Guardianship doesn’t stop at the end of the working day — and it definitely doesn’t take weekends off.
This weekend, one of our brilliant guardians, Hayley, went out of her way to support a new international student who was feeling homesick. The student had only just arrived in the UK to start school, and while everything was new and exciting, the reality of being far from home had started to set in.
In a quiet moment, the student sent us a few photos of some familiar Chinese snacks — nothing fancy, just the kinds of things they’d grab without thinking back home. It was a small request, not even phrased as a request, really. But we knew exactly what they were trying to say.
Hayley immediately took the lead. We contacted a local Asian grocery shop, shared the pictures, and asked the shop owner to help us track everything down. A few hours later, we had a bag full of carefully chosen treats — the right brands, the right flavours, and most importantly, something familiar in a completely unfamiliar environment.
We delivered the snacks directly to the school. No fanfare, no formalities — just a gesture that said: we see you, and we care.
It might sound like a small thing, but these are the moments that matter. Because real guardianship is about more than just ticking boxes. It’s not about being “on call” in theory — it’s about actually showing up. It’s knowing when a student needs support even if they don’t know how to ask for it. It’s being there at the right time, with the right thing, in the right way.
This kind of care isn’t something you can schedule between 9 and 5. It’s instinctive. Human. And it’s at the heart of how we work at YES Guardians.
We’re incredibly proud of Hayley, and all our guardians who go that extra step — not because they have to, but because they want to. These are the people helping students feel less alone, more understood, and more at home.
And for us, that’s what guardianship is really about.
