Intense Educational Guardianship Services

SEARCH AND ALLOCATION OF GUARDIAN

Intense Educational Ltd undertakes to find a suitable guardian family for each child attending a British/Irish school. Families wishing to become guardians complete a comprehensive application form and are then visited by a member of our Guardianship Department. This is to ensure by personal interview and inspection of the home that each family meets the following strict criteria:

• Families must be located within easy reach of the school, some in the heart of nearby towns or in the surrounding countryside.
• Families must be willing and able to devote time to the child in their care and to welcome him/her as a full member of their family - in some cases they will have children of their own. Time spent with the guardian family will include shopping trips, visits to local places of interest, outings and family occasions such as weddings, parties etc.
• The family home must have all modern facilities and offer the child his/her own room.
• Families must provide the child with good well-balanced meals including a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Regular visits throughout the year by members of Intense Educational staff ensure that all guardian families maintain the high standards we require of them.

ARRANGING LEGAL REQUIREMENTS / DOCUMENTS FOR GUARDIANSHIP

Intense Educational Ltd makes all necessary arrangements to ensure that families are legally appointed as guardians and registered as foster families with the British Department of Social Services as required by the Children Act 1989 or similar bodies in Ireland. Furthermore, all families are required by Intense Educational Ltd to provide proof from the police that they have no criminal record.

ARRANGING FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS

On behalf of the parents, Intense Educational Ltd obtains from the school all necessary documents such as invoices and contracts where applicable. Such documents are forwarded to the parents so that they may make exact payment of all fees due to the school.

ASSISTING IN THE APPLICATION FOR AND EXTENSION OF VISAS

Intense Educational Ltd furnishes formal invitation letters and other visa support documents required by the British/Irish Embassy for children and their parents to obtain visas to the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland.

Should a child's visa expire during his/her stay, Intense Educational Ltd arranges the extension, ensuring that all supporting documents required by the Home Office (bank statements, confirmation letters from schools) are provided. If the Home Office requires personal attendance by the child, we will arrange the transport and supervision of the child during this visit.

If for any reason the Home Office does not extend the visa, parents must apply to the British/Irish Embassy for a new visa for their child. In this case Intense Educational Ltd will provide all necessary visa support documents as detailed above.

From time to time a child may need to visit another foreign country whilst based in the UK/Ireland - for example to participate in a school trip or to spend holidays with parents or friends from school living overseas. In such cases Intense Educational Ltd will arrange for any visas required, ensuring that all supporting documents required by the embassy of the country to visited are provided - bank statements, confirmation of hotel bookings, itineraries and tickets. If the embassy requires personal attendance by the child, we will arrange the transport and supervision of the child during this visit.

Any costs incurred by Intense Educational Ltd e.g. transport of the child to the Home Office / embassy must be covered by the parents.

PROVISION OF ALL TRANSPORT WITHIN THE UK AND IRELAND INCLUDING ANY TRANSFERS REQUIRED BETWEEN SCHOOLS AND TO AND FROM GUARDIAN FAMILIES

From the moment a child arrives in the UK/Ireland, Intense Educational Ltd will look after all necessary transport requirements:

• Transfer on arrival in the UK/Ireland to school or guardian family.
• Transfer of the child between school and guardian family for exeat weekends and half term holidays.
• Transfer to the airport on departure

Costs of all above transfers are as set out in the Intense Educational Ltd price list. On arrival and departure children are assisted by either a member of Intense Educational Ltd staff or by the driver of the car company contracted to provide the transport. All car companies used by Intense Educational Ltd are carefully selected and reliable.

PROVISION OF TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION ARRANGEMENTS FOR VISITING PARENTS

Many parents come to the UK/Ireland in order to personally choose the school their child will attend and also to visit the child during his/her stay. Intense Educational Ltd can cater for all travel requirements including:

• Transfer on arrival to hotel or school, and on departure to the airport
• Reservation of hotel accommodation in the capitals or any other destination
• Transport to schools, accompanied, if required, by a member of Intense Educational Ltd staff or a guide speaking the parent's native language
• Provision of theatre tickets, sightseeing tours etc.

Costs of any of the above services will be supplied on request.

SUPERVISION OF THE CHILD'S FINANCIAL AFFAIRS WITH MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT

Each term parents deposit with Intense Educational Ltd a sum of money to cover any expenses the child may incur during his/her stay at a British/Irish school. This is known as the Current Expenses Fund. At the start of term Intense Educational Ltd forwards to the school a proportion of this money which the school then gives to the child on a weekly basis. Most schools limit the amount of money each child may receive, as this pocket money is intended only to cover basic needs such as small items of stationery, local excursions, refreshments etc. Intense Educational Ltd issues additional sums to the child for exeat weekends and half term holidays - this is given to the child by the guardian families.

At the end of each term the school issues a bill showing any charges that the child has incurred, and this bill is covered by the remainder of the funds deposited with Intense Educational Ltd.

The most common items which are charged on the school bill are:

• Dry cleaning of clothes
• Telephone cards
• School outings and excursions
• Transport for visits to the doctor / dentist
• Stationery / stamps / toiletries / books purchased from the school shop
• Lost / damaged books
• School photographs
• Membership fees for school clubs (e.g. chess club, computer club)
• Extra lessons (e.g. extra English, piano, horse-riding. Such lessons are never given to the child without first obtaining the parents' consent. Intense Educational Ltd always advises the cost of such lessons when asking for the parents' consent.)

School bills per term can vary from a couple of hundred to several hundred pounds sterling, although higher bills usually include costly items such as overseas school visits (e.g. ski-ing trips) and extra tuition / private lessons.

Intense Educational Ltd maintains a detailed report of the child's financial situation, which is kept constantly up to date and can be supplied to the parents at any time on request. In any case this report is automatically sent to the parents at the beginning of each month, showing costs incurred to date and balance of funds remaining. When the balance approaches £200.00, parents are immediately informed and requested to send additional funds to cover future expenses. Any major expenditure and purchases are never undertaken without first consulting the parents.

All schools charge a deposit for emergency expenses only and in normal circumstances this is untouched and returned to the parents at the end of the child's stay at school. However all school bills are forwarded to Intense Educational Ltd for payment at the end of each term, which is why it is necessary for parents to deposit sufficient funds for their child with Intense Educational Ltd.

CONSTANT LIAISON WITH SCHOOLS

Intense Educational Ltd prides itself on the personal attention it gives to all aspects of the child's stay abroad. Before a child arrives in England (normally at the start of each academic year) Intense Educational Ltd sends a welcome pack to the school for him/her, which contains a letter detailing our members of staff, contact telephone numbers both during and outside office hours and a telephone card to use during his/her first days at school.

Members of Intense Educational Ltd staff are in daily contact with schools by telephone so that any problems, great or small, encountered by the child are promptly brought to our attention and resolved. Intense Educational Ltd undertakes to resolve problems of an academic nature, those involving accommodation or behavioural difficulties or matters of a more personal nature. All children under our care and school authorities can contact Intense Educational Ltd staff 24 hours a day, either at our offices or on one of our 2 mobile telephones. All callers are always treated sympathetically by our trained staff and any problems are reported to the parents. Intense Educational Ltd encourages parents to contact us at any time to discuss any aspect of their child's well-being.

Approximately one month after the end of each term the school provides a written report on the child which is automatically forwarded to the parents by Intense Educational Ltd.

CONSTANT LIAISON WITH GUARDIAN FAMILIES

Children spend exeat weekends, half term breaks and sometimes school holidays with their guardian families. Intense Educational Ltd are in constant day-to-day contact with the families, especially during the child's visits. Parents will often have special requests regarding their child during his/her stay with the guardian family such as:

• Purchase of items of clothing or equipment
• Visits to the doctor or dentist
• Cultural or social activities

These requests are conveyed to the family by Intense Educational Ltd who will ensure that they are complied with.

From time to time members of our Guardianship department visit the families whilst children are with them, to ensure that the children are happy. Other unscheduled visits to guardian families are also undertaken during the course of the year.

ARRANGING VISITS TO DOCTORS AND / OR DENTISTS WHEN NECESSARY

Any child studying at a British school for 6 months or more is considered a temporary resident of the UK and as such is entitled to free medical treatment under the National Health Service. In Irealnd each child is obliged to purchase medical insurance to cover such treatment. Routine medical complaints are usually dealt with by the resident nurse at each school, but in the case of more serious complaints the school or guardian family will call upon the services of the local doctor (General Practitioner).

Should a child require treatment not covered by the National Health Service or medical insurance, such as dental treatment, specialist examinations or visits to the optician, Intense Educational Ltd can arrange the appropriate appointments. Such treatment is normally at extra cost and the parents will be advised in advance and required to cover these expenses. The child will be accompanied to such appointments by his/her guardian, a member of Intense Educational Ltd or a member of school staff.

ORDERING AND PURCHASING OF SCHOOL UNIFORM AND BEDDING

All British and Irish schools require pupils to wear uniform and such approved items of clothing must be purchased for the child at the start of the first term and throughout the academic year depending on the season. Some schools require uniform to be purchased and paid for in advance, whilst other schools will issue items as necessary and charge on the end of term bill. Intense Educational Ltd in all cases require parents to deposit a sum of money to cover these costs. Intense Educational Ltd will order or purchase in advance any items of uniform as required by the school. In cases where schools provide uniform from their own suppliers, Intense Educational Ltd will ensure that items are ready for collection by the child on arrival. All items of uniform must bear the child's name for identification purposes and Intense Educational Ltd will order name tags and arrange for these to be delivered to the school by the start of term.

Not all schools provide items of bedding - sheets, pillows, pillow cases, duvets, duvet covers. Where such items are not supplied by the school Intense Educational Ltd will purchase and send to the school in advance of the child's arrival. If additional items of bedding are required during the course of the academic year Intense Educational Ltd will purchase these and send to the school.

All items of uniform and bedding are at extra cost. They are deducted from funds deposited with Intense Educational Ltd and itemised on the child's financial report.

ORGANISATION OF EXCURSIONS DURING HOLIDAYS

Outings and visits to local places of interest are arranged by schools and guardian families during exeat weekends, half term breaks and school holidays. From time to time Intense Educational Ltd organises excursions for small groups of children to major cities or places of cultural or historical interest. These normally take place during the holidays or in cases where schools do not have exeats, to provide children with a break from the school routine. All such excursions are optional and at extra cost.

BOOKING OF AIR TICKETS AND RECONFIRMATION OF FLIGHTS FOR THE CHILD TO AND FROM THE UK

Once a child arrives in the UK/Ireland Intense Educational Ltd secures a copy of his/her flight ticket. We will then confirm all travel arrangements already booked, or in the case of an open ticket, book flights according to the wishes of the parents.

During the course of the academic year parents may require Intense Educational Ltd to purchase tickets, book and confirm flights to their own country or other overseas destinations on behalf of their child. We undertake all such requests as well as any travel arrangements required in the case of emergency such as sudden illness, expulsion from school, deportation from the UK/Ireland.

In normal situations schools do not permit children to miss any days of schooling during the term. Parents are therefore requested to ensure that all travel arrangements comply with this.

In cases of emergency or where there is a valid reason for the child to be absent from school, parents should inform Intense Educational Ltd who will then liaise with the school and make all necessary arrangements.

Any requests from parents for Intense Educational Ltd to make travel arrangements for their child should be made as far in advance as possible and all costs covered in advance. This will enable us to confirm availability for dates requested and obtain tickets at the most reasonable prices.

VISITS TO SCHOOLS DURING THE TERM

Members of our Guardianship department visit schools at least once each term in order to meet teachers, housemasters / mistresses and children. Such personal contact enables Intense Educational Ltd to find out if the child has any particular problems of an academic or personal nature and if possible to resolve them on the spot. Visits to schools are scheduled well in advance and parents may receive a timetable of visits on request. Within a week of every visit a report is automatically sent to the parents so that they can monitor their child's academic progress and well-being. These school visits are also important in building a personal rapport between children and Intense Educational Ltd staff, which encourages children to contact us in the first instance if they have any problems or queries.

VISITS ON PARENTS' DAYS

Intense Educational Ltd staff from time to time attend formal and social events at schools. These include parents' days when parents and guardians can meet teachers and other school staff; prize-giving ceremonies (usually held at the end of the summer term); school plays and concerts; sports days. Such occasions may coincide with the regular school visit per term, or may be in addition to the scheduled visit undertaken by Intense Educational Ltd staff.

EMERGENCY VISITS TO SCHOOLS

In case of sudden serious illness or other extreme problem Intense Educational Ltd will always visit the school immediately to provide any necessary support or assistance to the child. Parents will be informed of the situation straight after the visit.