Skip to main content

BAISIS International Student Care Standard


BAISIS’ mission is to champion support for international students. This support encompasses academic achievement and pastoral support so all international students studying at BAISIS member schools receive the support they need to thrive in a safe and happy environment. 

The BAISIS International Student Care Standard (BAISIS ISCS) is run by BAISIS, part of the BSA Group. It draws upon the highly respected and well-established benchmarks for day and boarding schools in the UK but reflects the diversity of international student care profile offered in member schools. The BAISIS ISCS benchmark is for schools who want to demonstrate their commitment to excellent care for international students in their schools, offering the added assurance of external accreditation and assessment. 

There are two key aims behind the standard: 

  • BAISIS aims to support all member schools in international student support and care. In aspiring to achieve the ISCS, BAISIS hopes to support members in focusing on and improving their provision. The standard review process is designed to be supportive. 
  • Choosing a school for your child is an important one, made even more so by distance, time zones and language barriers. In achieving the ISCS, schools will be able to use the standard to explain to prospective parents and educational agents that the school has been assessed by an independent body and proven to have demonstrated a high care standard. 

The BAISIS ISCS is available to any BAISIS member school, day or boarding. The assessor(s) will need to be satisfied international student care is meaningfully embedded and delivered across the whole school. 
Schools which meet the BAISIS ISCS will be entitled to use the BAISIS ISCS logo in their branding and showcase a certificate of accreditation.   

BAISIS has developed a set of key standards to review international student care: 

  1. The school provides a safe environment for international students. 
  2. Everyone is treated with kindness and respect. 
  3. The school caters to a global community. 
  4. The academic needs of international students are understood and met. 
  5. The pastoral needs of international students are understood and met. 

The standard review process 

Pre-review documents: 

  • Handbooks / policies / processes 
  • Staff handbook 
  • Staff induction, training and development programme 
  • Behaviour policy 
  • Anti-bullying policy 
  • Medical policies and procedures 
  • Equal opportunities policy 
  • New student induction 
  • Menus 
  • Pupil voice 
  • Complaints procedure  
  • EAL policy 
  • Language policy 
  • Any other documents the school feels relevant to international student care. 

School review visit 

The ISCS review visit usually requires one day on site, unless otherwise agreed. The visit should include the following activities: 

  • A tour of relevant facilities (included but not limited to boarding/day houses, EAL centre/hub, health centre, dining hall, library) 
  • Opportunity to observe the following: 
  • Dedicated EAL support sessions (lower and higher ability groups) 
  • One or two short periods of observation in mainstream lessons from different academic departments (e.g. history and maths) 
  • Meetings (20-30 minutes) with relevant people with responsibility for the following areas: 
  • Head of the School 
  • Deputy Head Pastoral and/or Director of Boarding 
  • EAL 
  • Pastoral leaders 
  • Academic leaders 
  • DSL 
  • SEND 
  • Medical team 
  • Admissions 
  • UKVI compliance  
  • Catering 
  • Activities coordinator (extra-curriculars, weekend). 
  • Junior international students (newer to school), mixed nationalities, day/boarding and gender if co-ed 
  • Junior international students (established in school), mixed nationalities, day/boarding and gender if co-ed 
  • Senior international students (newer to school), mixed nationalities, day/boarding and gender if co-ed 
  • Senior international students (established in school), mixed nationalities, day/boarding and gender if co-ed 
  • International student council and/or DEI student council representatives. 

Review report 

After the review visit, a report will be prepared evidencing judgements on each area. Each area will be judged to have been ‘met’ or ‘not met’. Recommendations for future improvement will be included in the report regardless of whether areas have been ‘met’. 

The review report will be quality assured by the BSA Group leadership team prior to submission to the school, adding quality assurance and value to the report. 

Once the standard has been achieved, the school will be issued with a certificate and logo to use on branding and collateral. 

The ISCS standard lasts for three years.