If you are an independent homestay provider (and you do not know the student or their family who will be in homestay with you) the School will facilitate information sharing and a meeting between your family and the overseas student and their parents. This will mostly likely occur through an initial collective introductory email, and then a video call between the Overseas Student Manager, the overseas student, their parents and the homestay provider family.
The initial meeting provides an opportunity for the overseas student and the homestay provider family to meet, become comfortable with each other and to learn more about each other – interests, likes and dislikes, family activities and other relevant matters. The homestay family may provide a video visit of their home and the space the student will stay in for the overseas student and their family. School, parent and homestay provider expectations should be considered and discussed as part of this initial meeting. These matters are considered later in this Handbook.
Future meetings and contact may then be arranged between the parties following on from this initial contact. Most parents and homestay providers build a direct relationship after the initial School arranged contacts, and contact each other directly moving forward around travel, visits, questions and other matters related to the overseas student homestay. The School remains available to assist at any time.
The types of information for sharing between the School, homestay provider and the student’s family as part of the initial introductory email will include:
1. For the School:
- Emergency contact details;
- The Overseas Students House/Unit details and emergency contacts; and
- The relevant Health Centre’s contact details;
2. For the overseas student (which will be provided with consent of the family):
- Their name, campus, house and year level;
- Their contact number and email address;
- Their nationality/home country and any relevant other cultural or religious information;
- Any relevant dietary, health or medical information;
- Their parents’ names, home address and contact details (phone and email); and
- Any other relevant information about the overseas student.
3. For the homestay provider:
- Their names, home address and contact details (phone and email);
- Details of others living in the home (children and their ages, and other family members); and
- Details of any pets in the home; and
- Any other relevant information about the homestay provider family.
Introductions
Homestay provider should consider providing the following information as part of the initial meeting:
- An introduction to your family and your home (including any pets and family members who may visit regularly);
- If you have children, their ages and where they go to School;
- What you enjoy doing as a family on weekend, holidays and evenings – this gives the overseas student and their family an insight into your lives;
- How your family connects – over meals, sport, family games or movie nights etc;
- Anything which may be of interest to the overseas student around your home – shopping centres, attractions, the beach may all be of interest to the overseas student; and
- Any travel or living overseas experience you have – particularly if you have travelled or lived in the overseas student home country.
Some questions to ask or think about as part of your initial meeting and communications with the overseas student and their family may include the following:
Student Preferences, Interests and Capabilities
- What are your food likes and dislikes, including any dietary requirements?
- What are your interests, favourite sports, music, movies, activities and subjects?
- What is your home life like, including family members and pets?
- Where have you travelled or lived, where would you like to travel or live?
- What languages do you speak, how confident do you feel in your English speaking?
- What would you like to know about our family and our home?
- Have you visited Australia (or Victoria) before?
Communication and Visits
- What is the easiest way to communicate between families and overseas student – via WhatsApp or another app or communication platform?
- How will parents or the overseas student communicate homestay requests to the homestay provider, and when should they be communicated (timeframe prior to the visit)?
- How often is it intended the student will need homestay – only for exeats and emergencies, on other weekends (for Corio students), at the start and end of term, during school holidays (note – this is rare, and most students go home for School holiday breaks)?
- Will there be any periods of unavailability for the homestay family – where they may be on holidays or have other commitments? Early discussion of these allows for alternative arrangements to be made.
Transportation and Travel
- Will the overseas student’s parents be travelling out with them at the start of the year to settle them into School (this is common for our overseas student families)?
- For Timbertop: will the overseas student’s parents be travelling out with them at the start of the year to settle them into Timbertop. No bus runs at the commencement of the Timbertop year, as the expectation is all student families will transport them directly to Timbertop? If not, is there an expectation the homestay provider may be able to assist?
- For flights, will the student have their own passport and ticket arranged, or will they need support to ensure they have them available before they go to the airport?
- Will the student fly as an unaccompanied minor, and if so will that require someone to be at the airport with them to hand them off to an airport representative or to collect them?
- Will the student be able to navigate the airport and wait alone for their flight, or do they require support until they go through security? This will be an assessment based on the student’s age, maturity level and experience of travel – many of our overseas students are very confident travellers.