ST MARY’S SCHOOL ASCOT
GUARDIANSHIP POLICY
To establish clear guidelines and procedures for the appointment, monitoring and responsibilities of Educational Guardians (EG) for St Mary’s pupils whose parents live outside the UK.
The policy ensures compliance with UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) requirements and will safeguard the welfare of all pupils in our care.
This policy applies to all pupils at St Mary’s who require an EG.
No pupil may live independently (ie. in a hotel overnight or alone in a house).
Policy Statement
St Mary’s recognises the importance of EGs in supporting the welfare of our pupils, especially those who are from overseas. The School is committed to ensuring that all EGs are suitable and that guardianship arrangements promote the welfare, physical wellbeing and emotional wellbeing of the pupil.
Definitions
It is important to recognise the distinction between “Educational Guardian” (EG) and “Legal Guardian” (LG). EG is not a legal term and should not be used interchangeably with LG. A LG is someone appointed by court to care for a child because the parents are not able to do so. The LG has parental responsibility for the child until they are 18. By contrast, an EG is a person to whom parents have delegated some of their parental responsibility; the EG acts in loco parentis.
When should an Educational Guardian be appointed
We require that girls who do not have a parent who resides in the UK have a guardian. It is the responsibility of the Admissions department to make sure this happens.
Compliance with UKVI regulations
St Mary’s is committed to fully complying with UKVI’s Child Student Visa regulations, including the specific conditions for under-18 pupils. The school will cooperate with any regulatory or legal requirements, including information-sharing with authorities, when necessary, to ensure the safety and welfare of pupils.
Educational Guardian - Suitability Criteria
Process for the appointment of an Educational Guardian
The school does not make, or facilitate, the appointment of an EG. The responsibility for appointing an EG rests solely with parents. Parents are advised to liaise with AEGIS or BSA to seek support with regard to the appointment of a suitable EG that will fit the criteria set out above.
The EG must be appointed before the pupil joins the school. St Mary’s will not accept a new pupil to the school until the EG arrangements have been confirmed.
With effect from May 2025 UK Visas & Immigration requires all parents of pupils requiring an EG to have in place a Letter of Undertaking (LOU) formalising the agreement between themselves and their nominated EG for their child's care. Completion of this agreement forms part of the school's EG appointment process, as follows:
Responsibilities of the Parents
As previously stated, it is the responsibility of the parents to appoint an EG for their daughter in line with the process outlined above. Parents are required to notify the school of any change of address. Should they move abroad during their daughter's time at St Mary's they will be required to adhere to this policy in relation to the appointment of an EG.
Parents are also required to ensure that the school is notified in advance should their daughter's EG change, or if the EG moves address or their circumstances change. Sufficient time should be provided for verification checks to be completed and a new LOU put in place if appropriate.
Responsibilities of an Educational Guardian
The overriding role of the EG is to act in loco parentis whilst the parents of the pupils are overseas. This is a wide-ranging role and this section sets out some examples of the EG’s responsibilities:
The EG may not delegate these responsibilities without the written consent of the parents and notifying the School (Head of House) of any changes.
Responsibilities of the School
In line with NMS 22.3[6], the school takes steps to ensure that the guardianship arrangement for each pupil promotes the welfare, physical and emotional wellbeing of the pupil. These include but are not limited to:
Private Foster Care Arrangement
A Private Foster Care Arrangement is an arrangement in which a child aged under 16 (or aged under 18 if disabled), is cared for, on a full-time basis for a period of 28 days or more, by a person aged 18 or over who is not the child’s parent or a close relative.
In these circumstances the school will report these arrangements to the local authority.
Policy Review and Updates
This policy will be reviewed annually or in response to any significant changes in UKVI regulations or safeguarding legislation. Any amendments will be communicated to all relevant stakeholders, including parents, guardians and staff.
[1] The Immigration Act 1971 definition of settled status requires the holder to be ordinarily resident in the UK without being subject under the immigration laws to any restriction on the period for which they may remain in the UK.
[2] Association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students - aegisuk.net/
[3] Boarding School Association: ukbsa.com/bsa-certified-agent-and-guard...
[4] A grandparent, brother, sister, step-parent, uncle or aunt (brother/sister or half-brother/sister of a child’s parent).
[5] NMS 22.5: Under no circumstances should school staff be appointed as an educational guardian for boarders
[6] NMS 22.3 “Whether an educational guardian is appointed by the School or a parent/carer the school takes appropriate steps to ensure that the guardianship arrangement is promoting the welfare, physical wellbeing, and emotional wellbeing of the boarder”.
ANNEX Safeguarding Aide Memoire for Guardians
This aide memoire has been written to support the role of an Educational Guardian. An Educational Guardian must be appointed for a child whose parents do not reside in the UK. This ensures that there is somebody in the UK who can take responsibility for the child, providing support and care when they are not in the school.
St Mary’s recognise the importance of Educational Guardians in supporting the welfare of our pupils therefore please see information regarding the provision of safeguarding in St Mary’s.
We uphold a stance of zero tolerance of any kind of abuse, including child-on-child abuse of any kind and are committed to being vigilant at all times.
What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding is protecting children from maltreatment, ensuring that a child’s mental and physical health and development are not impaired.
All staff at St Mary’s receive full safeguarding training, including termly updates. This is because safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility to enable children to have the best possible outcome.
What legislation do you need to be aware of?
Keeping Children Safe in Education - Statutory Guidance for all school and education provisions.
Working Together to Safeguard Children - A multi-agency working guide to help, protect and promote the welfare of children.
Prevent Duty (Department for Education) - The Government’s strategy to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.
National Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools - standards to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children, for whom accommodation is provided by boarding schools.
What policies should you be aware of in school?
What are the signs of abuse?
The list below is not intended to be a comprehensive tool for recognising child abuse, but such signs may indicate that further intervention is required.
Behavioural signs:
All pupils and staff are required to sign an acceptable use policy. The pupils receive talks from speakers about online safety. The school provide acceptable filtering and monitoring for all devices on the school’s network. Please note, parents and guardian should ensure that there is acceptable filtering on their home network.
Current pupils - exeats, holidays
When a pupil is arriving at St Mary’s for the first time, they should not travel alone. Parents or guardians are expected to make the journey with them.
Whenever a Child Student Visa holder is away for an exeat/holiday, specific details need to be recorded. Before holidays and exeats school circulates a form to parents. It is the responsibility of Heads of House to ensure that parents have completed this process prior to each holiday or exeat. Heads of House should not permit girls to leave school unless all information has been gathered.
The school have an obligation to check that girls are going where they say they are going. The school completes random checks by telephone to guardian / parent / host family ahead of a holiday. Should the pupil be visiting a family or friend who is not known to the Head of House (ie. not guardian, host family, or school friend’s family), then the Head of House will call the hosts ahead of the weekend to establish credibility; this is in addition to having the specific request of the parent / guardian. It is school policy that girls do not stay in a hotel on their own. Upon returning from a short holiday (exeat, half-term - when the pupil is unlikely to have returned home to their parents), Heads of House speak with girls and ask them to complete a brief questionnaire to report on the accommodation arrangements. Any concerns are highlighted and passed to PDH/DSL who will investigate along with the Head of House concerned.
Reporting Allegation of Abuse and Safeguarding Concerns
The Safeguarding Team (left to right): Cristina García (Pastoral Deputy Head / DDSL), Karla Chibvongodze (Head of House / DDSL), Keely Benn (DSL) and Roisin Toner (Senior Deputy Head / DDSL).
GUARDIANSHIP POLICY
To establish clear guidelines and procedures for the appointment, monitoring and responsibilities of Educational Guardians (EG) for St Mary’s pupils whose parents live outside the UK.
The policy ensures compliance with UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) requirements and will safeguard the welfare of all pupils in our care.
This policy applies to all pupils at St Mary’s who require an EG.
No pupil may live independently (ie. in a hotel overnight or alone in a house).
Policy Statement
St Mary’s recognises the importance of EGs in supporting the welfare of our pupils, especially those who are from overseas. The School is committed to ensuring that all EGs are suitable and that guardianship arrangements promote the welfare, physical wellbeing and emotional wellbeing of the pupil.
Definitions
It is important to recognise the distinction between “Educational Guardian” (EG) and “Legal Guardian” (LG). EG is not a legal term and should not be used interchangeably with LG. A LG is someone appointed by court to care for a child because the parents are not able to do so. The LG has parental responsibility for the child until they are 18. By contrast, an EG is a person to whom parents have delegated some of their parental responsibility; the EG acts in loco parentis.
When should an Educational Guardian be appointed
We require that girls who do not have a parent who resides in the UK have a guardian. It is the responsibility of the Admissions department to make sure this happens.
Compliance with UKVI regulations
St Mary’s is committed to fully complying with UKVI’s Child Student Visa regulations, including the specific conditions for under-18 pupils. The school will cooperate with any regulatory or legal requirements, including information-sharing with authorities, when necessary, to ensure the safety and welfare of pupils.
Educational Guardian - Suitability Criteria
- Be a British citizen or have a settled[1] status to live in the UK.
- Fulfil one of these categories:
- Be resident in the UK within 2 hours’ travel of St Mary’s and be readily available during term time (ie. not a frequent traveller).
- Be a minimum of 25 years old - such that they might provide a safe environment and are able to demonstrate sufficient emotional maturity to be able to deal with potentially challenging familial situations
- Have a standard of written and spoken English to ensure clear and effective communication with the school.
Process for the appointment of an Educational Guardian
The school does not make, or facilitate, the appointment of an EG. The responsibility for appointing an EG rests solely with parents. Parents are advised to liaise with AEGIS or BSA to seek support with regard to the appointment of a suitable EG that will fit the criteria set out above.
The EG must be appointed before the pupil joins the school. St Mary’s will not accept a new pupil to the school until the EG arrangements have been confirmed.
With effect from May 2025 UK Visas & Immigration requires all parents of pupils requiring an EG to have in place a Letter of Undertaking (LOU) formalising the agreement between themselves and their nominated EG for their child's care. Completion of this agreement forms part of the school's EG appointment process, as follows:
- Following acceptance of their daughter's place at St Mary's, the school will provide parents with a copy of the LOU. They should complete and sign Part A - Educational Guardian Nomination Form and Parent Consent.
- At the same time parents will be provided with a copy of this Guardianship policy which they should read and sign to indicate their agreement to its terms and conditions.
- Parents return both documents to the school.
- The school will then make contact with the EG to verify their ID and eligibility as per the criteria above and to ensure they have full understanding of their responsibilities as an EG.
- The EG will then be sent a copy of this Guardianship policy for signature and asked to complete and sign Part B and the LOU 'Letter of Undertaking by Educational Guardian' and return it to the school together with related documents as listed.
- The LOU and signed Guardianship policies will be held securely in the school's records.
Responsibilities of the Parents
As previously stated, it is the responsibility of the parents to appoint an EG for their daughter in line with the process outlined above. Parents are required to notify the school of any change of address. Should they move abroad during their daughter's time at St Mary's they will be required to adhere to this policy in relation to the appointment of an EG.
Parents are also required to ensure that the school is notified in advance should their daughter's EG change, or if the EG moves address or their circumstances change. Sufficient time should be provided for verification checks to be completed and a new LOU put in place if appropriate.
Responsibilities of an Educational Guardian
The overriding role of the EG is to act in loco parentis whilst the parents of the pupils are overseas. This is a wide-ranging role and this section sets out some examples of the EG’s responsibilities:
- Acting as the 24-hour emergency contact for all matters concerning the pupil.
- Taking full responsibility for the care of the pupil, as would a responsible and caring parent, whenever the pupil is in the UK but is not under the care of the school. Examples of this include but are not limited to:
- Exeats, half-terms and school holidays including travelling to and from the school and the agreed destination for the exeat, half-term or school holiday.
- Making appropriate arrangements for the pupil in the event of missed, delayed or cancelled flights, including providing accommodation, supervision and transport where required.
- During an emergency when the school has to close such as an epidemic or extreme weather conditions.
- When the pupil has to leave the school site for medical reasons or as a result of a school disciplinary sanction.
- At all times acting in the best interest of the pupil, being available to the pupil, providing emotional support and ensuring the pupil’s welfare.
- Attending the school premises in case of emergency and when deemed necessary by St Mary’s.
- Arranging for, and if appropriate, attending medical appointments, if outside the school, and providing consent for emergency medical treatment if necessary.
- Collecting and returning the pupil at the appropriate times at the beginning and end of term, half-terms, exeats, and at any other time when required by the school or parents.
- Immediately contacting both parents and the school (Head of House) in the event that the pupil does not reach them at the specified time i.e. arrival at the airport.
- Liaising with the school (Head of House) if the pupil’s travel arrangements involve an early departure or late arrival.
- Notifying the School (Head of House) if they are going to be away from their home for longer than 24 hours. They must give full contact details for the period of absence and the name and address of a responsible person in the UK, fully authorised by the parents to act on their behalf.
- Liaising as necessary with the school (Head of House) in connection with matters relating to the health, welfare and educational progress of the pupil.
- Informing the Head of House in advance of any changes in the pupil’s or the EG’s details or guardianship arrangements.
- Attending school events to which parents are invited but are unable to attend including:
- Confirmation (Year 10);
- Open Day and Prize Giving;
- Sports fixtures, concerts, drama performances and other events that are of particular importance to the pupil;
- Attending the school at the annual parent-teacher meeting and at other times when requested to attend.
- In conjunction with the parents, ensuring that the pupil adheres to UK immigration regulations, including maintaining their student visa status and maintaining full attendance at school.
The EG may not delegate these responsibilities without the written consent of the parents and notifying the School (Head of House) of any changes.
Responsibilities of the School
In line with NMS 22.3[6], the school takes steps to ensure that the guardianship arrangement for each pupil promotes the welfare, physical and emotional wellbeing of the pupil. These include but are not limited to:
- The pupil’s Head of House will contact the EG before the pupil stays with them for the first time, to check that suitable arrangements are in place, as well as a clear understanding of the responsibilities of the EG’s role.
- The Head of House will be in contact with the EG at least once a term thereafter.
- The Head of House will follow up with the pupil each time they have been in their EG’s care.
- St Mary’s keeps a record of all EGs which includes details of termly checks by the Head of House with the EG and the pupil.
- The school will maintain a record of travel arrangements for the pupil.
- Heads of House will review guardianship arrangements annually or in response to any changes in the guardianship arrangement and/or pupil’s welfare or academic needs. This review process ensures that the arrangements remain in the best interest of the pupil and in compliance with UKVI regulations.
Private Foster Care Arrangement
A Private Foster Care Arrangement is an arrangement in which a child aged under 16 (or aged under 18 if disabled), is cared for, on a full-time basis for a period of 28 days or more, by a person aged 18 or over who is not the child’s parent or a close relative.
In these circumstances the school will report these arrangements to the local authority.
Policy Review and Updates
This policy will be reviewed annually or in response to any significant changes in UKVI regulations or safeguarding legislation. Any amendments will be communicated to all relevant stakeholders, including parents, guardians and staff.
[1] The Immigration Act 1971 definition of settled status requires the holder to be ordinarily resident in the UK without being subject under the immigration laws to any restriction on the period for which they may remain in the UK.
[2] Association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students - aegisuk.net/
[3] Boarding School Association: ukbsa.com/bsa-certified-agent-and-guard...
[4] A grandparent, brother, sister, step-parent, uncle or aunt (brother/sister or half-brother/sister of a child’s parent).
[5] NMS 22.5: Under no circumstances should school staff be appointed as an educational guardian for boarders
[6] NMS 22.3 “Whether an educational guardian is appointed by the School or a parent/carer the school takes appropriate steps to ensure that the guardianship arrangement is promoting the welfare, physical wellbeing, and emotional wellbeing of the boarder”.
ANNEX Safeguarding Aide Memoire for Guardians
This aide memoire has been written to support the role of an Educational Guardian. An Educational Guardian must be appointed for a child whose parents do not reside in the UK. This ensures that there is somebody in the UK who can take responsibility for the child, providing support and care when they are not in the school.
St Mary’s recognise the importance of Educational Guardians in supporting the welfare of our pupils therefore please see information regarding the provision of safeguarding in St Mary’s.
We uphold a stance of zero tolerance of any kind of abuse, including child-on-child abuse of any kind and are committed to being vigilant at all times.
What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding is protecting children from maltreatment, ensuring that a child’s mental and physical health and development are not impaired.
All staff at St Mary’s receive full safeguarding training, including termly updates. This is because safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility to enable children to have the best possible outcome.
What legislation do you need to be aware of?
Keeping Children Safe in Education - Statutory Guidance for all school and education provisions.
Working Together to Safeguard Children - A multi-agency working guide to help, protect and promote the welfare of children.
Prevent Duty (Department for Education) - The Government’s strategy to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.
National Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools - standards to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children, for whom accommodation is provided by boarding schools.
What policies should you be aware of in school?
- Terms and Conditions
- Admissions Policy
- Attendance Policy
- Guardianship Policy
- Safeguarding Policy
- Physical - Causing physical harm to a child, can include but not limited to shaking, hitting, burning and drowning.
- Emotional - The persistent emotional maltreatment of a child causing sever and adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. May include bullying, cyberbullying and undermining a child.
- Neglect - The persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and or psychological pain. Affluence neglect refers to the neglect experienced by wealthy families.
- Sexual - Involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in a sexual activity. This may involve contact or non-contact. Other categories include sexual harassment and sexual assault such as upskirting, pantsing, being coerced into sexual activity, and the sharing of nudes.
- Online - Technology can be used to facilitate abuse both on and off-line.
- Child on Child - Any form of abuse exercised between children and within children’s relationships (both intimate and non-intimate).
- Domestic - Can be psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional and can impact on children through seeing, hearing or experiencing the effects of domestic abuse and/or experiencing it through their own intimate relationships.
- Child Criminal/Sexual/Financial Exploitation - This is where a young person receives a reward in exchange for engaging in sexual, or illegal activity including transporting drugs or money laundering.
What are the signs of abuse?
The list below is not intended to be a comprehensive tool for recognising child abuse, but such signs may indicate that further intervention is required.
Behavioural signs:
- Becoming sad, withdrawn or depressed
- Have trouble sleeping
- Behave aggressively or be disruptive
- Develop mental health concerns
- Show fear of certain adults
- Have a lack of confidence or low self-esteem
- Use drugs or alcohol
- Injuries that the child cannot explain or explains unconvincingly
- Untreated or inadequately treated injuries
- Injuries to parts of the body where accidents are unlikely, such as thighs, back and abdomen
- Bruising which may look like hand and finger marks
- Cigarette burns
- Bites
- Scalds and burns
- Self-mutilation
- Difficulty walking or sitting
- Pain/itching/bleeding/bruising/discharge to the genital area
- Spending excessive and or sustained periods of time in the toilet
- Urinary Infections
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Persistent sore throats
- Disordered eating
- Self-mutilation
- Inappropriate sexual knowledge
- Exhibiting sexualised behaviour
- Being poorly clothed
- Personal hygiene issues
- Being left if charge or siblings or long period of time on their own
- Parents may have unrealistic expectations
- Parents may offer conflicting or unconvincing explanation of any injuries to their child
- Refusing offer of help for the child’s problems
- Difficulty with communication
All pupils and staff are required to sign an acceptable use policy. The pupils receive talks from speakers about online safety. The school provide acceptable filtering and monitoring for all devices on the school’s network. Please note, parents and guardian should ensure that there is acceptable filtering on their home network.
Current pupils - exeats, holidays
When a pupil is arriving at St Mary’s for the first time, they should not travel alone. Parents or guardians are expected to make the journey with them.
Whenever a Child Student Visa holder is away for an exeat/holiday, specific details need to be recorded. Before holidays and exeats school circulates a form to parents. It is the responsibility of Heads of House to ensure that parents have completed this process prior to each holiday or exeat. Heads of House should not permit girls to leave school unless all information has been gathered.
The school have an obligation to check that girls are going where they say they are going. The school completes random checks by telephone to guardian / parent / host family ahead of a holiday. Should the pupil be visiting a family or friend who is not known to the Head of House (ie. not guardian, host family, or school friend’s family), then the Head of House will call the hosts ahead of the weekend to establish credibility; this is in addition to having the specific request of the parent / guardian. It is school policy that girls do not stay in a hotel on their own. Upon returning from a short holiday (exeat, half-term - when the pupil is unlikely to have returned home to their parents), Heads of House speak with girls and ask them to complete a brief questionnaire to report on the accommodation arrangements. Any concerns are highlighted and passed to PDH/DSL who will investigate along with the Head of House concerned.
Reporting Allegation of Abuse and Safeguarding Concerns
- If you have any concerns regarding a child, please contact the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). The DSL is Mrs Keely Benn and she can be reached at kbenn@stmarysascot.com or 07879 117936. Mrs Benn takes lead responsibility in the school for safeguarding and child protection.
- If you have a concern about a member of staff, please contact the Headmistress, Mrs Danuta Staunton. Mrs Staunton can be reached via her PA pdewes@stmarysascot.com.
- If you have a concern about the Headmistress, please contact the Chair of Governors, Ms Clemmie Vaughan. Ms Vaughan can be contacted via the bursar, Mr Brand bursar@stmarysascot.com.
The Safeguarding Team (left to right): Cristina García (Pastoral Deputy Head / DDSL), Karla Chibvongodze (Head of House / DDSL), Keely Benn (DSL) and Roisin Toner (Senior Deputy Head / DDSL).