Education guardian reality

[Londonbabyland]

Been asked through friends and family as favour to act as education guardian for foreign student coming from Ukraine to board in UK. Whilst supposedly a formality would appreciate help assessing actual responsibilities, risks, commitments and hear real stories.
If anyone of a service provider who's offering this on Ukraine support schemes please message.

How old is the student, and do they have a school set up?

How official is the arrangement? Will they be full, weekly or flexi boarding? Are you familiar with the school?

I used to work in boarding but have never been a guardian myself.

Guardians could be called upon to come to school for any situation that parents would usually be asked to come for (e.g. meetings over serious matters, if the child was very sick or injured and had to be removed from the school, or if the child was suspended). Guardians were also expected to take the child for exeat and half-terms as well as for any gaps between the start/end of term and flights to/from home.

Guardians were not required, but were encouraged, to attend special events at the school like plays and prize givings.

Things like parent-teacher conferences usually took place over the phone/video conferencing with the parents and not the guardian.

The guardian was not required to pay school fees, uniform fees, or activity fees if the parents did not pay.

With the child coming from Ukraine, I would be concerned that they may be unable to go home at all (e.g. you would look after them for Easter, Christmas, and summer).

In most cases being a guardian was not onerous and was more of a formality,

I think I would only do it if I knew the child and parents well personally, ie. they were a family member or a very close family friend. I think a lot of paid guardians, who only expected to have the kid stay max a couple of nights until parents could arrive from abroad, got a bit of a shock during covid when suddenly they were expected to put up a child they didn't know for a 2 week isolation period, or for the entirety of the school holidays because there were no flights for parents to come over, or 3 weeks' hotel quarantines meant that a child flying home for christmas wasn't possible.

Now that we're getting back to normal, I would hope the covid side of things is all a thing of the past but given this child is coming from Ukraine I would only do it if I was comfortable with the possibility the child might be with me the whole of the school holidays if they couldn't get home or the parents could get over here.

@JusticeForWanda @LIZS thank you for raising important questions, it's easy to forget them while willing to help.
@CakesOfVersailles thank you for sharing your experience and like @Xiaoxiong warning of potential responsibility. It would have been ok for someone with spare time and resources, had to decline.

Thank you again for your responses!