Useful hosting tips and advice  & frequently asked questions

Can't find what you're looking for? Phone Vanessa during office hours on 741305 or email vanessa@stbreladescollege.co.uk. If you have an emergency out of office hours 07797 714720.

Frequently asked questions

• Arrival & Departure
  • Haven’t got or lost arrival details
    • Check before the weekend that you have all the information you need for your student arrival, school bus etc. All of this information is stored in the school office so it’s very difficult for me to obtain this information if you call me at the weekend when I’m not in my office.
  • No flight arriving at the time stated on my arrival details.
    • This means that the school has also been given the wrong arrival details from the student. Check all flights on the airport arrivals website or teletext landing at the time you have been given and around this time – it may mean that they will arrive at a different time on the same flight number or may be arriving at the time you have been given on a different flight number. If still in doubt, phone the school emergency help line for advice.
  • The flight has landed and my student isn’t on it.
    • Firstly check you have the correct day! Then…………
      Wait until all the passengers have come through the arrival doors – sometimes passengers are still waiting for luggage or held at customs and are delayed coming through.
    • Leave your name, phone number and student name at the information desk so when your student does arrive, the airport can contact you to come and collect them.
      
    • Telephone the School emergency help line to inform your student hasn’t arrived.
  • Non arrival of a host family for another student waiting at the airport / harbour.
    • We would really appreciate if you could ask them for their host family details and telephone the host family directly, explaining that their student has arrived.
    • If you can’t contact the host family, call the school emergency helpline who will deal with this.
  • Recognising your student on arrival.
    • Use the placard provided by the school. Your student will be expecting to see this with their/your name on.
  • No departure ticket or different departure time on ticket to what the school has informed me of.
    • Take their tickets from them when they arrive for safekeeping. You will realise at this early stage if they don’t have a departure ticket or if the departure time is different to what you were originally told. Bear in mind they maybe part of a group and the group leader has the tickets. Phone the school office for information.
  • Departure check in & waiting with students
    • All students should be helped with check in.
    • For teenage/junior students who haven’t come with a group leader, the airport and harbour request that you stay with your all students aged under 16 years, until they go through the security gates.
  • When do I need to take my student to the harbour or airport for departure?
    • Arrive at the harbour an hour before departure and at the airport an hour and a half before departure.
• School Bus
  • Haven’t got or lost arrival details
    • Check before the weekend that you have the next week’s programme . If not, phone the school office on a week day as this information is kept at the school.
  • Missing the morning school bus.
    • If you are able to drive them to school it would be greatly appreciated!
    • If they are old enough and capable to take a public bus, please help them to do this.
    • Phone the school office and we will give you an alternative solution.
• School Day
  • Teenage students returning home from school before 16h30 on school days.
    • Explain to your student that they are not allowed to return home on school days before 16h30 and the school day is compulsory. If the problem persists, phone the school office..
  • Students complaining their lessons are not the right level.
    • Advise your student to approach their teacher or school director as soon as possible in order for us to resolve this issue early on in their course.
  • Complaints of bullying at school
    • Report this immediately to the school who will then deal with the issue.
• Junior / Teenage School BBQ
  • Unable to drop off or pick up students for the Friday evening school BBQ.
    • Phone Vanessa in advance for phone numbers of host families in your area who you can set up a car share with.
  • Is the school BBQ compulsory?
    • Yes!
  • Can students wait at the school between end of school and school BBQ?
    • No! They should go home and then be brought back for the BBQ. Unless you live very far from the school and it isn’t viable to do so – in this case, students may wait at the school.
  • My student doesn’t want to be picked up after the BBQ.
    • Juniors 13 years and under must be picked up from the BBQ. Teenagers aged 14 years and over may stay out until their usual curfew time and make their own way home if they choose to. If they wish to come home when the BBQ finishes, it’s your duty to pick them up. It’s important you make firm arrangements with them in the morning so you know exactly what their plans are.
• Summer Evening and Weekend School Activities
  • Sunday afternoon Gun-Site beach activity information.
    • In case of bad weather, telephone the Sunday activity leader around lunch time to find out if it is still going ahead. This number will be given to you before the start of the summer in your summer pack.
  • Evening school activities information – where are they? what time? etc
    • Telephone 741305 School office during office hours
    • Telephone the Evening activity leader from 19h00 to find out the information ( number will be given to you before the start of the summer )
  • Evening activities - planning meal times.
    • Ask them at the beginning of each week which evening activities they have signed up to do – you will then know in advance if they need their dinner early on any evenings.
  • Weekend – day trip to St Malo.
    • Students can book day trips in the school office. On most occasions we send a teacher to accompany the group but if the group is very small, we only allow 16 years plus to book as they will travel alone.
• Missing or Late Students
  • After school – home late or very late or missing junior/teenage student.
    • Wait until at least 17h30-18h00 depending on how far you live away from the school. Sometimes the school bus is delayed in leaving or there is heavier traffic than usual.
    • Phone the school office to check the school bus hasn’t been delayed.
      Phone their mobile phone if they have one.
    • Have a look for them, taking the route they would usually walk home from their school bus stop.
    • Telephone 706710 Tantivy Blue Coach. Inform them of your school bus stop and who is missing. It’s likely that your student has either got off the bus at the wrong bus stop or is still on the bus and missed their bus stop.
  • Evening – home late or very late or missing teenage student.
    • Phone their mobile phone if they have one.
      
    • Phone the evening activity leader and ask them if they can find out where your student is.
    • Wait at least until the last bus has arrived at your bus stop as it’s likely they will have taken it! –wait at least an hour or two before going to look for them as typically students won’t be home any later than this.
    • Drive to Liberation Square and Station and look for them. If they usually walk home, drive the route they would walk.
    • If they are still missing, phone the school emergency help line and ask for advice. Make it clear to your student that they must phone you if they have missed their bus or know they will be late home.
  • Teenage students continuously abusing the evening curfew time.
    • Explain to them that the curfew times are the school rules and must be followed. Tell them that they are grounded for a night but the following night they may go out again but must follow an earlier curfew time ( half an hour earlier ). If they come home on time, the curfew time can then be adjusted back to the original later time for the future. If the problem persists, discuss with Vanessa.
• Teenage students and alcohol
  • Suspicion of teenage students drinking alcohol.
    • You should have already informed your student on arrival day of the alcohol laws in Jersey. Remind them of the law and also of the fact that the school could send them home if they abuse the law. Inform the school if you suspect your student is drinking alcohol.
  • Drunk teenage students.
    • At your discretion, either put them to bed, giving water and monitoring or if you think they should be seen by a doctor, take them to the A&E department at the General Hospital. If at any point you feel you can’t deal with the situation, phone the school emergency help line for assistance.
• Host Family Routines
  • Untidy junior/teenage student’s bedroom.
    • On arrival, explain general house rules such as completely unpacking their suitcase and putting their clothes away in the storage provided, keeping their bedroom tidy, making their own bed each day etc.
      A good time for your student to give their bedroom a thorough tidy is between end of school and School BBQ each Friday. Explain that their bedroom has to be tidied in order for you to clean the room on Saturday.
  • Being noisy / taking showers late at night.
    • On arrival, go through your household routine such as what time is better for them to shower, what time dinner is, what time you or your children usually go to bed. Most of the time, problems exist through either a misunderstanding or a lack of communication- once your student is aware of your routine, it’s likely they will fit in and adjust better.
  • Involving students to help around the house and not treating your home like a hotel.
    • From the outset encourage your student to integrate into your family life, which includes helping to lay and clear the table, doing small jobs around the house. Sometimes students have unrealistic expectations of staying a host family or don’t know what to expect at all. They can therefore feel uncomfortable or find it difficult to adjust to your routine. With encouragement and gentle persuasion, most students start to relax and are able to become more involved.
• Food
  • Finding out about food dislikes and allergies.
    • When your student arrives, give them the St Brelade’s College food Translation List and ask them to write down any foods they don’t like/can’t eat. Use this list to plan meals.
  • Not eating packed lunches.
    • Check that they like the filling in their sandwiches! Quite often, they will say they like something although they don’t understand what it is! Show them what you are proposing to give them for lunch.
    • Check how many sandwiches they want – some students prefer two rounds of sandwiches but others will only manage one round.
    • Offer a variety of lunch box items including fruit and yoghurt –often students prefer to take two pieces of fruit rather than one piece of fruit and a packet of crisps for example.
  • Not eating much dinner or still hungry after dinner.
    • For the first few days, it’s a good idea not to dish up the all of the meal on their plate – leave salad/vegetables/potatoes/pasta on the table for students to help themselves. This will give you an idea of how much they usually eat for dinner and what to prepare for the rest of their stay. It’s important to always offer vegetables/salad with meals as most students will expect this.
  • Regularly eating out at McDonalds/ Kentucky.
    • Don’t allow teenagers to eat out in fast food restaurants more than twice per week. Explain to them that eating dinner with their host family is an important part of integrating themselves into British family life.
  • Not on time for dinner or missing dinner without informing you.
    • On arrival, tell your student to inform you in the morning if they are eating out or are going to be late for dinner. Often they forget the time or don’t think to inform you.
  • Weekend meals.
    • Host families are expected to provide lunches as well as evening meals at the weekend. If they choose to go out for the day, you should prepare a packed lunch for them and if they choose to stay at home, you should offer lunch at home.
  • Evening Meals – Should we eat with our student?
    • Yes! Students should eat with at least one family member every evening, even if you are hosting more than one student.
• Host Family Telephone
  • Use of host family telephone on day of arrival.
    • Help your student make a collect call to their parents when they arrive - ask them to arrange a suitable time for both you and them to call your home in future.
  • Use of host family telephone to make phone calls home.
    • Politely explain that their parents are welcome to call them at home rather than them using your phone to call them.
    • Inform your student that the school sells “Speedial” phone cards ( £5 each ) and they can buy these to use on any phone ( including host family land lines).
• Damages or Breakages At Home
  • Accidental damage or breakages.
    • Before you start hosting students, inform your household contents policy insurers that you have a paying guest/student staying in your home. Accidental breakages/damage should be covered by your insurance. Don’t leave any valuable or sentimental items around your home as accidents can happen especially when hosting juniors.
  • Accidental damage or breakages noticed after the student has left.
    • Go into the student bedroom on a daily basis to empty the bin or open a window. This way you will notice any damage that may have occurred and deal with the issue while the student is still staying with you. It’s extremely difficult to prove who caused the damage once the student has left!
  • Damage or breakages through carelessness.
    • Write a short report of the damage / breakage immediately including when and how it occurred. Contact the school office and provide your report. The school will appropriately deal with the issue, looking at each case individually.
• Pocket Money
  • Host family outings – who pays?
    • The school offers an extremely varied activity programme so they’re able to visit nearly all of Jersey attractions each week. If you would like to take them out during their free time, we suggest “free” activities such as walking, island tour etc. In the case of juniors/teenagers, they should have brought pocket money with them which you could ask them to use if you take them to an entrance fee site.
  • Run out of or no pocket money.
    • We do not recommend that you lend students any money. Phone the school office- the school will contact their parents and organise some pocket money.
• Homesickness
  • Homesick students.
    • Younger students can feel homesick at the beginning of their stay especially if it’s their first trip away from home and their English is of a very low level. Generally, after 3 – 4 days, you will see signs of improvement once the student feels more secure and settled both in the host family and at school. Inform the school immediately if you feel your student isn’t coping or settling in at all. Here are some tips to alleviate homesickness:
    • Talk about their own family as much as possible, asking questions and being interested!
    • Keep them busy by playing games or going for walks– this will take their mind off thinking about home so much.
    • Phone the school and ask for their friend’s host family phone numbers - arrange with other families for them to meet up at each other’s homes for a couple of hours in the evening. You’ll be surprised at how much this will lift their spirits!
  • Loss of appetite.
    • This could be a combination of homesickness and also a fear of trying “new” food. Start by preparing simple meals such as pasta or pizza which should be familiar to most students and then introduce other foods which they may not be familiar with. It’s a good idea to solve this issue early on in the stay so it doesn’t escalate into your student becoming more anxious. Phone Vanessa for advice if need be.
  • Lack of interest / integration in host family.
    • It’s very difficult to sometimes know if a student is being quiet because they’re unhappy or because they don’t have the language to express themselves or in fact they are usually a quiet individual anyway. Keep trying to involve them in family life and discussions and don’t necessarily see them as behaving rudely if they don’t offer much conversation back. However, if you feel your student is clearly unhappy and retreating into their room because of this reason, inform Vanessa straight away.
• Sickness / Illness
  • Useful Contacts
    • Please phone/visit Jersey Hospital A&E Department for emergencies on 622000.
  • School absence due to sickness.
    • Phone the school office in the morning to report your student’s absence. Students under the age of 16 shouldn’t be left at home alone so if this is the case, discuss with Vanessa to find a solution.
  • Sickness during doctor’s surgery hours.
    • Make an appointment and take them to a local doctor. Tell your student they must pay the bill themselves -if they don’t have enough money with them, phone the school office.
  • Sickness out of doctor’s surgery hours.
    • Take them to the A&E department at the General Hospital.
  • Accidents.
    • Phone for an ambulance or take them to the A&E department at the General Hospital straight away. Phone the school emergency help line to inform Vanessa of your actions.
• Lost or Stolen Passports & Wallets.
  • Lost passport
    • Visit St Helier Police Station with your student and report the loss. They will then issue a signed letter confirming the report of the loss which your student can then take to their local Embassy in Jersey in order to obtain a temporary passport to travel home with.
  • Lost wallet
    • Phone the police station: 612612 and report the incidence. They will then log the incident. Also ask them to check their lost property department in case the wallet has been handed in.
  • Money stolen from student at school.
    • Phone the school office straight away. We will then deal with the incident.