1. Host families and how we select them

What are the benefits of students staying with hosts?

Students experience many benefits by staying with a host.

• They become immersed in family life and experience what it is like to live in modern Britain.

• They are able to practise their English language skills and hone general conversation.

• They experience living in a different culture and gain valuable skills in sharing, negotiating different living styles and improve their resilience.

• Many students form long-lasting friendships with their hosts.

• The students get to show a little of their own culture to the hosts who might not otherwise get an opportunity to meet someone from a new culture.
  

Where are the hosts situated?

All of the CGP hosts are situated in York and the surrounding area, we specify that it should take no more than 1 hour (including waiting for a bus) to travel from the host home to university. On the map of York below, most hosts live within the A64/A1237 ring road (yellow ring on the map) which surrounds York.

Who are our hosts?

The people who host Short Course students are from many different backgrounds, although they are all based in York and the surrounding area.  We have hosts who are:

• single parent families 

• retired couples/singles

• couples with young children

• couples with grown up children who may not live with the host any longer

• single men/women

• different religious backgrounds

We don’t discriminate against hosts or students on the grounds of:

• religion

• race

• gender or 

• sexual orientation

We don’t collect information on these preferences, which means that we are unable to accommodate specific requests by students to be placed in families with or without any of the above preferences. 

What is a typical example of host accommodation?

Hosts live in different types of accommodation.  Typical housing in the UK ranges from:

• semi-detached houses (two houses joined together, with a minimum of two floors in the house)

• detached houses (one house on its own)

• terraced houses (a row of houses joined together)

• apartments

• bungalow (all rooms on one floor)

Homes may have two, three or more bedrooms.  Each student will have their own bedroom unless a partner university is happy for students to share a bedroom. 

Most homes in the UK will have shared bathrooms with a wash basin, toilet and either a bath with shower over it or a separate shower cubicle. We always make sure there is a working lock on the bathroom door. 

Many homes in the UK have shared spaces such as the living room and/or dining room/kitchen.  This is where much of the family socialising takes place, so the students can take advantage of practising their English language skills and learning about life in the UK. 

What do hosts provide?

Short Course students have their own bedroom and a place to store their clothes. In the bedroom, there will be a lamp and desk, or there will be somewhere quiet in the house where the student can work. The host will provide towels and bedding.  They will also provide WiFi which should be accessible throughout the home. 

Hosts will provide breakfast and an evening meal every day.  On weekends, if the student is not travelling away from York, the hosts will also provide lunch. Most British families eat only a light breakfast of cereals and/or toast. 

Some hosts will show students how to use the washing machine in order to do their laundry and others may offer to do it for the students. We also ask every host to provide each student with a key to the home so they can come and go as any other member of the family. 

How do we recruit hosts?

Many of the hosts we recruit are recommended to CGP by people who already host for us i.e word of mouth. CGP also has a dedicated web page which outlines what is expected of hosts and what the benefits are of hosting international students.

How do we select hosts?

1. Application Form

   After a potential host has made initial contact with CGP, either by phone/email or through viewing the web page, we ask them to complete a registration form which asks them to provide the following details:

   • contact details
   • family details (including hobbies, daily routines and pets)
   • host preferences (including the length of stay they prefer, if they smoke, are willing to accept smokers and if they are willing to host special diets)
   • accommodation details (including distance to the University, how many rooms they have available and what is included in each room)
   • fire safety information (such as details of smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and gas safety certificate)
     
     

2. Phone Call

   Once they have completed the application form we contact them and arrange to speak with them for around 20 - 30 minutes on the phone where we discuss a range of questions such as when they would be able to sit down and eat meals and have conversations with the students. 
   
   
   

3. Home Visit

   After the telephone conversation, if we are happy that they still meet our requirements, we arrange to visit them in their home. During this visit we inspect the house for cleanliness and general tidiness and to check that each student bedroom has a wardrobe, drawers etc mentioned above. We answer any questions the host may have and talk about different scenarios which might occur when hosting a student and what action we/they should take in each case. We also check that smoke alarms and carbon dioxide detectors are in place as described and take a copy of the landlord gas safety certificate. We use the visit as an additional opportunity to discuss any potential issues we can foresee and for the host to ask any further questions.

   
   

4. Handbook

   After we visit the host, we discuss our findings and decide whether to add the new host to our database. If we decide that the host meets our requirements and we believe they will be able to offer a satisfactory experience to students, we notify them via email. We also issue them with a Handbook which details our policies for hosting students, and gives them tips and advice for the types of activities they might like to do with students.  It also contains advice and contact details for emergency situations and if they/or the student are experiencing any difficulties during the hosting period. 

   
   

5. Re-visit