Of Rydal Penrhos boarders
In line with Home Office legislation, Rydal Penrhos, in promoting and safeguarding the welfare of every pupil, requires parents who do not live in the United Kingdom to appoint a UK based guardian to act on their behalf. This applies to all pupils in the school irrespective of age and their normal place of residence.
In practice, however, pupils from Europe often do not require a nominated Guardian but one can be appointed if the need arises. Pupils who normally return home for ALL school holidays, including half term breaks will not require a guardian. In the case of suspension from school or any other unforeseen emergency, there will be a school guardian available at short notice. This will be at an extra cost.
During term-time, the school is legally responsible for all pupils’ welfare and accepts responsibility on behalf of the parents. However, there are times such as the beginning and end of term, half-term breaks or if a child is suspended or expelled by the school, when the school must be able to hand over these parental responsibilities to another adult, sometimes at short notice.
An appropriate guardian must be resident in the UK. They may be a family member or relative, or a family friend over 25 years of age who is not a full-time student. If parents do not have such a contact in the UK, the school will assist them to identify and secure the services of a suitable guardian, either known to the school or provided by a reputable guardian organisation.
The Head must be notified in writing in advance if the pupil will be residing during term time under the care of someone other than a parent. To comply with Tier 4 visa regulations, the school is required to know the whereabouts of its pupils whilst they are in the UK, whether this be during term time or holidays.
Rydal Penrhos will only refer parents to individual guardians with whom the school has a long working relationship and can recommend or to guardianship organisations who have been accredited by AEGIS.
However, Rydal Penrhos cannot in any way be held responsible for the choice of guardian that parents make and parents must check carefully for themselves the suitability of any individual guardian or guardianship organisation they propose to use. Rydal Penrhos are able to appoint guardians on behalf of parents. All guardians used by the school are fully DBS checked and inspected by the school.
Should you require school to provide a guardian, please contact Sarah James, Guardian Co-ordinator sjames@rydalpenrhos.com for more information.