Best Practice in Exchanges

Best practice in Modern Foreign Language Exchanges for UK-based schools

Exchanges were for many years a very prevalent mode of trip for languages departments across the country, with many bilateral arrangements existing between British and foreign schools for decades. With the administrative demands of running trips abroad, alongside a changing safeguarding landscape, exchanges have become increasingly complex to organise and therefore less common in schools, particularly since COVID. 

However, it is the belief of ISMLA that the possibility for a student to be immersed with a partner abroad, and for them to receive their partner in their own country, remains a formative experience in one’s journey as a language learner, to becoming a globally-minded citizen and a more open-minded person; exchanges are absolutely vital for the health and status of the subject within schools, within the sector, and at a national level, at a time when the UK has needed international expertise more than ever. Moreover, this type of trip is usually more cost-effective than other options, as it is based on reciprocal good will: with the question of accommodation taken care of, the bulk of the cost to the students are the flights. This represents a significant saving compared to other ways of taking students abroad. 

At ISMLA, we firmly believe that exchanges can still be run in a way fit for the 21st century, and would like to offer below a blueprint for how they can be organised, managed and fulfilled effectively, in a way which balances risk with opportunities for enrichment. 

On this link is a synthesis of best practice from a survey of over 50 ISMLA member schools. There is a significant number of UK independent schools (about 1/3rd of respondents) still running exchanges in the traditional format. These schools span a range of settings and contexts. 

First steps

  • Try to find a partner school. The British Council can provide help with this (register for their database service), but you could also consider approaching schools which align with your particular context/ethos, or are in a town twinned with your own. Ensure that you consider the availability of flights between destinations, as well as the level of tourist attractions/things to do available in the region. 
  • Ensure that you make clear to any school that you approach that you will have to take more robust vetting measures than they may be accustomed to in a foreign country. Ensure that they appreciate this and are prepared to work with you, and reassure them that you will do necessary due diligence on your families as well. 

Getting the exchange off the ground

  • Ensure you have a thorough understanding of KCSIE, particularly Annex D, which concerns exchanges and states that “When arranging a homestay, schools should consider the suitability of the adults in the respective families who will be responsible for the visiting child during the stay”. “A regulated activity provider commits a criminal offence if it knows or has reason to believe that an individual is barred by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) from engaging in regulated activity but allows that individual to carry out any form of regulated activity.”
  • Consider in collaboration with your contact at the school the best time for you to go to them and for them to come to you. An advantage of dates being in term time is that pupils can attend lessons and the burden on parents is less, whereas an advantage of dates being in holiday time is that curriculum time is impacted less and the possibility of exploring places of interest further afield is greater. Discuss with your SLT whether any overlap with curriculum time may be available, both for you to go to them and for them to come to you. 
  • Consider which students you open the exchange up to. Exchanges can be tactically positioned to provide a boost ahead of GCSE options or exams. Sixth Form exchanges can be a little easier to organise and there is the opportunity for more autonomy. Key Stage 3 exchanges are undoubtedly more challenging.
  • In your consent form, you need to include a space for parents to sign that they agree to the full range of safeguarding measures that your exchange comprises (at both ends). They need to give their explicit consent that they are satisfied you are doing due diligence. This section also needs to be included verbatim in the parental form sent out by the partner school to their own families. All parties must give explicit consent. 
  • Design with your partner school a (bilingual) form for parents to fill in with information about their child, with a section for interests and hobbies in order to increase the chances of a good match. Arrange an online meeting with your contact in the partner school to match up pupils to partners. If any family has the capacity to look after more than one student in exceptional circumstances, ask them to indicate this. 
  • Once you have a firm list of participating families, you can begin the safeguarding checks, which need to be completed in good time for the start of the exchange. 
    • You will need to arrange a DBS check on any adults living in the UK family’s home, including siblings who are 18 or over. You may, in our experience, reasonably agree with your SLT to ask your school’s HR department to assist with this, as they will have experience of this through recruitment procedures. 
    • A key difference is that DBS checks for this purpose can be obtained free of charge (the normal charge is around £50) as this regulated activity is considered ‘volunteering’. See Annex D of KCSIE for further details of this. The Disclosure and Barring Service (through the gov.uk website) have a list of volunteer/charity DBS providers. Please note there is likely to be an admin fee which will need to be borne by either the school or the families. 
    • You will need to ensure that your partner school conducts local police check or equivalent on their host families as well, to check their suitability of engaging in regulated activity with children. The results of these need to be shared in an area accessible by both parties. 
  • Once the safeguarding protocols have been completed, you are ready to get on with organising your exchange. A typical model is as follows:
    • Students travel to school and attend lessons in the morning with their partners. 
    • Foreign students do some kind of activity or visit somewhere in the afternoon, returning to school by home time. 
    • Students go home with their partners and spend the evening together. 
    • At weekends, typically the host families are in full loco parentis, with teachers completing regular check-ins and on-hand and available to deal with any issues that arise, over the phone or in person. 

Ways of managing the exchange 

  • In their spare time, teachers could visit the families homes physically to check in and see that everything is in order. 
  • Open up a channel of communication – WhatsApp using a school number or Teams (they can download the app on their phones). 
  • Schedule regular check-ins with pupils over the phone, aim to have contact with every pupil twice a day each day. 
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