Queenswood School

The challenges of short-term placements

Many schools have adapted their boarding models in recent years to accept one or two-term placements. Queenswood Girls’ School is one such school. The one-term girls enjoy a taster of traditional boarding school life, quickly improve their English language skills and many forge enduring friendships in a remarkably short time.

However, placements of one term can pose challenges for all parties involved. From the families’ perspective, there are practical considerations such as the cost of the uniform which is only to be worn for a term. Queenswood, like many other schools, maintains a stock of hardly worn uniform that we offer to one termers free of charge. So that problem is usually solved easily. From an academic perspective, teachers encounter the challenges of assessing a pupil’s ability quickly and working out the best way to maximize the learning opportunities for that individual. This varies of course from year group to year group and the level of English language proficiency also plays a big role.

Settling a child quickly into boarding school life is crucial for the success of the whole experience. This is where the guardian’s role is so important. Despite the length of stay being short, each individual child still requires the same quality of pastoral care that a guardian and homestay family provide, albeit without the long-term financial return. For instance, if the parents can’t accompany their child to school for the first day of term, guardians will bring them instead. They will help them unpack, settle them into their new surroundings and make vital connections with the staff. Providing a “home-from-home” for the child for exeats or if they want to explore British life away from the school environment is also an important part of settling each child. However, building trust and developing a nurturing relationship can take time, so guardians and host families can often be under pressure to build the relationship quickly.

To mitigate this situation, it helps enormously if the guardian arrangements can be set up with families as soon as an offer of a place has been accepted. This gives time for the relationship to be formed so that the child is comfortable with the guardian by the beginning of term and ready to turn to them if needed.