Hosting is nearly always an interesting and enjoyable experience, and lasting friendships are often made. You learn about other cultures and the ways in which people live in different countries. Students who choose a homestay course are looking for more than just a bed to sleep in, but want an insight into family life in the UK. The income you receive from hosting is also helpful!
Most opportunities are for hosting young people taking part in our English language holiday programmes which run during March and April and July and August, in Bristol, Guildford, Hindhead and Reading.
However, for those who have a qualification in teaching English as a Foreign Language or qualified teacher status in primary education or in secondary in languages, there may also opportunities for hosting and teaching students in your home, wherever you may be living and throughout the year. Whilst the principles for hosting are for the most part the same, these information pages are particularly directed towards receiving students on the holiday programmes.
For more information on host teaching, please look at Work with us - Home Lesson Teachers
Our hosts give a warm welcome to their students who are members of the household for the period of their stay. It’s a good idea to imagine that you are sending children from your own family to another country for the first time to stay with a family they don’t know, and to think of the type of hospitality you would be hoping that they would be offered. This is the homestay experience you should endeavour to provide for your students.
The majority are only with us for two weeks so gain their impressions of the home they’re staying in, and of all the other aspects of their course, over a short period of time. Students are occupied on our programme on six full days and one evening each week so it’s in the early part of the mornings, in the evenings and on Sundays that you need to look after them. They have breakfast and evening meal every day and lunch on Sundays with you, and we ask you to provide them with a packed lunch on all programme days. We ask you to talk to your students (in English of course!) as much as possible and to take an interest in them and in what they are doing on the course.
We ask you, too, to meet them from the local arrival point at the beginning of the stay and take them to the departure point at the end. On occasions, for welfare and safety reasons, we ask you to accompany them to or from the course.
Here’s a summary of the main and fundamental hosting requirements. There’s more information about these and other points in the information booklet ‘All about hosting with EJO’ and you will receive a copy of this if you become a host for us.
As a host you:
*All courses except Hindhead (Amesbury) School) where students always travel between home and course by minibus
You are willing to respect and keep to these British Council guidelines:
We ask you to sign our hosting agreement each year and, in doing this, you’ll be confirming that you’ll follow these regulations and guidelines. You will also sign a declaration stating that there is no reason for you to be considered unsuitable to host children.
You can of course expect good manners and good behaviour and that students make their own beds, keep their rooms tidy and leave the bathroom and toilet in a clean condition. Whilst they should help with tasks such as preparing and clearing the table, you obviously shouldn’t expect them to do housework or act as baby-sitters.
Your students are guests who should follow the routines of your home. Do go through these carefully with them soon (but not immediately!) after they arrive.
We give students an information sheet ‘How we live in the homes of our hosts’.
Above all, your students will expect to be welcomed into your home and to be offered hospitality as members of your household.
They’ll appreciate your interest in them and in what they’re doing during the stay and opportunities for conversation, especially over meal times. They’ll be pleased to be included in normal activities such as meeting friends, going shopping, and taking the family dog for walks. Many hosts take their students on outings, for example to the leisure centre or to a local place of interest. Some of these activities can be fitted in during the week; others have to be arranged for a Sunday when students may spend the day with their hosts.
Students look forward to meeting young people in this country. When possible, we would appreciate your help in giving them opportunities to do this by introducing them to other teenagers, perhaps the children of friends or neighbours, or by taking them to any relevant groups you are involved in locally.
EJO believes that it is always unacceptable for a child or young person to experience abuse of any kind and recognises its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of all children and young people, by a commitment to best practice, which protects them.
This statement applies to all staff, including senior managers, paid staff, volunteers, hosts, agency staff, students or anyone working on behalf of EJO. A ‘child’ or ‘student’ or ‘pupil’ in the context of this policy refers to anyone under the age of 18 who will attend, is attending or has attended an EJO course. ‘Safeguarding’ refers to our commitment to reducing risk and providing appropriate general care for students on our courses.
Please phone 01428 751549 or email info@ejo.co.uk for more information