BECOME A HOST FAMILY
It starts with a warm welcome — here’s what happens next.
Becoming a host family is more than just providing a room—it’s about offering guidance, kindness, and a sense of home to a young person far from their own.
Thank you for your interest in becoming a host family.
Welcoming an international student into your home is a unique and rewarding experience. It’s a chance to offer warmth, stability, and support to a young person studying far from home — and to create lifelong memories and connections along the way.
While hosting can make great use of a spare bedroom and provide a helpful source of extra income, many families find the true value lies in the cultural exchange and the positive impact they have on a student’s life.
Host families typically care for students during school breaks, with flexibility depending on availability. In some cases, we also arrange longer-term placements for day students who commute to school from home, just like local pupils.
When will a host family be needed?
They will be used in the following situations
EXEAT WEEKENDS
Typically Friday afternoon until Sunday evening – it is a perfect opportunity for the student to relax, re-group or to catch up with some prep work. As Guardian, we will know already if your child’s chosen school has exeat weekends, and will have planned this host family stay into the term.
SCHOOL HOLIDAYS
As mentioned in our guide on the British Education System. Schools in the UK have half terms, and then longer holidays at Easter and Christmas. These range between 8 and 16 nights. We will work with you to pick a suitable host family for these holidays.
EMERGENCIES
As mentioned above – the unexpected may happen, and the student may need to stay with a host family in an emergency. We are fully prepared and contactable to make this arrangement if it is needed. This is part of the AEGIS accreditation we hold.
What Are Our YES Guardians Host Families Like?
Our host families are as unique as the students they welcome. Some offer twin rooms shared with another student, while others provide private rooms. Some students prefer their own bathroom, while others are happy to share. We recognise that every student is different — and we tailor our placements accordingly. After all, understanding individual needs is what makes us good guardians.
But while homes may vary, one standard is unwavering: Would we be happy for our own daughters to stay in this home? If the answer is yes, then that’s a YES Guardians host family.
Our hosts provide a true home away from home. They are typically family households where the host lives on-site — we never place students alone. Each student has a dedicated bedroom (shared or private) and a study space, whether it’s a desk in their room or a quiet area elsewhere in the house.
🏡 Hosting with YES: The Essentials
We encourage hosts and students to share mealtimes, creating opportunities to speak English, build rapport, and experience British culture together.
Where possible, hosts should invite students to join in with family activities between study sessions — even something as simple as a walk or a trip into town can be meaningful.
Some hosts go even further, offering experiences like bowling, badminton, go-karting, horse riding, or even paddleboarding
All our host families are required to provide reliable Wi-Fi — not just for online learning, but so students can stay connected with their families back home.
All of our host homes are held to a high standard — they’ve been inspected and are clean, warm, and spacious, offering a comfortable place for students to relax. Reliable heating is essential, and so is the quality of food. Many hosts enjoy cooking with their students, often introducing them to local dishes or trying recipes from the student’s home country.
We also encourage hosts to provide thoughtful home comforts, like familiar snacks from home, to help students feel settled and supported.
Celebrating key events is important to us. As part of being a good guardian, we make note of birthdays and cultural holidays, and share this information with host families — so students feel recognised and can celebrate these special moments together in their home away from home.
Our host families are usually located near local amenities, giving students the chance to explore independently (with permission), or with support from their host — who can often help with drop-offs and pick-ups when needed.
The UK is a nation of animal lovers — and we welcome that! Many of our host families have pets, which often become a much-loved part of the student’s experience. In fact, it’s not uncommon for students to return to a host family just to reunite with their favourite furry friend!
We want students to feel at ease during their stay, which is why a warm, comfortable bedroom is essential — a space where they can truly relax and recharge.
A dedicated desk or study space is essential, as students will have regular schoolwork and preparation for exams during their stay.
Feedback from students shows that even small moments — like helping with cooking or playing cards with the family — can greatly enrich their experience of studying in the UK. Time away from school shouldn’t feel like a disruption, but rather an enjoyable extension of their journey, with the host family experience adding warmth, connection, and a true sense of belonging
Is Hosting Right for Me?
Our host families come from all walks of life — young professionals, couples, retirees, with or without children. What unites them all is a shared commitment to providing a safe, welcoming home for international students.
If you have a spare room, can offer full board (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), and would enjoy welcoming a student into your home, then yes — hosting could be perfect for you.
Hosting a student is more than just offering a room — it’s an opportunity to build meaningful connections, share cultures, and support a young person during a formative time in their life. Many hosts describe it as one of the most rewarding experiences they’ve ever had.
We speak from experience — we’ve welcomed students into our own home for over 10 years. The feedback we receive from students is incredibly heartwarming, and it’s clear how much they value the kindness and support of their host families.
We’re proud of our YES Family — both students and hosts — and would love to welcome you into it.
Ready to become the newest member of our YES Family?
We refer to both our students and our host families as part of the YES Family — a supportive, caring network that makes everything we do possible.
We’re fortunate to work with incredible host families across the UK, all of whom help students thrive during their time in our Guardianship programme.
None of this would be possible without our host families. Their kindness, flexibility, and commitment are the heart of what we do, and we’re endlessly grateful.
Are you ready to join the YES Family?
What Happens After You Apply?
Whether you’ve already submitted your application or are thinking about becoming a host family, here’s what to expect next.
Once we receive your application, we begin reviewing it alongside our upcoming student needs. We look closely at where our students will be based and start to consider the best possible placements, taking into account location, personality, and home environment. Many of our students return to the same host families year after year — something we’re really proud of.
We do our best to acknowledge all applications, but if you don’t hear from us right away, please don’t worry — we haven’t forgotten you. Once we find a potential match, we’ll be in touch to arrange a friendly Zoom call or in-person meeting to discuss things further.
How We Choose Our Host Families
We don’t accept every application to become a host family — and for good reason. The safety, happiness, and wellbeing of our students are at the heart of everything we do. Our host family selection process is guided by both our personal values and our AEGIS accreditation, which recognises our recruitment standards as exemplary.
As parents ourselves, our golden rule is simple: Would we be happy for our own children to stay here? That principle guides every decision we make.
Our Host Family Checks
We follow Safer Recruitment practices and have a detailed checklist for both the people and the property involved. While this isn’t an exhaustive list, here’s an overview of what we assess:
For the people in the home:
Enhanced DBS (criminal record) checks for all required family members
A detailed application form
Information about hobbies, interests, and household lifestyle to help with good student matches
An interview with one of our team
For the home itself:
A home inspection — either in person or via Zoom — focusing on all areas the student will use
Safety documentation, including a valid gas safety certificate
Testing of all safety alarms (smoke, carbon monoxide, etc.)
