Myself and Leanne Poole attended on
behalf of Bright World and were treated to a full schedule of interactive
presentations and discussions, where we heard from highly informed sources
within the UK International Boarding sector.
The first talk we had was an
interactive discussion and quiz on bullying by Ann Muston, Head of
International Support at The Leys School, Cambridge. The aim of the
workshop was to discuss what is bullying, how it relates to students and safeguarding. We got into pairs and small groups and discussed
nationalities, bullying and different types of bullying. Bullying happens in
lots of places and between girls as well as boys. It can be related to
school work, fashion, ethnicity to name a few. Sometimes banter can be
perceived as bullying when it is not, teaching international students how
banter works is a useful tool to avoid conflict.
We then had a talk Our Duty of Care,
a Pastoral Partnership from Mrs Frances Walker B.Ed., Housemistress and Teacher
of English at Sherborne International. The discussion was about being a
house parent and how Sherborne developed their boarding houses into
international ones. The importance of guardians and Pastoral Care.
In the afternoon we had another
interactive discussion on Mind the Gap – Exploring Cultural Differences.
This was taken with Richard Levinge and Linde Melhuish of Ease Training.
We discussed different cultures and how some customs can be mistaken for
rudeness or easily misunderstood.
This was not only a great opportunity
for us to meet with the AEGIS representatives and communicate with other
guardianship organisations but to learn more about how to continually develop
our important jobs as guardians.
Simon King, Guardianship Care Manager
Bright World Guardianships.
Bright World can place students at over 250 UK Boarding Schools. For further information, or if you are interested in
finding out more about placement and uk guardianship, please get in touch via our enquiry form , call
01273 835745 or visit our website www.brightworld.co.uk
