in the city (city, county) of England (It is not necessary to live in the same city as a child).
The guardian performs rather important functions and can conduct the required legal procedures in the territory of England :
- Represent the interests of children in medical centers and educational institutions, as well as in other public authorized English institutions;
- Defends the interests of children in the police and the court, in the immigration service (if necessary);
- If urgent medical intervention is necessary, which may affect the life and health of the child, it gives formal consent for the medical personnel (after contacting the parent and their consent or approval of the measures taken).
- Of course, every parent hopes that such emergency situations will not happen to the child during training, but it is worthwhile to carefully consider any possible risks, and the guardianship law is designed to minimize all kinds of unfavorable situations and consequences.
- Also, the official guardian can solve organizational issues - but do not interfere in the lives of children at the household level, do not influence upbringing and do not constantly monitor behavior and displacement. For example, if a student is not compelled to attend school (illness, hospitalization, school closure for holidays or public holidays), he is assisted in finding a place to live for a given period. If the student systematically violates the rules of the school, the punishment can be very severe, up to the deduction - it is not uncommon for a student to leave the school for a certain period. In such a situation, the trustee represents the interests of the parents and solves problems with his behavior or academic performance.
We reflect the remaining functions of the guardian:
- Controlling student finances, ensuring daily expenses, monitoring the payment of school bills orboarding house in England (it is not a question of granting a loan from personal funds, but only about the distribution of the amount given to the student by his parents)
- If necessary - organization of treatment and use of health insurance, selection of the necessary specialist and appointment, accompanying the child to the medical center and assistance in communicating with the doctor
- According to a separate agreement - providing a "hot" telephone line, where the child can apply at any time in case of problems and difficult situations (this leased line is used only for emergency cases, and not for solving domestic issues).
- One should not think that guardianship serves educational or control purposes-they are not governesses, teachers or educators, they are more representatives of the child's interests in the official institutions of Great Britain, and they are not obliged to solve all the smallest household issues, to monitor the daily behavior and movements of children , Educate their wards.
Most often this service is provided by special trusteeship agencies and companies. There is a fairly common scheme when your child is also assigned a special curator (his services are paid extra), which is responsible for interaction between parents, an English tutor (recommended by the selected school) and a child. Also, there is the opportunity to choose a native language-speaking guardian and to refuse the services of a curator - in principle, due to the variety of modern means of communication, parents should not interact independently. In addition, the native language-speaking guardian can choose a native language-speaking family for the child to stay - and this is additional comfort, because the child will find himself in more familiar conditions.
Very often pupils are warmly and happily recalling living in such families and in the case of a repeated trip to study they insist on the same people who gave them housing last time. Of course, parents have the right to choose their own guardian for their child for the duration of their studies, guided by their own considerations and personal sympathies. Nevertheless, it is always worthwhile to pay attention to recommended, tested citizens who will be able to fulfill all their duties conscientiously and with pleasure.
Smapse will be happy to help you with the selection of a guardian that best suits your individual needs. Our caretakers are in different parts of the UK and are very likely to be near your child's schooling site, which will make it easier for you and the time needed to perform the necessary services for you and the child.
More information about the list of of our services .
