By Caroline Breeds, ACS Corporate Relations Manager An international school is ideally placed to provide families with another support system once they have made the move to a new country. With over one hundred nationalities represented amongst the student, family and staff at ACS International Schools four campuses, new families have a readymade community on hand to share their experiences and knowledge and to help them settle into their new homes.
Caroline Breeds
It is important for any moving family to know that their channels of support do not end with relocation agents and HR professionals and ACS has fully trained pastoral care teams and counsellors in place to ensure that families have other ways they can raise relocation and education queries. Each ACS school has also developed its’ own unique programmes, including Welcome Teams, a group consisting of parents and staff who are on hand to help families adjust to their new environments and local community.
Post relocation and school registration is when it can start to get confusing for families on who they should contact for advice or further assistance. It is at this point where the Welcome Team will send a Welcome Letter via email with details of the latest school events, fellow parent contact details and a booklet containing information on reliable local services. Making contact in a quick manner is important as it gives enrolling families the knowledge and peace of mind on how they can access support within their new community.
As with many international schools, ACS hosts a rolling admissions programme, which means that students can enrol in the school at any time during the academic year. A number of events, such as Welcome BBQs and Welcome Bagel Breakfasts, are run by the Welcome Team across the academic year, meaning there is always an event for joining families to meet and talk with existing families and teachers at the school in a relaxed environment.
Welcome Team systems are a good way to ensure that families relocating from international countries and within the UK have access to regular events such as, book and cooking clubs, which help families create a routine and feel more settled in their new home. Taking small steps, like joining or attending regular events, is an easy way for families get to know their new neighbours and make new friends.
Helping to ensure parents and children are emotionally supported, whether they are arriving or leaving, is of vital importance during any relocation. The act of relocating away from a school can be a difficult time for families and ACS’ Welcome Teams help them with through this transition by organising a High Tea event at the end of every year. Departing parents have been responsive to the High Tea event as it provides the opportunity for them to share their experiences with friends from the school community and move on to their next home and school with happy memories.
ACS also operates a ‘buddy system’ at its schools where new families are paired with an existing family of the same nationality and children of a similar age. Having other people to speak with about any concerns that may not have been raised during a move such as, connecting to the internet and the best place to do the weekly food shop, reassures a relocating family that they are not alone with these worries and the experiences of existing families can help them settle into their new country more easily.
Another positive with using a buddy scheme is that from the moment they arrive at ACS both parents and students have instant friends they can turn to for guidance, greatly reassuring for children as starting a new school can be a daunting prospect. Many families forge strong friendships during their time at ACS and these last beyond their time at the school.
At the core of ACS International Schools is a strong ethos of embracing international mindedness. The parent and teacher organisations present at each campus play a big part in helping all families celebrate the multiple nationalities in their communities.
Popular events held across all campuses are the International Fairs, where parents gather to create stalls representing their country and culture. Parents, teachers and students work together to organise these events, which are a great way for parents and students to socialise and learn more about each other.
I believe that international schools can truly support the relocation process in a way most schools cannot. The sense of belonging that an international community provides allows new families to feel they are moving from one home straight to another. The close work that ACS International School provides with relocation agents and professionals also gives peace of mind to families that all aspects of their move have been considered and taken care of. ACS minimises the transition process and lets new families enjoy their new home from the moment they move in.
ReLocate Awards Dinner
ACS were proud sponsors of the ‘Excellence in Employee and Family Support’ category. We were delighted to host a table inviting our clients to join us for the gala dinner.
Here you can see us being entertained by one of the magicians!
Congratulations to Sarah Teasdale – winner, of the Excellence in Employee and Family Support award.
Fergus Rose presenting Sarah Teasdale with her award
Eura – Malta
Another successful conference held this year in Malta with over 650 delegates from around the world attending the convention. As always great to see familiar friends and meet some new contacts throughout the convention. Lots of good conversation including finding out more about the latest trends in the Global Mobility space.
This year the focus was on ‘Conscious Capitalism’ always of great interest to learn more about the different ways that companies include some amazing projects into their busy working schedules. One that particularly interested me was what I learnt from Jeff Rowe, Court Destination Service, amongst many other charitable causes that Court support they assist families that are working hard to get out of difficult situations through furnishing their houses in the holiday season whilst parents are out at work and children are at school. In some cases this was the first time in a long while that children had a bed to sleep in. What a wonderful way to help a family in need. We heard many more wonderful stories throughout that session.
Later this month Mark London, Head of Marketing and I will be attending the ARP Dinner, we look forward to seeing you there. On the 16th July we will be attending the Country Life Future Schools Fair – Expat in London as well as The Expat Academy conference on the 10th October.
We look forward to welcoming recently appointed Managing Director of Worldwide ERC EMEA Mark Woelfel to our Cobham campus in June. And although our students will start their summer holiday at the end of June our admissions teams will be here to answer any of your calls. If you would like to arrange a visit to any of our three UK campuses in September or if you would like to meet with me sooner, I am very happy to arrange meetings or presentations. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you soon.
Caroline Breeds cbreeds@acs-schools.com
