Host Family Programmes | How we select families & safeguard students

We recruit and hand-select every family used to host our students in England, Germany and the USA.

Programmes that use host family accommodation for students include our summer language camps to the USA, academic year or semester placements and short-term high school immersion.

How do we recruit Host Families?

Our Local Coordinators who work in the local communities to discover and identify families that meet our guidelines. Local Coordinators are experienced professionals who have been trained to interview host families and verify that they meet all requirements of our programme.

The Local Coordinator meets the entire family and discusses their background, interest in hosting an international student, and commitment to supporting their student in their educational experience. It is important to Xplore, that the host family is well informed and prepared for a positive experience.

Allocating and Matching Students with Host Families

This is something that we take huge pride in; finding the perfect match for both our students and families.

Our teams start by carefully going through each individual student application that we receive, paying particular attention to the type of interests students have and the type of area they currently live in. Once we are confident we have understood the students’ requirements, we run a similar process with the host families that have passed our screening process.

Student Support and Safeguarding

We take student safety very seriously and have set clear policies in place. Student safety is covered in all our orientations and handbooks and training our staff is first and foremost.

All of our families go through a thorough screening process where they have their backgrounds checked. In the UK specifically, this is called a DBS check. In the USA, a criminal background check is processed as well as references required.

We conduct regular visits and have frequent contact between both the families and students. Moreover, we have a robust pastoral care programme to maintain open communications with the students throughout their stay such that any issues are addressed immediately.

Common Homestay FAQs

What type of family do you accept?

Our host family community is extremely diverse. We welcome families of all sizes, ethnicities, religions.

Our expectations from all however remains the same, which is to provide a safe and supportive home, meals, a space for student’s to call their own and of course to ensure the student is included in everyday life.

Find out more about becoming a host family

Do students get to meet their host family before arriving?

We provide students with a profile of their potential homestay family to initially encourage placements. Once a placement has been confirmed, we will provide the student with the family’s contact details so that the student can initiate correspondence prior to arrival on the programme.

Can students choose their host family?

Neither students nor host families can explicitly choose their match, however within both the student application form and host family application form, we ask for as much information on home dynamics and lifestyle, including diet, pets, religion, interests and hobbies, so that we can achieve the best placement for all involved.

Do families get paid for hosting?

Yes, we do pay our host families a living allowance to cover the additional costs of hosting another person in their household.

Do you place more than 1 student in a family?

Most students are placed in single homestay accommodation. We use double placements once in a while, though this rarely occurs and all parties will be made aware should we decide to double place two students.

In the event that 2 students are placed in the same family, we always ensure that they are the same gender but speak different languages. The family must also have additional space in their home for us to deem a double placement appropriate.