Terms and Conditions - Host Family - Irish ConnectionIrish Connection

Accommodation

All students must be made to feel welcome and be a part of the family life
A clean and tidy room must be provided with fresh bed linen and towels weekly. This room must have a comfortable full size bed, adequate heat, light and ventilation with storage for the students’ clothes and belongings. This must be single room accommodation
Students may find our climate cold so please offer extra blankets if required
A clean bathroom with hot water and fresh towels must be available for the student’s use
Let your student know what times are convenient to use the bathroom and inform them that hot water may not be available throughout the whole day
Students’ laundry is included in the family washing
Students should pay for their own dry cleaning
A host family may accommodate a maximum of two foreign students at any one time but of different nationalities and mother tongue. Should the host family disrespect this, a daily penalty of eur42 / eur27 will be incurred and Irish Connection reserve the right to relocate the student
Students should never be left alone in the house or be given a key after the evening mealtime

Most students are boys and girls between the ages of 10
and 16 years
Their social life is the responsibility of the host family and adequate caution must be exercised by the family to ensure their safety
Lack of conduct on the part of the student or lack of adherence to the host family’s code of discipline may lead to expulsion by Irish Connection
The student must be included in the day-to-day activities of the host family’s children
Students are not permitted to drink alcohol
Students are not permitted to smoke within the home
Students must ask when using the kitchen and may not help themselves to food without the family’s permission
We ask that you allow the child a courtesy call home on their arrival
Students must ask permission to use the phone or internet. Irish Connection are not responsible for unauthorized phone or internet usage
We suggest the child arranges a time convenient to all to receive calls or skype from home
Because of the students’ young age it is the family’s role and responsibility to care for them as if they were one of their own children
Irish Connection are not liable for loss or damage to the host families home or property.
It is important that your student carries your address and phone number details on them and we would ask that you facilitate this
We recommend limited usage on computers as overuse will limit children’s opportunities to interact and socialise

Mealtimes are an ideal opportunity for students to learn English and to get to know their host family
Students are provided with full board – breakfast, lunch and evening dinner daily
Students must always be included in family mealtimes and never left to eat alone. This gives the child a chance to chat and feel relaxed and comfortable with their host family and it also gives the host family an opportunity to extend true Irish hospitality
Please note some students may have special dietary requirements. Should this be the case we will inform you at the time of booking

Should your child of a similar age to the student, be intending to go to a summer camp at any stage over the stay, we would ask you to notify us so their family can arrange payment beforehand

Students will bring their own pocket money for shopping, outings and treats eg. cinema

We ask that you allow your student to receive one or two friends during their stay but do not permit sleepovers
Students are not permitted to entertain members of the opposite sex in their bedroom

All students must be covered by the European Health Insurance Card and their own travel insurance
Should a student become ill it is the responsibility of the host family to bring child to a doctor, dentist or call an ambulance if necessary. Any costs incurred will be reimbursed by the student family via Irish Connection
Irish Connection must be informed immediately of such a situation

Irish Connection will pay host families eur300 per week for total immersion stays and eur190 per week for students attending classes or English Summer camp. This payment is made by electronic transfer to the account number provided to Irish Connection
Payment will be made before your student departs
In the event that the student does not settle in the chosen home, the student may request a change of family or may have to cut their stay short. In such instances the host family will be paid accordingly for the number of nights of their visit at a daily rate of eur43 for total immersion stays and eur27 for students attending classes/ camp
Host families should not discuss payment details with students

Application forms for the host family may be down loaded from our website www.irishconnection.ie
After we receive your completed application in person or by post, Irish Connection will call to arrange a convenient time to visit and inspect your home
During this visit we will discuss our student programme, student accommodation requirements and collect completed application forms
Host families need to be Garda vetted. Irish Connection will provide you with these forms. The Garda Vetting procedure has time restrictions and can take some months
After we confirm your student allocation we will send you written confirmation with the following details:
Your students name, contact details, any dietary requirements and a little background on their own family
Arrival and departure times and details
e-mail address for the student family
Drop off and collection times and locations for weekly excursions
We would ask you to make contact with the family at least 10 days before the arrival date to introduce yourself and your family and to extend a warm Irish welcome
Last minute cancellations are extremely awkward for Irish Connection and we would ask you to consider very carefully before you commit to having a student to stay

Students will be accompanied from Dublin Airport. They will be brought by coach to Killiney where we ask you to meet us and collect your allocated student at the confirmed arrival time
We will be in contact by phone one week before the arrival date to confirm times and any relevant information
Departure to Dublin airport will be from Killiney and again we will be in contact by phone one week before to confirm our meeting time and relevant details

Irish Connection are available for emergencies 24/7 on 086-2211833 or 086-8287085 and for non-emergencies between the hours of 12pm – 3pm Monday-Friday
Irish Connection will visit you and your student once each week to chat and ensure your student is happy and enjoying their visit. Appointments will be made by phone at a convenient time for your family