Visitors from abroad joining your children at school

[ILoveAFullFridge]

My cousin is thinking of coming to stay for a few weeks next autumn, and we were wondering whether her dc could join mine at school during that time.

They would be in Y5 and Y6. The older ones (twins, currently in Y5) already have a decent standard of conversational English, and the youngest one is not far behind.

Has anyone ever done this? My cousin says it's not unusual in her country, and I recall it happening in school a few times when I was a child, but is the Head going to think I'm crazy when I ask her about it?

[FamiliesShareGerms]

Spanish and German children can attend school in the UK because of various EU Free Movement provisions. Children from the US etc cannot just attend school in the UK for a couple of months when they are visiting the UK!

[teacherwith2kids]

Definitely worth asking.

We have Traveller families where cousins frequently arrive for a short period (though some stay for much longer) and so are quite used to children being present in the school for only a few days or weeks. Other schools may not be so well set up for it.

I would also set it up carefully from the visitors' point of view - as they will be joining the school for a period of a few weeks, they will be expected to treat it seriously, to work hard, to do relevant homework, to follow normal behaviour expectations, wear minimal uniform and have PE kit etc. It would be OK for a visitor coming in for a day to wear normal clothes, be a bit excitable, not necessarily work their hardest in Maths - but not for a child joining a class (especially not a high KS2 class) for several weeks. Also, if the children do not speak or write fluent English, will the school be set up to support them e.g. during longer writing tasks etc? It can be quite difficult for schools if a 'high needs' [in the school environment - ie needing lots of support to understand or write language etc] child joins for a very short time, as it can divert staff (e.g. TA) attention from the other members of the class.

It may be worth having a fallback position of 'well, if they can't join the school full time for several weeks, could they perhaps come in for a special day?' prepared.

[KTK9]

Happens at our school a lot we have had Spanish and German kids in class for up to a week or two.

My friend is coming over from Texas with her two girls at the end of the summer as they break up earlier, so hoping they can go in.

I think it is a great idea to explore cultural differences.

Definately ask.

[FamiliesShareGerms]

OP, there's a huge difference between an asylum seeker or refugee (NB not the same thing) temporarily joining a school, presumably while their longer term accommodation is sorted; and someone coming along for a day or two; and someone joining the school full time for three weeks. Not least, the latter may not be legally possible, depending on their nationality, immigration status etc.

[Groovee]

My niece and nephew joined their cousins at school when they came for 3 months. It will depend on the head x

[givemeaclue]

The visitors may benefit more from doing a wider range of activities than sitting in an English school for three weeks -not much of a holiday! So much to see and do outside of school be a shame to waste the opportunity to see and experience the UK

[ILoveAFullFridge]

True, Clam, but it's a bit much to ask a 9/10yo to explain their culture in in one morning in a 2nd language. Even for an adult that's impossible. Fair enough, 2-3weeks might be too much for the school - maybe 1week, or two lots of Monday-Wednesday, would not.

I vividly remember the time when a Russian child attended my primary for a few weeks. She was an asylum seeker, and the school had taken her as an act of charity to help the family settle in. Her spoken English was very poor and her cultural frame of reference was utterly alien to us - and ours to her. Learning to communicate and play together was an exciting challenge. And when she totally thrashed us at the Monday morning spelling tests, that was an even bigger eye-opener!

Certainly we, the 'regular' pupils, would not have benefitted nearly as much had the girl come to us for a day or two. Neither would she have done, but that's a completely different matter, her being a political refugee needing safety and stability, rather than a tourist. However my tourist cousins would also benefit more from an extended attendance.

[ILoveAFullFridge]

This is all very useful stuff, thank you!

I really like the idea of getting my cousin to go in as well (not so sure she will, though ).

[clam]

I think there's a big difference between a child (or adult) coming in for a session to share their experiences/culture, and what the OP is proposing, which is for 2 or 3 children to join for a few weeks.

[sybilwibble]

Our god daughter visited from abroad and joined my daughters class in yr 4 for a day. It caused a huge amount of excitement and the school were very encouraging. But it was At the end of a term, when the school timetable was a little more relaxed. The cross cultural benefits can be gleaned with a short visit and unless the class is undersubscribed I suspect it would add to staff workload if for more than a few days. Also I suspect the novelty would wear off for the visitors for an extended visit, especially if they are not able to fully participate in lessons due to differences in learning.

[FamiliesShareGerms]

It depends on the nationality of the children: if non-EU, as someone said upthread, there are potentially issues with immigration rules / visas for something more than a day or two in the classroom here or there. Your OP suggested that they might effectively be on the school roll for a couple of weeks, which is unlikely to be allowed, I'd have thought.

[Saracen]

"I suspect the head of our juniors would be thrilled, probably make the whole school study the country for homework Particularly if it's their first language is one that's studied at school it would be very popular with him."

Just what I was thinking. I'm a bit surprised that most people on the thread so far have seen this arrangement as being beneficial solely to the visiting children, and even a bit cheeky. Wouldn't it be great to give the others in the class the chance to learn all about life in another country? Schools are generally delighted to invite visitors to come in and share their expertise or experience with the school's own children, aren't they? So I would have thought the proposed arrangement would be welcome, especially since the class teachers will have been given a decent bit of notice to plan for it and maybe brush up on their own knowledge of the country in question.

You could ask the visiting children to bring some interesting things from home which the local children may not have seen before, and some photos of their town and home.

Perhaps your cousin could also come into school for a few hours to talk about some other differences between life in the two countries, which her children might not have noticed or thought to mention. Are the fashions different? Do people do different kinds of jobs? How does the economy and weather and standard of living compare?

Unless the school has insurance or timetabling issues I would have thought they would jump at the chance. I'd be dismayed if they didn't appreciate being offered such an opportunity.

[DeWe]

As it's year 5/6, class sizes (unless your sizes are already huge) shouldn't be an issue.

I suspect the head of our juniors would be thrilled, probably make the whole school study the country for homework Particularly if it's their first language is one that's studied at school it would be very popular with him.

[socharlotte]

My friend wanted to do this with German speaking cousin aged 6 or 7 with very little English.The school would only agree to a half day.

[StripyShoes]

My cousin came over from oz and was allowed to join a local school for four weeks.

Definitely ask!

[Savonarola]

I think it will come down to the attitude of the head. Some will be obstructive and throw every bureaucratic reason at you (most of these can actually be worked around); some will welcome the idea (and will solve the admin).

DS school has an exchange with a French school, which involves pupils spending time at each others school. One of our local primaries takes in the children from a travelling fair for 2 weeks every year.

[clam]

I think it will entirely depend on the Head. I can think if some who'd be open to the idea and others who'd give an outright 'no.'

That said, slightly different scenario but around 25 years ago, a former pupil from the class was back visiting the area and came in to spend the day with his former classmates. Lovely idea in theory, except he spent the whole time chatting with his mates and they were far more interested in him than what we were meant to be doing, so it ended up being really disruptive. But that was in the days before Ofsted and targets and so on, and things were more relaxed. I suspect that Heads might be a little reluctant nowadays, even allowing for the suggested cultural/educational enrichment factor. Don't forget that most schools have a varied cultural mix already.

[Mathsdidi]

We have a German visitor every year for a term at my school. They just fit in with the rest of the kids.

I would speak to the head and see what she says. She might be keen to have them in for the whole time they are with you or she might be happy for them to visit for a couple of days, or she might only be able to accomodate them for an afternoon. It isn't a crazy idea, it's a lovely one, but it is definitely the school's decision.

[Mutteroo]

You can but ask?

I joined my German cousin in her classes at university and had such a giggle, especially in her English class. Apparently my accent is outstanding!

[expansivegirth]

give it a go with the headmaster - but first get all the relevant information you can in place re insurance etc. do you think any of the admissions people on here might have an idea? the only time i've ever asked the head for anything out of the ordinary i researched it well enough so i was able to answer every problem he put up in the course of the discussion.
my kids went into a friends US school once, admittedly only for half a day - but everyone loved it (and were very small at the time, under the age of the rest of the class).

[Bonsoir]

The daughter of a (French) family I know here in Paris went to stay with a family in England last June/July and was allowed to go to the local village school with the daughter of the family she was staying with. I think it depends on the school. Just ask!

[HedgeHogGroup]

It happens all the time at my school. We welcome everyone in whether they're with us for short or long periods.
Sometimes it does feel like we're free childcare but we know being with us is best for the children.
Just don't take them out for days here and there, its annoying when you've put yourself out in this way for them to take the p* and screw up your attendance figures with random days off!

[ivykaty44]

I know this happens in Birmingham when the Christmas market come to town in November - the stall holders bring their children with them until 23 December and put them in the local schools for the month, I guess there must be places.

[Ouluckyduck]

The bursar at my dd's school pointed out that schools have visitors in all the time for all sorts of reason - while they are normally adult visitors tha doesn't mean that child visitors can't come in. For our visiting child we just filled in the same form you fill in for any other child - contact details, medical information, and that was it. No other paperwork required.

[MumToTheBoy]

I wasn't allowed to take my own ds to a disco at my school (not the one he attends) as he wouldn't be covered by the insurance, so I'm sure he same will apply in this situation.