Agreement to Host Overseas Students
Please find the link to sign up as a homestay family or update your information at the bottom of this agreement.
The aim of the host family system is to give our foreign guests a chance to
· practise their English communication skills outside the classroom
· experience New Zealand family life in a comfortable home
Nelson English Centre aims to give students the highest quality homestay experience possible during their stay in Nelson. The school recognises the hard work that you, the host family, put in to making this possible. We, in turn, will provide you with practical support when required.
Meeting the student
If the student booked a pick-up, a Nelson English Centre representative will generally meet the student at the airport or bus stop and bring them to your home on the day of arrival. However, where it is not possible for our representative to meet the student, we would appreciate your help in meeting your student. Please hold up the name card that we send out to you, with flight details on the back.
If the student didn't book a pick-up, they will come to the host family's place by their own means.
The day and time will be confirmed in the week of the arrival. Homestay information will be sent prior to their arrival and should be placed in the student’s room.
Food
The host family should provide breakfast and an evening meal of a reasonable standard every day, and lunch at the weekend and on public holidays. The evening meal should be varied and of a reasonable quality, i.e. frequent takeaways are unacceptable. The host families and students are expected to eat the same meal except where there are any food requirements. Free tea or coffee for students would be appreciated. If you are a busy household in which everyone helps themselves to breakfast, explain this to your student. You should have your evening meal with the student at least four times a week. Explain which foods are luxury foods, and not freely available. Please do not supply students with lunch during the week.
Rooms
The student room must be suitably furnished with a bed, a desk and chair, a desk light and adequate storage space. The room should be made appealing, with natural light, and furniture in good condition. Clean sheets, bedding and towels are essential. The room must be for the student’s private use i.e., not a room used by the family. If there’s no extra space for a desk and a chair in the bedroom, please make a dedicated area with a desk and chair for your student.
One student per room. We try to have a maximum of one student per nationality in each house. A reasonable quality bed and study facilities and standards of cleanliness are expected. Bed linen should be changed once a week. Please make sure your student is warm and has enough blankets or the use of an electric blanket. To help make the student feel welcome you may like to place a small basket of fruit/snacks in their room and a small welcome card.
Privacy
The student room doesn't need to have a lock. However, please accept the student’s bedroom as a private place, please enter the room only in case of emergencies. Most students feel very uncomfortable when homestay family members enter their bedroom in their absence. For example: If you wish to enter their bedroom to clean the windows, please let the students know that this is going to occur.
Baths and showers
Cultural differences are great here, some nationalities love long baths and showers. Students are entitled to a reasonable length shower daily (10-15 minutes). A little time explaining the limits early in the stay will save misunderstandings later. The bathroom must be kept clean and in a good state of repair.
Liability
The student is not responsible for accidental breakages or damage to your residence or property. Household insurance should protect your property. Please notify your insurance provider that you have a homestay student in residence.
Housework
The host family agrees to keep the house clean and tidy. Generally, students are not expected to do housework. Nelson English Centre information to students explains that they have no obligation to do any housework, but does suggest that they could help with small tasks as a gesture of thanks. E.g. helping with dishes, unloading the dishwasher, or setting the table, keeping their own room clean and tidy. Students shouldn’t be expected to do jobs such as babysitting, gardening, helping with major renovation, caring for the elderly, etc.
Supervision
It is a requirement of the Code of Practice that NEC staff know where our under-18 students are at all times. If a student aged under 18 is going out, please make sure they tell you who they are going with, where they are going, when and how they will return. Also U18 students must not sleep out unless with an approved host family.
Laundry
The host family is expected to do the student’s laundry. However, some students prefer to do their own. Chat with them to see what works best for you both.
Conversation
The host family should speak to the students regularly. (English must be the main language of the household). Please spend sufficient time with students in the crucial first few days after they arrive.
Under 18 Students
Before hosting a student under 18 years old, Host Families must agree to:
- All persons over 18 years old living in the home, or visitors over 18 with regular contact with the student, undergoing a police check.
- Reassessment of home and homestay family suitability on placement of a student, if necessary.
- Ongoing pastoral care visits for the benefit of student and host family.
- Further acceptance procedures and information being gathered, e.g. date of birth, full name, reference checks, criminal convictions and any pending court action.
- Have contact and liaise with NEC when necessary.
- Knowing where their student is at all times, i.e. where they will be, with whom and what time they will be home. It might be advisable to set a curfew time for your student, depending on your home situation.
- Ensuring students stay with approved host families from NEC. Please make sure they talk to us before going away. U18 students must not sleep out unless with an approved host family.
Family outings and activities
The host family are strongly recommended to include the student in family outings and activities. The school offers an exciting activities programme to allow the students to make friends with other students, so host family enthusiasm and support for these activities is appreciated. Female students should not be left alone in the house with host father/adult single males for long periods of time.
Winter warmth
There should be heating in the student’s room on winter evenings, but not of course while they are out of the house. Extra blankets should be offered to students in winter, even if they do not ask. New Zealanders tend to be much more tolerant of the cold than other cultures, so do not be surprised if students say they are cold. The rate of payment to host families has been weighted to allow for some extra winter heating costs, so a few extra dollars on the monthly power bill should be allowed for.
School support and Communication
The homestay coordinator is always available to discuss any concerns you have. Please let the school know if you have concerns such as: Very homesick or depressed, or non-trivial medical condition. Please contact the school immediately in the case of an accident involving the student (Eri 0273309547, Miles 0223236427)
Homestay families are not expected to
Pay for charged phone calls, or insure students’ property
Offering accommodation or cooking special food for students' friends or relatives is not necessary unless you choose. Generally, you do not have to comply with unreasonable requests (If unsure, discuss with Nelson English Centre Homestay Person).
Terms and Payment
Your weekly homestay payment is processed on the first Wednesday of your student’s stay. Any enquiries about payment should be directed to Nelson English Centre, and never through the student. For your protection, the rate per week is non-negotiable. You may not offer accommodation to a Nelson English Centre student under any other terms, other than as in this agreement.
The student can arrive within 4 days prior to starting their course, and must leave the homestay within 4 days of finishing their course at Nelson English Centre.
Host Families get paid on the 1st Wednesday of the students first week. Under certain circumstances the homestay co-ordinator may pay the HS family early if the student is arriving on a Thursday.
Host Families must provide their bank account numbers in writing.
If a student goes on a holiday from homestay (must be 7 nights or more to be considered a holiday) the host family will receive a homestay retention payment. ($70 per week from 1/01/2025);
Refunds of homestay fees to students.
We try and get students to give 2 weeks’ notice to leave homestay wherever possible, or finish on the last day on which the host families have been paid. Please note that students only have to give 2 weeks’ notice to leave homestay. There are exceptions to this rule and these are dealt with on a case by case basis.
If a host family wants a student to leave immediately, then the host family will have to return any money paid for any period after that date. If the reason the host family wants the student out immediately is due to an illegal action by the student or by breaking any rules in the homestay information pack, then the student will forfeit any money already paid.
If the student wants to leave immediately, they will in the first instance be asked to stay until the date of the last payment made. If the reason for them wanting to leave immediately is because they feel unsafe (e.g. unwanted sexual advances) or the host family has committed an illegal action, then they can leave immediately & the host family will forfeit any money already paid.
Please make sure that you read the back of the student information that is sent to you with every new student you receive, as this information can change
On accepting this student, you are agreeing to comply with the terms and conditions as stated in the homestay literature that is sent to you with each student.
The duration of this agreement is for a continuous 12 months from the date of signing by both parties. Unless otherwise mutually agreed, the duration automatically renews unless a notice of termination has been provided in writing from one party to the other.
The school wishes you every happiness with your guest, and hopes that your experience of being a host family is very rewarding.
Please fill the application form from the next page and send it back to us.