The Pippa’s difference lies in the care we take in selecting families. We meet all our host families personally in their home, and our primary consideration is, “Would I be happy leaving my children here?” If the answer is yes, we move on to our stringent process of security checks and reference taking which includes police and safeguarding clearance. Your child’s safety is of paramount importance so our vetting procedure is exceptionally thorough.
As importantly though, we seek families who share our values, who believe in looking after students as they would their own children. Our host families offer much more than safety, accommodation and meals; they play a vital role in your child’s physical and emotional welfare. Some bake birthday cakes and deliver them to school; some go to watch important milestones such as concert performances or being awarded a prize; others notice that their student is struggling with television or cinema screens and flag it up so that we can arrange an eye test. Together these little things make a big difference to your child’s experience; a happy and supported child will be much more likely to achieve his or her potential.
Since host families are critical to your child’s experience in the UK, we do our best to look after them. We want Pippa’s families to enjoy the experience as much as the students do. Some families have been with us since the very start – they have become our family now too.