Home Stay Appendix 4: Guidelines for Students
Home Stay Student Guidelines
Introduction
These guidelines have been prepared to clarify the student’s role and
responsibilities to our Home Stay programme. We hope that they answer many
of your questions.
To discuss any aspect of these guidelines in more detail, please contact the
International Officer at the College on 020 8295 7000. The International Officer is
the student’s first point of contact for any Home Stay concerns. The International
Officer is referred to throughout this document as the IO.
Please be aware if you are under the age of 18, all members of your host’s
household over the age of 18 years may be subject to checks made by the
Criminal Records Bureau.
Hosting International Students
Accommodation is a very important aspect of our students’ whole experience at
Bromley College. As our students come from a variety of countries and cultural
backgrounds, they may have expectations and assumptions regarding behaviour
and attitudes which may differ from our own. Students opt for this type of
accommodation as a means to improve their English and for the security and
experience of a local family environment. If a student is unsettled or unhappy
their studies can be affected, as can their health. It is, therefore, important that
we work with our Home Stay families to ensure that specific aspects of the
accommodation to be provided meet our guidelines. Most problems that occur
are due to misunderstandings that can often be avoided with a thorough
discussion on both sides.
It is vitally important that the student knows the important part he or she plays in
making for a successful relationship with the host, and for a happy stay in their
household. These guidelines are intended to help share information on how
Home Stay operates between the student and the host, and suggest ways to
make sure that there is good communication and a clear understanding of what
is (and isn’t) offered within the scheme.
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Home Stay Appendix 4: Guidelines for Students
Home Stay Payments for Students
There are several packages available within Home Stay: Bed and Breakfast; Half
Board (Bed, Breakfast and Evening Meal), or Bed and Breakfast with Use of
Kitchen. Also, Half Board from Monday to Friday with Full Board at weekends
can be offered.
The prices for Home Stay for academic year 14/15 per student are as follows. A
week is seven days; any part week is charged pro rata i.e. 1/7th per day:
Single Occupancy




Bed and Breakfast £106.00
Bed/Breakfast/Use of Kitchen £111.00
Half Board (Bed, Breakfast and Evening Meal) £149.00
Half Board with Full Board at Weekends £172.00
Twin Occupancy (two separate beds)




Bed and Breakfast £86.00
Bed/Breakfast/Use of Kitchen
£91.00
Half Board (Bed, Breakfast and Evening Meal) £129.00
Half Board/Full Board at Weekends 52.00
Payments.
For a student studying on yearly programmes, there are normally three payments
a year. Students pay the College before the start of each term for the agreed
Home Stay package.
For a student studying on a programme shorter than one year, a single payment
will be made for Home Stay before the start of the programme.
If you have any queries regarding this please contact the International Officer.
Should there be any alteration to the payment schedule we will notify you in
advance.
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Home Stay Appendix 4: Guidelines for Students
The Basic Requirements
Student’s Bedroom
The room should be for your sole use and should not have other family member’s
belongings in the room.
All students require a single room where their privacy is respected.
Every room must contain as a minimum:
 Comfortable, full-sized single bed.
 Supply of warm bedding/linen and extra blankets/duvets.
 A study desk/table and a chair of comfortable height.
 Desk lamp.
 Adequate drawers and wardrobe/hanging space.
 Central heating (gas/electric fires are not acceptable)
 Clean change of bed linen once a week.
The room should be heated between 7:30am-8:30am and from 5pm-11pm.
Bathroom Facilities
A daily bath and/or shower will be available. Towels will be provided for students.
You must leave the bathroom clean after use and ventilate as necessary.
If you are prevented from taking a bath due to religious reasons, a ‘hose shower’
will be provided.
Cleaning
Students living on their own for the first time may be completely unaware of what
standards are expected of them. You must keep their rooms in a tidy condition.
Your room will be cleaned (dusted and vacuumed) once a week at a time agreed
with you. You must leave the room in an appropriate state for it to be cleaned.
Bed linen is usually changed at the same time.
Laundry
One machine load of washing is included in the weekly price. Your host may do
your washing or you may be shown how to use the washing machine, by
agreement. You will be shown the facilities available to dry washing, and the use
of iron and ironing board. If you have more than the average load of washing, an
additional charge of £1.75 per additional load will be made, paid direct to the
host.
Access to Your Home
You will be provided with your own key. We expect your privacy to be respected
and expect you to be able to access your host’s house and your room whenever
needed.
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Home Stay Appendix 4: Guidelines for Students
It is important that you are aware that you will not necessarily be timetabled to
attend College every day. As we expect students to be able to feel at home we
expect them to be able to access their rooms throughout the day, particularly in
the winter. A possible exception to this arrangement might be the agreed time
that the room is to be cleaned each week.
You must inform your Home Stay families if you expect to return particularly late
in the evening or will be staying away over night.
You, as part of the household, will be invited to watch television or listen to music
or spend time talking with the rest of the household. While you may wish to
spend time studying quietly in your room in the evenings, it is beneficial to feel
part of the family and to know you can access the home without feeling that you
are intruding.
Board Basis
Meals
Hosts will be sensitive to the eating requirements of international students, but
may need to be briefed on whether there is cultural or religious significance
attached to certain foods, or if you have preferences or allergies.
Bed and Breakfast
Home Stay families will provide you with breakfast at an agreed time each day at
a reasonable hour for both Home Stay families and yourself. You might typically
be offered fruit juice, cereal, toast and an egg with tea or coffee to drink, or an
alternative to each of these if necessary, or a traditional cooked breakfast.
Please discuss with your host what you prefer.
Half Board
Home Stay families will provide you with bed, breakfast and an evening meal.
Here, you will benefit from sitting down and sharing meals with your host. Please
see section above for breakfast guidelines.
An evening meal should normally include a meat or fish dish (if acceptable) plus
a minimum of two vegetables, with dessert or fruit and yoghurt or suitable
alternatives. Any extra meals outside the agreement with the College should be
charged privately at the following rates: £2.50 for a snack meal such as soup and
a sandwich or eggs on toast. £4.50 for a main meal as detailed above. Payment
is made directly to the host, by agreement.
Half Board /Full Board
Home Stay families will provide half board from Monday to Friday (bed, breakfast
and evening meal) and full board at weekends (bed, breakfast, lunch and
evening meal). Please discuss with your host what you would prefer for lunch
(e.g. soup and a sandwich, egg on toast, pasta salad etc).
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Home Stay Appendix 4: Guidelines for Students
Bed and Breakfast with Use of Kitchen
You will be provided with a breakfast or the option of making your own, and
access to the kitchen facilities for preparing lunch and evening meals. You will be
provided with storage space in a cupboard and a fridge, use of cooking pans,
utensils and crockery. Set cooking times and use of facilities will be agreed from
the beginning of the stay. You are expected to tidy the kitchen after use and
wash up crockery etc. This is a popular alternative for students on long stay
courses.
Other Requirements/Information
Smoking
Your host will make it clear whether smoking is permitted in the house. It is not
unreasonable for you to be requested not to smoke in the house.
Visitors
It is important that you are be able to bring a friend to the house should you wish.
Your host will make it clear from the beginning the arrangements for bringing
guests, whether you wish to be asked each time, how often, where they can be
entertained and at what time they must leave.
Health Care
If you are unwell, please inform your host who will contact the IO in the morning.
If you are seriously ill and need a doctor urgently, your host will contact their
family doctor or an ambulance.
Insurance
We advise students to take out personal insurance that covers them for all forms
of accident while living away from home. You may be charged for any damage
you cause in a home that is not usual wear and tear in the home. If you plan to
bring any valuable personal items, we advise you have an insurance scheme to
cover any theft, loss or damage.
Telephone
Many of the students are thousands of miles from home and a call to, or from,
their parents can be a great comfort. You should ask your hosts what
arrangements exist regarding the use of the telephone. You must never use the
telephone without the permission of the host. We advise that the host charges
you for any calls made.
Families of students will need to be able to contact the host in cases of
emergency. Please advise your host of emergency contact numbers.
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Home Stay Appendix 4: Guidelines for Students
College Holidays
If you wish to stay with the host any time outside of term dates, it must be a
private arrangement between you and the Home Stay host. If you are going
away, but wish to leave your things in the room, we advise the host to charge a
retainer of half the usual rate per week.
Problems
We do realise that sometimes you may be unhappy with your Home Stay family,
or vice versa, for no specific reason other than a personality clash. If this is the
case and you feel it is something that cannot be resolved, please contact the IO.
It is the College’s policy to agree to move a student once either the student or the
Home Stay family consider the situation unacceptable.
Allocation Procedure
The IO co-ordinates International students’ course offers. Once students have all
necessary visas, and deposits are paid, their details and accommodation
requests are processed by the IO.
The IO is also available to support international students throughout their stay.

When applications for both independent and groups of students are
received, the IO analyses the students’ needs and preferences. The
requirements include board basis, animal allergies, family/ Home Stay
families’ preferences, distance from the College, proximity to other
students etc.

The IO then matches the student to a suitable Home Stay family who has
a room free for the student’s dates. The IO will send you an allocation
letter. To confirm the booking return the slip at the bottom of the letter as
soon as possible, as written confirmation of your acceptance is required.

The IO relies on the details each party provides in order to make a
placement. It is, therefore, essential that you notify the IO of any changes
in your circumstances.

The IO will inform the host of your arrival time.
Welcoming Students
The first meeting between Home Stay family and student is extremely important
and can influence the relationship for the rest of your stay. Here are a few
guidelines to help.
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Home Stay Appendix 4: Guidelines for Students

You may have been travelling for many hours when you arrive at your
Home Stay. Your host will make you feel welcome: offer a drink and
snack, introduce yourself and any other family members present.

You will be shown your room and bathroom facilities.

Over the next day or so you will be told the ground rules and the host will
explain how things work - too much information in the first day can make
you feel unwelcome and overwhelmed. The most important things to
explain are: use of shower/bathroom appliances, board basis/use of
kitchen and timings that suit the family, locking of front door/house
security, smoking restrictions and use of telephone.

Please ask questions. It is normal to be quiet to begin with, as often a
student’s level of English can differ and they can also be quite nervous in
the first few days. You will be encouraged to talk and this will make you
feel welcome. Your English will soon improve!

You will be told what you can and cannot do.

Obviously each individual will take a different amount of time to settle in
and remember how to do things, so please be patient and ask your host
for help. By the end of the first week most students will have a good grasp
of the household routine.

Problems often arise due to misunderstandings in the first few days. If the
College becomes involved it can make students and hosts feel
uncomfortable. Therefore, in the first instance, we encourage students to
ask the host directly about any problems or anything they do not
understand. Similarly, we ask the host to try to work out any problems with
the students directly at first.
First Morning of the Programme
Your host will help you plan your journey to the College on the first day.
British Council Regulations
The College is currently making an application for British Council
accreditation. If successful we will be required by the British Council to follow
their regulations and these are set out here for your information. You should
also be aware that an inspection takes place and an important part of that
inspection includes a random inspection of up to 3 Home Stay houses. In
accepting to be a Home Stay family you acknowledge that you could be
selected as one of the Home Stay houses to be randomly inspected. We will
make you aware of this inspection if and when it occurs.
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Home Stay Appendix 4: Guidelines for Students
Code of Practice for Home Stay Accommodation Providers:
 To encourage the student to speak English as much as possible in
your home.
 To encourage the student to feel at home and to treat him/her as a
member of the family rather than a paying guest.
 Not to host another student of the same native language at the same
time, unless by special arrangement with both students and the
College.
 To provide a clean and comfortable student room meeting the physical
requirements laid down by the British Council.
 To provide a home environment in which it is possible for the student
to continue his/her English studies properly.
 To provide the student with a balanced and appropriate diet.
 To show concern for the welfare, safety and security of the student
during his/her stay.
 To give the student reasonable and regular access to bathroom and
laundry facilities.
 To maintain a close liaison with the College and be in a position to help
resolve any problems that the student may encounter during his/her
stay.
 To respect the student’s different cultural background and be sensitive
to the particular needs of the student.
British Council Student’s Room Requirements:
 To provide a table or desk for private study and adequate hanging
and drawer space for clothes.
 To provide adequate heating and lighting.
 To provide adequate washing facilities and access to the bathroom
as a member of the household, with bath/shower available daily.
 To provide change of bed linen each week and a good supply of
blankets.
 To provide sufficiently spacious bedroom, adequately equipped and
with natural light.
 To provide a proper state of cleanliness and repair in the home.
Student Arrival, Emergency and Welfare Procedures
Prior to Arrival
If you have not received any information relating to the arrival time of your
student within 4 days prior to the day of arrival, please contact the IO. This will
allow time for the IO to make the necessary enquiries with the student or their
Agent overseas.
Day of Arrival
Students are expected to travel from their point of arrival in the UK to your home
independently, unless you offer to collect them. On the day of arrival please
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Home Stay Appendix 4: Guidelines for Students
enquire with the airport / port that there are not transport delays. From the
expected arrival time (unless you are collecting them) stay by your phone in case
the student calls you.
Should your student contact you directly with transport problems to Bromley,
please give them whatever support you can to help them get to your home. If this
involves going to collect them from an agreed rendezvous point, then you are
expected to undertake this duty.
Contact Numbers
Should you have any student welfare problems whilst the student is living with
you, please contact the IO during office hours.
Feedback to the College
If you have any comments about any of the Home Stay guidance paperwork and
contract, or any helpful experiences to share, please inform the IO so we can
ensure our service is as good as possible for future students and host families.
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Home Stay Appendix 4: Guidelines for Students
Home Stay Accommodation Agreement
Student Terms and Conditions
1. Student’s Obligations
1.1
To pay the Rent to the College in advance on or before the
Payment Dates either:
1.1.1 In full by credit card, cheque or bank transfer
1.1.2 In termly instalments by direct debit; or
1.1.3 In instalments by direct debit by agreement (for
students on short stay arrangements)
Where payment is by direct debit, the first instalment must
have been paid before this Agreement comes into effect and
the balance of the payments will be collected in accordance
with the payment schedule obtainable from the Finance
Department after arrival.
1.2
To be respectful to all Home Stay family members, and not to
cause any nuisance, disruption, harassment or persistent
disturbance to others.
1.3
To follow all reasonable house rules set up by your Home Stay
provider such as meal times, noise levels, guests and others.
1.4
Not to smoke in Home Stay accommodation unless permitted by
the Home Stay provider.
1.5
Not to be in possession of or use any illegal substance
(including cannabis) in Home Stay accommodation.
1.6
To prepare or store food only in designated areas (i.e. kitchen).
All students living in Home Stay accommodation with bed and
breakfast and use of kitchen facilities are expected to keep
crockery and cutlery clean in between the mealtimes. All
students must inform their Home Stay providers of any food
allergies and special requirements (i.e. vegetarians, cultural or
religious).
1.7
To keep bedroom tidy and accessible to your Home Stay
provider for cleaning purposes and health and safety reasons.
1.8
Not to decorate, move or bring furniture in your Home Stay
unless permitted by the Home Stay provider.
1.9
To look after the house key provided for Home Stay
accommodation and use it with care for the security of all
homestay family members.
1.10 To ask permission from Home Stay provider for bringing in
guests.
1.11 To inform your Home Stay provider of any late night arrivals and
nights out.
1.12 Not to use Home Stay telephone without permission.
1.13 Not to break or damage anything in Home Stay accommodation.
In cases of any damage caused by students or their guests
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Home Stay Appendix 4: Guidelines for Students
compensation fees will apply payable by the Home Stay student
responsible for the damage.
2
Home Stay Provider’s Obligations
2.1
To encourage the student to speak English as much as possible
at home.
2.2
To encourage the student to feel at home and to treat him/her
as a member of the family.
2.3
Not to host another student of the same native language at the
same time unless by special arrangement with both students
and the College.
2.4
To provide a clean and comfortable student room meeting the
physical requirements laid down by the College.
2.5
To provide the student with a balanced and appropriate diet.
2.6
To show concern for the welfare, safety and security of the
student during his/her stay.
2.7
To maintain a close liaison with the College and so be in a
position to help resolve any problems that the student may
encounter during his/her stay.
2.8
To respect the student’s different cultural background and be
sensitive to the particular needs of the student. To provide:
2.9
To meet the requirements laid by the British Council:
2.9.1 Sufficiently spacious bedroom, adequately equipped
and with natural light.
2.9.2 Change of bed linen each week and good supply of
blankets.
2.9.3 A table or desk for private study and adequate
hanging and drawer space for clothes.
2.9.4 Adequate washing facilities and regular access to the
bathroom as a member of the household, with
bath/shower available daily.
2.9.5 Adequate heating and lighting.
2.9.6 A proper state of cleanliness and repair in the home.
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College Obligations
3.1
To monitor the student’s welfare in Home Stay accommodation.
3.2
To act as the first point of contact between the student and the
Home Stay provider to ensure that the College requirements are
met.
3.3
To relocate the student with another Home Stay host in a timely
manner in case of unsatisfactory living experience in the Home
Stay accommodation.
3.4
To advise the student on matters arising within the
accommodation area (e.g. payments, welfare, accommodation
guidelines etc)
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Home Stay Appendix 4: Guidelines for Students
4
Cancellation Policy
4.1
Students may wish to cancel their Home Stay accommodation
giving a valid reason. Depending on the cancellation notice
period the following cancellation charges will apply:
More than 5 days - £25
Less than 5 days - £50
One day or less – Equivalent to the rent of one week.
4.2
All bookings over 12 weeks will incur a £100 non-refundable
booking fee.
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Other Conditions
5.1
The student is responsible for the conduct of any invited
visitor(s)
5.2
The student hereby authorises the College to use his/her
personal data for all lawful purposes in connection with this
agreement (including debt recovery, crime prevention, allocating
rooms or where there is a serious risk of harm to the Student or
to others).
5.3
The College’s and the Home Stay Host’s liability for loss or
damage to person or property is excluded unless the loss or
damage is caused by the College’s or the Home Stay Provider’s
negligence or breach of its obligations in this agreement.
5.4
Where the student is dissatisfied with the services they receive
under this agreement, they are entitled to complain under the
College’s Student Grievance Procedure published on the
College’s web site: www.bromley.ac.uk
5.5
Data will be processed under the terms of the Data Protection
Act 1998.
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