RUYANG Host Families
You can be sure your child will be well cared for during school breaks and holidays. RUYANG homes are always comfortable and welcoming. RUYANG Host Families are carefully selected by the directors to suit the age and interests of the individual child. Our selected families are willing to share their home, way of life and culture with overseas visitors. RUYANG Host Families offer a home-away-from-home for your child within the United Kingdom. Time spent with this second family is also a learning experience socially and linguistically.
Families wishing to become RUYANG Host Families complete a comprehensive application form and are then visited by one of RUYANG’s Educational Guardian Area Co-ordinators. 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 are within the heart of nearby towns or in the surrounding countryside.
• Families must be willing and able to devote a suitable amount of time to the child within 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 RUYANG Host Family will include shopping trips, visits to local places of interest, outings and family occasions such as weddings, parties, Easter, and birthdays 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.
To ensure that all of our RUYNAG Host Families meet our high standards, each host is personally interviewed and their accommodation is checked for suitability by the Director. All prospective hosts are also verified in accordance with current United Kingdom Child Protection legislation and guidelines set out within the accreditation procedures of AEGIS. This includes checks by the police and social services.
Regular visits throughout the year by the Director or an Educational Guardian Service Area Co-ordinator ensures that all RUYANG Host Families maintain the high standards we require of them.
Family Experience
Outside term-time, students stay in our carefully selected Host Family accommodation. Host Family accommodation is an ideal way for your child to experience British culture and improve their English speaking ability while outside of school. Many schools prefer thorough English language and etiquette preparation, prior to entering boarding life – this enables new students to better integrate within the student community. Living with a RUYANG Host Family prior to commencing school life gives our students an additional advantage over other students who arrive directly from their own country into boarding life.
Unlike many so-called Guardianship companies, RUYANG advocates a stay with an English family so that students not only benefit from the maximum linguistic support, but also get well acquainted with English culture, traditions and way of life. This, however, does not limit our RUYANG Host Families to being just British – we have many Host Families of other nationalities.
When living with a Host Family, many families may choose to take day trips or may be celebrating a birthday. We encourage all students to participate in all activities within the Host Family lifestyle. At RUYANG we believe that stability is important for students. With that in mind, we aim to keep students with the same RUYANG Host Family for the duration of their school life. Likewise, in the unlikely event that the student does not get on with their chosen RUYANG Host Family (or vice-versa), it is possible for the student to move elsewhere if placements are available.
Summary
All RUYANG Host Families have been through a stringent application procedure:
• Registration with full details.
• Interview and visit to the Host Family home by the RUYANG Director.
• Validation through personal and professional references; these references are taken in writing and double checked over the telephone.
• Vetting by the Criminal Records Bureau.
• Checks performed by the Child Protection Unit of Social Services.
• Signature of a contract for the care of the child.
All RUYANG Host Families receive the following for the proper care of your child:
• Comprehensive guidelines on the best and legal care of overseas students.
• Full information about the child with parental and school contacts.
• Record-keeping forms for children’s visits, entertainments arranged and expenses incurred.
• Regular contact by phone and in person with RUYANG staff.