Guardianship is one of those topics that does not come with exciting anecdotes or unusual facts. Instead, it serves a very practical purpose: ensuring that bureaucratic requirements are met and reassuring parents that their child is well cared for. Anyone who starts researching the topic online will quickly find themselves navigating a dense web of information from schools, private providers and organisations. Everyone has something to say — and much of it sounds important and complicated all at once.
At its core, however, the principle is quite straightforward: international pupils always need a guardian. Without a guardian, a boarding school stay in the UK is simply not possible. Reason enough, then, to take a closer look and remove some of the weight from a subject that often feels more daunting than it needs to be.
What is a guardian in practical terms?
An educational guardian is a person or organisation based in the United Kingdom who acts on behalf of the parents during term time (in loco parentis). This is not about day-to-day parenting, but about responsibility in the background: care, safety, wellbeing and, above all, availability when something happens.
Why do you need a guardian at all?
British boarding schools are only permitted to enrol international pupils if a guardian has been formally appointed. This is not a mere formality, but a legal requirement and an integral part of the safeguarding system.
The guardian is the emergency contact in cases of illness, injury or an unexpected exclusion from school. Put simply: someone is there when parents cannot be.
Two typical everyday examples:
An Exeat weekend is coming up and all pupils are required to leave the boarding house for the weekend. However, a flight has been postponed. In this situation, the guardian is the first point of contact to ensure that the pupil has a safe place to stay.
Or another scenario: a pupil has a sports accident on a Friday, needs to be taken to hospital and requires a local anaesthetic. An adult must be present and give consent. The school contacts the guardian, with whom the pupil can stay during this time.
Who can act as a guardian?
In principle, there are two possible options:
A private individual
- must hold settled status or British citizenship
- is generally required to be at least 25 years old
- must not be a student
- must be reliably contactable (24/7)
- should live within a two-hour radius of the school
A professional guardianship agency
- with clearly defined procedures, emergency protocols and experience
- often supported by a regional network of host families
- officially recognised and accepted by schools
Important: Not every “friendly acquaintance” automatically meets a school’s requirements. Many boarding schools ask for formal documentation, references or recognised accreditation.
When should you start arranging a guardian?
Guardianship should be addressed relatively early. Ideally, the process is initiated once the school application has been completed and then implemented without delay. Schools will review whether the nominated guardian meets their specific requirements.
In practical terms, this means that as soon as it becomes clear that a boarding school place is a realistic option, the question of guardianship should be considered alongside it. This is particularly important for longer stays that require a Child Student Visa, as the guardian must be confirmed in advance.
Not all guardianships are the same
Not every child requires the same level of guardianship. Some guardians take responsibility for all non-term-time periods — from long holidays to Exeat weekends. Others are needed only on a more occasional basis, for example to cover individual Exeat weekends. In some cases, guardianship exists largely as a formal arrangement on paper, because families handle many organisational aspects themselves. It is also worth noting that younger children generally require significantly more support than older pupils who are already largely independent.
It is therefore important for families to be clear about their actual needs and to choose a guardianship model that suits them. Most of our families appoint a guardian who primarily fulfils the formal requirements and serves as a reliable point of contact when needed.
Two girls in black wetsuits are laughing and hugging as they walk along the beach, with the sea in the background.
Costs: What should you expect?
The cost of guardianship varies considerably depending on the model chosen and typically ranges from around £500 to £3,000 per academic year. We always recommend requesting a clear breakdown of costs directly from the provider.
It is also important to be aware of the following:
overnight stays with host families, airport transfers or additional individual support are usually charged separately. A careful look at what is included in each package is therefore well worthwhile.
Our approach at von Bülow
We work exclusively with carefully selected, certified guardian partners whom we know personally and review on a regular basis: Studylinks and Pippa’s Guardians.
In most cases, the First Response Guardianship package offered by Studylinks is entirely sufficient.
If your child does not return home during school holidays or if you would prefer a more personal level of care, we are happy to recommend Pippa’s Guardians.
In addition, we have recently introduced our own First Response Guardian Service.
We would be delighted to advise you personally on suitable options, processes and costs. After all, it is reassuring to know that someone is there - before you actually need them.