Homestay safeguarding: host family checks and student contact

A homestay means a student sleeps in a family home that is not their own. It happens on exchanges, sports tours, language trips and longer placements abroad. The host adults spend more time with your student, out of your sight, than any teacher does.

Many international schools run some of the four kinds below. Each needs a named owner for checks, visits and contact, as on any school trip or residential.

• Outbound exchange: your students stay with families chosen by a partner school abroad
• Inbound exchange: partner school students stay with your own families
• Agency placement: a company matches students with local families for a tour or language course
• Long placement: a student lives with a local family for a term or a year

It depends on who arranged the stay. The Outdoor Education Advisers' Panel (OEAP) publishes UK guidance on school visits. It says a school that helps arrange a homestay, even through an agency, must take all reasonable steps to check the home is suitable.

UK guidance for schools in England is Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE). Its 2026 edition moved the homestay advice from an annex into the main text.

The Council of International Schools (CIS) lists homestay arrangements and student exchange programmes among the areas schools should cover in their procedures.

When a partner school or agency is involved, agree the split in writing before any family is matched.

• Who selects and checks the host families, and what evidence you will see
• Who visits the homes, and when
• Who is the 24-hour contact on each side
• What parents are told, and by whom
• Who tells each school's designated safeguarding lead (DSL) about a concern

For a child visiting the UK, KCSIE says the school should get an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate for the host adults. It may also check anyone aged 16 or over in the household.

That route does not exist for homestays abroad. KCSIE says schools cannot get criminality information from the DBS about adults who host students overseas. It tells schools to agree the arrangements with the partner school instead.

Local rules differ, and in some countries private people cannot request a criminal record certificate. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) advises a risk assessment when an overseas check is not possible. Write down what you asked for and what you did instead.

OEAP warns that a check alone does not prove an adult is suitable. It says a visit leader should rethink the visit if the host school or agency vets families poorly. Use several sources of evidence, as in safer recruitment for staff.

• Names, ages and roles of everyone who lives in the home
• Photo identification for each adult who will care for the student
• A criminal record certificate or local equivalent, where local law allows it
• A reference from outside the family, and a short interview with the main host adult
• A signed code of conduct and agreed house rules
• A dated record of what you checked and what you could not check

A home visit tells you what a form cannot. OEAP asks schools to check the privacy of sleeping and toilet arrangements, and to match students with families on age, gender, diet, belief and needs.

If you cannot visit, ask the partner school to visit and send a short written report. For a first exchange, OEAP recommends a preliminary visit to agree the plan face to face.

Brief the host family in writing, in their own language, and then talk it through. OEAP asks whether hosts know what to do if a young person makes a disclosure.

You might say: "If your guest tells you something that worries you, listen. Do not promise to keep it secret. Call this number the same day, even at night."

• A bed of the student's own, in a room with a door that closes
• A bathroom with a lock, and a house rule that adults knock first
• Where alcohol and medicines are kept
• Who looks after the student when the host adults are at work
• Who drives the student, and in which vehicle

KCSIE says pupils should know who to contact during a homestay if an emergency happens or they feel uncomfortable. A tired student in a second language needs a route that takes one step.

OEAP's minimum for monitoring includes around-the-clock contact, daily contact with every student, a plan to move a student at short notice and an agreed keyword. The keyword lets a student ask for help when they cannot speak freely in front of their hosts.

Make the daily check simple. Ask each student to send one word, such as green, amber or red. Call anyone who sends amber or red when they can speak privately, and tell the DSL about every red.

A second route that skips you helps too. Child Helpline International lists child helplines by country, so add the local number to the card.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says children have the right to give their opinions freely on matters that affect them. The guide to student voice in safeguarding shows how to build that habit.

• The name and mobile number of the DSL or duty lead, with the time zone
• The partner school contact, the local emergency number and the child helpline number
• The home address, written in the local language
• The agreed keyword and what happens when it is used

Tell students what is normal in a host home and what is not. An adult who asks for secrecy, gives private gifts, enters a bedroom without knocking or offers alcohol is someone to tell you about.

You might say: "You can message me about anything, even small things. You will not be in trouble. If you feel uncomfortable, tell me and I will call you the same day."

Send parents a one-page pack before departure. KCSIE says parents should be aware of the agreed arrangement. Be honest about anything you could not check.

• Who arranged the stay, and what the school's role is
• Names of the host adults, and the checks done or not possible
• House rules on alcohol, curfews, travel and social media
• The 24-hour contact, and consent forms for activities such as swimming
• The DSL's number, for any worry their child shares

In England, KCSIE says a child under 16 who lives with a non-relative may count as privately fostered. A stay under 28 days, with no plan to go longer, does not. Other countries have their own rules on guardians and children living away from parents, so ask local counsel.

If families arrange a stay privately, a student may still tell you about a worry. Give those students the same contact card and reporting route.

A term or a year abroad needs contact for the whole stay. A call in the first days, regular check-ins, and a video call with student and host each term is a sensible pattern.

• Does the student have a private place to sleep and study?
• Is the student eating, sleeping and attending as usual?
• Does the student speak freely when the host is out of the room?
• Has anything changed in the household, such as a new adult or a lodger?

Follow your school's child protection procedure and tell the DSL the same day. If a student is in immediate danger, call local emergency services first, then the DSL.

Listen and write down the student's own words. Do not promise to keep it secret, and do not question the student beyond what you need to keep them safe. Do not call the host family to hear their side.

The DSL decides whether the student sleeps in that home tonight, and who tells the parents and the partner school. Your plan should already name a place to move the student.

Reporting duties may differ between the host country and your school's country. Ask local counsel which rules apply before departure, and read the guide to mandatory reporting laws.