EMERGENCY PROCEDURE

Version 2.0 | Issued 28 August 2026 Becky Stone, Founder and Designated Safeguarding Lead

STATEMENT

The safety of the students in my care is my first priority.

Home From Home Canterbury is run by one person, from one home. I am the guardian, the host and the Designated Safeguarding Lead. There are no employees and no case managers.

Some situations cannot be prevented, but they can be planned for. This procedure sets out what I will do in an emergency. The scenarios below are not exhaustive.

HOW I DEAL WITH AN EMERGENCY CALL

Whoever takes an emergency call, whether that is me or someone acting as my emergency cover, will:

  1. Stay calm. The person calling may be frightened, upset or in shock, and may need reassurance before they can give clear information.
  2. Establish what has happened and gather as much information as possible.
  3. Agree what action is needed and who is taking it.
  4. Keep a written record of the information received and every action taken, using the incident record at the end of this procedure.
  5. Make sure I am informed immediately if the call was taken by someone acting as emergency cover.

Some situations need a bespoke plan with further detail. Where that is the case, I will write it and share it with everyone who needs it.

CANCELLED OR DISRUPTED FLIGHTS

If a student's flight is cancelled or seriously delayed while they are in the UK, I will make sure they are safe and cared for.

Students must contact me as soon as they know their flight is affected, and must not leave the airport with anyone else.

I will:

  • Speak to the student and confirm where they are
  • Contact the parents straight away and keep them informed throughout
  • Liaise with the airline and the parents to rearrange travel
  • Arrange accommodation where it is needed, in accordance with the section on emergency accommodation below

If a student is at an airport alone, I will stay in contact with them until they are safely on their way or safely collected.

PANDEMIC OR CONTAGIOUS OUTBREAK

In a pandemic or serious outbreak I will follow guidance from the UK government, the UK Health Security Agency, the World Health Organisation and AEGIS, which updates its guidance for members as a situation develops.

Movement is usually restricted in a pandemic, and boarding students would normally remain at school. In those circumstances I may not be able to offer accommodation in my home, because doing so could put the student, my household and others at risk.

I will:

  • Work with the school to support the student, including with remote learning where the school directs it
  • Work with the parents to arrange flights home where that is possible and appropriate
  • Work with the school and the parents to find suitable quarantine accommodation where it is required
  • Keep everyone informed as the situation changes

SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH OF A STUDENT

This is distressing for everyone involved. I will:

  • Contact the emergency services and stay with the student wherever I am able to
  • Liaise with medical staff and the police
  • Contact the parents as soon as it is practicable to do so, whatever the hour, taking account of the circumstances and of any guidance from the police, medical professionals or other relevant authorities
  • Keep the parents fully informed throughout
  • Help the parents arrange travel to the UK
  • Liaise with the school, AEGIS and any other agency involved, including the Kent Safeguarding Children Multi-Agency Partnership
  • Respond to any media enquiry, and take advice from AEGIS before doing so
  • Help the parents with practical arrangements afterwards, including travel home, rehabilitation or funeral arrangements, if they want that help

TERRORIST INCIDENT

Schools have their own lockdown procedures for students on site.

If an incident happens while a student is staying with me, I will follow guidance from the UK government and the police. Unless instructed otherwise, the student will remain in my home and will not go out unaccompanied. I will assess the risk, act accordingly, and keep the parents and the school informed.

FIRE

If there is a fire at my home, the emergency services will be called first and everyone will leave the building.

I will then contact the parents and the school immediately.

If my home cannot safely be reoccupied following a fire, I will follow the emergency accommodation contingency above. I will make sure the student has safe and suitable accommodation and will keep the parents and the school informed.

No student will return to my home until it is safe and suitable to do so.

 

SCHOOL CLOSURES

Schools close for many reasons: weather, staffing, or something more serious.

Where a school closes and a student needs somewhere to go, I will act as set out under emergency accommodation below. Where the closure is caused by a contagious illness, the pandemic section above applies instead.

WHERE A SCHOOL ASKS FOR A STUDENT TO BE REMOVED

A school may ask for a student to leave because of illness, disciplinary action, suspension, exclusion or any other reason.

I will take responsibility for coordinating the student's care. That means:

  • Responding immediately and going to the school if that is what is needed
  • Contacting the parents straight away
  • Liaising with the school throughout
  • Making sure the student is somewhere safe and suitable, in accordance with the section below
  • Keeping everyone informed of what has been done

My response is unconditional and is never dependent on which service the parents have chosen or on any fee.

EMERGENCY ACCOMMODATION

I need to be straight about this, because it matters when things go wrong.

Students stay in my own home. I do not use a network of other host families and I do not place students with third parties. I have two guest rooms, which is two places in total, and I accept no more than two guardianship students so that the two match.

I accept a maximum of two guardianship students and I have two homestay places. I keep that capacity so that the students under my guardianship can be accommodated by me when they need to leave school.

If a student under my guardianship needs somewhere to stay unexpectedly:

  • My response is unconditional. I will act, I will contact the parents and the school, and I will not leave a student without support.
  • Where my home is available, the student stays with me at the normal nightly rate. There is no emergency rate and no short-notice charge.
  • Making sure the student has safe and suitable accommodation is my responsibility as their educational guardian. It is not the parents' responsibility and it is not the school's.
  • I keep the parents and the school informed and involved throughout, and I do not ask either of them to find accommodation.
  • I stay involved until the student is safely and suitably settled.

IF MY OWN HOME CANNOT BE USED

If my home cannot safely be used because of fire, flood, serious property damage or another emergency, I remain responsible as educational guardian for ensuring that the student has safe and suitable accommodation.

My first contingency is my vetted emergency cover. Where suitable and available, I can provide emergency accommodation for one student, subject to the necessary safeguarding, suitability, and accommodation requirements being met.

Where additional accommodation is required, that arrangement is unavailable or unsuitable, or more than one student requires accommodation, I will contact Hosts International to source appropriate emergency accommodation.

Any alternative accommodation will be subject to the safeguarding, suitability and other checks required by the applicable AEGIS Quality Standards and relevant School or sponsor requirements before the student is placed there.

I will keep the parents and the school informed of the situation and of the arrangements made. Responsibility for ensuring suitable emergency accommodation remains with Home From Home Canterbury.

IF I AM UNAVAILABLE

Home From Home Canterbury is run by a sole guardian and no other adult lives in my household.

I am the student's educational guardian and the normal direct point of contact for the student, the parents and the school. That does not change.

If I am unable to carry out my guardianship responsibilities because of illness, accident or another genuine emergency, I have emergency cover in place. Emergency cover is activated only in those circumstances. It is not a routine alternative contact and is not to be used as one.

When emergency cover is activated, I will tell the parents, the student and the school as soon as possible, and give them the contact details they need at that point. Where an absence is planned, I will tell them in advance.

Emergency cover is temporary. It does not make the person covering the student's educational guardian, and it does not transfer parental responsibility, which stays with the parents at all times. I resume my role as soon as I am able to.

Both of the people who provide my emergency cover were fully vetted before being put in place. Both hold an enhanced DBS certificate and are cleared. Both have completed safeguarding training. Identity has been verified from passports, and a home visit has been completed for each of them. The vetting records and the dates on which each check was carried out are held on file.

My AEGIS accreditation report of 17 June 2026 records that, as a sole guardian, I have vetted emergency cover in place in case I am unable to fulfil my duties.

Contact details for students, parents and schools are stored securely and are accessible so that care continues without interruption.

EMERGENCY CONTACTS

Becky Stone, Founder and Designated Safeguarding Lead. Primary emergency contact, available 24 hours 07585 473046 becky@homefromhomecanterbury.co.uk

Emergency cover.

Vetted emergency cover is in place and is activated only when I am unable to act. Families are provided with the appropriate emergency contact information privately as part of their guardianship arrangements.

OTHER CONTACTS

Police, emergency: 999 Police, non-emergency: 101, police.uk Fire and Rescue: 999 Ambulance: 999 NHS non-emergency: 111, 111.nhs.uk

Kent Safeguarding Children Multi-Agency Partnership (KSCMP) Tel: 03000 41 11 11 Out of hours: 03000 41 91 91 kscmp.org.uk

AEGIS Tel: 01453 821 293 aegisuk.net

Foreign & Commonwealth Office, consular assistance, 24 hours Tel: 0207 008 1500 gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office

Environment Agency Floodline, 24 hours Tel: 0345 988 1188 gov.uk/check-flooding

Met Office weather desk Tel: 0370 900 0100 metoffice.gov.uk

Health and Safety Executive Incident Contact Centre Tel: 0345 300 9923, Monday to Friday Out of hours duty officer: 0151 922 9235 hse.gov.uk

UK Health Security Agency Tel: 020 7654 8000 enquiries@ukhsa.gov.uk gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-health-security-agency

INSURANCE

Home From Home Canterbury holds appropriate insurance for its educational guardianship and homestay activities, including Legal Expenses Insurance and Tour Operators’ and Travel Agents’ Liability Insurance. Evidence of current insurance can be provided where required. 

REVIEW

This procedure is reviewed at least annually, and sooner if an incident, a change in guidance, or a change in how I work makes that necessary.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Please confirm below that you have received and read this Emergency Procedure.

[ ] I have received and read the Home From Home Canterbury Emergency Procedure. [ ] I understand what Becky Stone will do in an emergency, and how she will contact me. [ ] I understand that Home From Home Canterbury is run by a sole guardian, that she accepts a maximum of two guardianship students and has two homestay places, and that she remains responsible for making sure my child has safe and suitable accommodation where this procedure applies. [ ] I understand that emergency cover may act on her behalf if she is unable to, and that I will be told if that happens. [ ] I have provided emergency contact details that will be answered, and I will tell Becky Stone promptly if they change. [ ] I acknowledge that I have received, read and understood the arrangements set out in this Emergency Procedure.

Student name:

Parent or legal guardian name:

Signature:

Date:

Relationship to student:

Best contact number in an emergency:

Second emergency contact name and number:

ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE

This document may be completed and signed electronically.

Where an electronic signature system is used, the electronic signature recorded in this document will be treated by Home From Home Canterbury as the signatory's signature and confirmation of the acknowledgement made in it.

The electronic signing system may also record information such as the date and time of signing. That information will be held in accordance with the Home From Home Canterbury Privacy Notice.

If anything you have given me changes, particularly emergency contact numbers, medication or allergies, please tell me straight away so that the record can be updated.

This Emergency Procedure is an operational procedure. It is not a separate agreement, and acknowledging it does not create a contract or add to the Parent & Educational Guardianship Agreement. This acknowledgement records that you have received, read and understood it. It is not a consent to the processing of personal data. Information about how I hold and use personal information, and the lawful basis for it, is in my Privacy Notice.

Home From Home Canterbury, becky@homefromhomecanterbury.co.uk · 07585 473046 AEGIS accredited, 17 June 2026