Guardian Agreement Form

Agreeing to Become a Guardian

Introduction

Please read through the terms and conditions below and then complete the Guardian Agreement Form at the bottom of the page. If you have any questions about the completion of the form, please contact the Admissions Office.

Terms and Conditions

Following the Children Act (1989), the Protection of Children Act (1999) and the Care Standards Act (2000), Sutton Valence School requires parents who do not live in the United Kingdom to appoint a guardian to act on their behalf. This is a requirement in order for us to promote and safeguard the welfare of every student within our care. The appointed guardian will not be the child’s legal guardian in the sense of “parent or guardian” or the person having the legal rights to make the major decisions relating to the child. Such rights will remain with the parent. This legislation protects the rights of children and makes proper and appropriate care a compulsory requirement.

During term time the school is legally responsible for each student’s welfare, and undertakes parentally delegated responsibilities. However, there are times (e.g. exeat weekends, half term breaks, or when a child is suspended or expelled by the School) when the School must be able to hand over these parental responsibilities to another adult – a properly appointed educational guardian. Any appointed guardians should live no more than two hours’ drive away from Sutton Valence School.

Guardians may be a family member or relative or family friend who is over 25 years of age and who is not a full time student, unless they are a brother or sister who has left school, but is resident in the United Kingdom. If such a contact in the UK is unavailable, guardians can be provided by a reputable guardian organization.

Sutton Valence School is a member of AEGIS – a national body for monitoring and regulating the welfare of international students. AEGIS provides accreditation of guardianship agencies in line with the new National Minimum Standards for Boarding. We strongly recommend that parents only engage a guardianship agency that has been accredited by AEGIS or that we recommend.

Guardian Requirements

As a minimum School requirement, an appointed guardian will:

1. Act as a 24-hour point of contact for parents, student and the School throughout the term, and to be ready to accommodate the student at short notice in case of an emergency or crisis;
2. Provide both pastoral and educational support for the student;
3. Make appropriate arrangements for medical care of the student;
4. Provide suitable accommodation for the student and an appropriate degree of care and supervision during exeat weekends, half term breaks and longer holidays, where required;
5. Liaise with the School and parents over holiday and weekend arrangements, providing information about any travel arrangements made prior to the student leaving the School for an exeat weekend or a longer holiday period. It is imperative that the School knows the exact details of the student’s accommodation and methods of transportation;
6. Act with delegated parental authority in the case of an emergency or crisis and in other matters agreed by the parents;
7. Be ready to attend important parent/teacher meetings or any other special meetings at the School on the behalf of the student’s parents, if requested;
8. Appoint, with the approval of the student’s parents, another suitable adult to undertake the temporary guardianship responsibilities, should they need to be out of the country or are otherwise indisposed. The guardian holds the responsibility to forward the appropriate form to parents to complete and sign. Parents must then send this form to the Admissions Office and to the Housemaster/Housemistress. This procedure must be followed on each occasion of temporary guardianship;
9. Respect the rights, religion and customs of the student, and adhere to what is commonly regarded as best practice in the guardianship and hosting of international students. This includes having in place a proper agreement with the student’s parents as to what the guardian’s responsibilities are.