For younger students attending private schools in the UK, many will insist on an educational guardian being appointed. An educational guardian is NOT a legal guardian. A legal guardian is appointed by a Court and has the legal authority to care for the personal and property interests of another person. This is a very different role.

The educational guardian acts as your representative and supports your child while they are in the UK. They will act on your behalf, attending meetings with school staff and letting you know what is discussed. They will help your child adapt to their new surroundings and school regulations, taking an active part in their school life. Guardians can also book flights, arrange transport from the school or airport at the beginning and end of all holiday periods. In addition, they are available to talk 24 hours a day in case of emergency. During school holidays the guardian will organise a suitable homestay for weekends, half term breaks, longer holidays and during term-time if needed and summer schools if required.

Traveledex follow very strict procedures when caring for your child whilst they study in the UK. All our advisers and guardians are checked by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) as are all transport firms and host families. Generally, you child will not be allowed to travel alone on public transport when moving between locations on breaks from school. We follow guidelines issued by the transport companies and one of our guardians will accompany your child.

We will visit your child on a regular basis several times each term and provide academic reports back to you advising where we feel the child could benefit from additional tuition or activities. If your child is unable to return home during the school holidays we will discuss with you what sort of experience you would like for your child during the break. There are many excellent activity-based breaks that also focus on developing English or you may prefer a stay with a host family to gain the experience of family life in the UK with some cultural trips (note that these will incur additional cost).

To maximise the experience for your child and to cater for any emergency or additional costs we ask you to deposit a sum with us for use by guardians when necessary. All monies are kept in a separate deposit account and we will always agree payments with you in advance, except in the case of medical or other emergency. You should include this deposit in your cost calculations when considering UK schooling for your child. Any unused amount will be returned to you at the end of the academic year or can be held over for the following year if applicable.