What is a Guardian?
Day and boarding schools require all international students to have a Guardian who is over 25 years old, resides in the UK, and is AEGIS accredited. While the school is responsible for your child’s welfare during term time, there are occasions, such as exeats, half terms, holidays, or periods of illness, when responsibility transfers to the Educational Guardian to provide care and support.
Studying abroad is an exciting and life-changing educational experience for your child. A guardian provides an essential support system, ensuring your child can fully embrace the opportunities for independence, confidence, and personal growth, while also offering reassurance and protection whenever needed.
Accredited & Approved
Independently verified for your peace of mind.
How would we support you?
Greet your child upon their arrival into the UK, and make all personal travel arrangements for weekend breaks, half terms and holidays with one of our designated drivers if requested.
Appoint a friendly, welcoming and fully inspected host family, which is close to your child’s school. The host family provides a home for your child during all weekend breaks, half terms and holidays (as needed), according to your child’s requirements.
Your child’s Guardian will visit them regularly at their boarding school and provide you with ongoing updates and communication. Their dedicated Area Guardian takes a genuine interest in your child’s wellbeing, and these consistent visits reflect the personalised care and attention we pride ourselves on
Provide genuine care and take an interest in your child’s progress at school both academically and in their personal development as they grow into adults. Provide support, help and advice on medical issues and counselling.
Arrange visits to schools or universities for interviews. Assist you with Visa applications and Police Registrations if required. As well as supporting with purchasing your child’s school uniform and keeping up to date with any increase in sizes due to growth.
Represent both you as parents and your child’s needs through good communication with your child’s school and host families. Support your child’s academic progress and attend parent/teacher meetings when required and feedback to you a full report.
Organise the purchase of UK mobile SIM cards. Manage your child’s pocket money and expenses. Assist with opening UK bank accounts
In the event of a crisis, the Cavendish Guardianship team will support your child by providing advice and assistance. Guardian Angels are on call 24 hours every day to help you and your child with any difficulties or problems that may arise.
Advise and assist you regarding placements with future schools including handling the applications for you. They will also organise suitable English Language and revision courses for the holidays when needed.
Our Services
We understand how important it is to find the best partner to support your family during your child’s time at school and we believe our quality service will ensure your child is safe, happy and successful.
We provide a range of services aimed at ensuring your child has all the support he or she requires. In consultation with you, we will tailor a suitable programme depending on the level of service you choose.
Cavendish School Guardianship offers a supportive and flexible guardianship service for international students joining schools and colleges across the South. With Bournemouth as our hub, we provide access to many excellent education options within a 90‑minute radius, alongside a caring Local Coordinator and a trusted team of host families and drivers who look after students as if they were their own.
Application Process
Step 1:
Make contact with us at guardianship@cavendishschool.com our Admissions team will respond. We understand that you will have lots of questions. This first stage takes as long as you need, to be certain that Cavendish Guardians are the right Guardianship service for your family.
Step 2:
When you have decided that you would like to use Cavendish Guardians, the next stage is to complete a registration form giving us important information about your child and confirming that you agree with our terms & conditions.
Step 3:
We will schedule a video chat to meet you and your child to ensure we know you better so we can provide the best service to suit your needs.
Step 4:
Once we have received the agreement, we will introduce you to your allocated Guardian and we will share with you our informative parent and student handbooks to help you with all you need to know before arrival in the UK
Step 5:
At this point you will need to confirm with the school that you have appointed Cavendish Guardians. If we don’t already have close links with the School, we will introduce ourselves to the School at this stage too.
Step 6:
Next, we will match your child with one of our host families close to the school and send you information about the family for your approval. We can also arrange an online meeting for you, so you feel comfortable with your allocated host.
Step 7:
We will make all the necessary arrangements for all family members coming to the UK, co-ordinating travel, and accommodation as well as uniform purchase and anything else we can help you with before arrival.
Packages & pricing
Our Services (Included)
Half Term and Holiday Support
Cavendish Guardians provide Half Term and Holiday Activity or Rest and Revision breaks for all their students at an additional cost. These enable students to have a break from school and their term-time study environment. It’s a great opportunity to make new friends and have structured study sessions, as well as the chance to take part in new activities.
Accommodation & Welfare
Cavendish Guardians offer a single all-encompassing guardianship and host family package for all its students. Cavendish Guardians students all benefit from a comprehensive range of care, support with an emergency 24/7 contact number answered by trained professionals.
GUARDIANSHIP FEES 2026/2027
£800.00 PER TERM
*Cavendish Guardians recommend a £2,000 expenses deposit, which is held by us for students to pay for additional expenses such as books, uniforms, school visits, transport, host families etc. The remaining money is refundable at the end of study.
Mental Health Additional Support
Cavendish Guardians have extensive experience supporting students facing mental health challenges. If a school identifies that a student requires additional mental health support, our premium service will be put in place to ensure the student receives the highest level of care. This service is considered essential in such cases and is charged at £4,000 per year, on a pro-rata basis.
| Additional Charges | Prices |
|---|---|
| Host Family Accommodation – Average weekly cost (Depends on School & Location) | £230.00 |
| Host family mileage for collection and drop off – Per mile | £0.75 |
| Extra visits to school or host family on request – Per hour. Plus mileage | £25.00 |
| Out of hours emergency attendance – Per hour. Plus travel | £50.00 |
| Travel and airport transfers within the UK | POA |
| Emergency removals for serious illness | £75.00 |
| Transport provided by CSG with CSG driver – Per mile | £1.30 |
| Guardian accompaniment service – Per hour | £25.00 |
| Storage of personal items during school holidays/trips home – Per night | £6.00 |
| Mental Health Premium Support – Per year | £4,000 |
