Information for Parents/Guardians of Students Aged 16 and 17

IH Manchester welcomes students aged 16 and 17 years old. Our staff have a lot of experience with this age group.

Students aged 16 and 17 years may travel independently to and from the UK. Students will travel independently to and from school each day, and they buy and take care of their travel card or ticket.
Students aged 16 and 17 are advised to use our arranged airport transfer service on arrival and departure. Parents who do not want this option will need to sign a separate form confirming this.
Students have some independence and unsupervised free time.

16 and 17 year-old students must return to their homestay by 9pm each evening. At the complete discretion of the school, permission may be granted for a one-off curfew extension on a case by case basis. Requests for one-off curfew extensions should be made to the Welfare and Accommodation Manager in advance in writing. 

Students must not stay overnight at another homestay home or at another location without permission from the school and their parents.

Hosts will not leave students aged under 18 alone in the house for more than 4 hours except in rare circumstances.
Student aged 16 and 17 may be accommodated in homestay with students aged 18 and over. (In single bedrooms).


Many of our full day/ half day excursions are organised and supervised by “Smile Adventures”. IH Manchester staff do not usually accompany students on these excursions. Students are collected from a Manchester city centre meeting point and returned there at the end of the trip. During the excursion, students will be allowed time to independently explore the location they are visiting in small groups, usually for approximately 2 hours. During this time students will not be directly supervised by “Smile Adventures” staff and will be required to return to an agreed meeting point at an agreed time. Students will be provided with “Smile Adventures” staff telephone numbers and will be asked to provide staff with their telephone number.

  • Mobile phones must not be used in class.
  • Students aged 16 and 17 may participate in classes and social activities with adult students of 18 years and over. All students are permitted to leave school, unsupervised, during breaks and lunchtime.
  • IH Manchester does not provide or arrange any travel / medical insurance for students – It is the parents’ responsibility to arrange adequate travel / medical insurance for their child.
  • Our Welfare Manager is normally at school every day and is available for students to talk to if they have any problems or worries.
  • Face to face students receive wristbands with the emergency number, which also helps staff to identify them as under-18s. They are required to wear these at all times.
  • Exchange mobile phone numbers with your host when you arrive at their home, and keep their number with you.
  • Also keep our school contact telephone number with you at all times. We have a member of staff available at all times in case students need our assistance.
  • If students are sick and cannot come to school, they must ask their host to contact school by 9am that morning.
    -Internet access is available at the host house and at the school – please access this responsibly. Students or their parents will be liable for any additional internet costs incurred.
  • Students must not invite guests to the host home without prior permission from the host.
  • No smoking or drinking alcohol at any time, and no matches or lighters may be brought into school or the host house.
  • Students will be liable for any damage or losses caused at the host house and parents will be informed of any charges.
  • The host will wash the student’s clothes each week, bed linen and towels will be changed each week. Hosts will not go into the student’s bedroom without permission, and students must not enter other bedrooms in the house.
  • Students aged under 18 cannot arrange their own booking. We must communicate with parents/guardians (or a close adult relative) when arranging their course. Our under 18 booking form must be completed by a parent/guardian, not the student.
  • Next of kin contact details must be provided at time of booking.
  • Please be aware that students aged under 18 are not allowed to live independently during their course. They must either live with a homestay host selected by IH Manchester, or with a person who the parents choose as an appropriate adult in Manchester. Full details of this person must be provided to IH Manchester. The appropriate adult selected by parents must be aged at least 25 and be able to speak English, so that we can communicate with them if necessary. If parents select a person themselves to be in charge of their child in Manchester, then IH Manchester take no responsibility for this accommodation or for the student’s welfare outside of class times.
  • It is very important that parents/guardians inform us of their child’s medical conditions, allergies or disability at the time of booking. If the correct information is not provided, IH Manchester may refuse to enrol the student on arrival, so they would have to return home. If a student requires medication during their course, they must be responsible for looking after and taking their own medicine. We also ask that the student’s parents/guardians provide us with a letter from the student’s doctor detailing their medication (name of medication, dosage and frequency taken) in case the student requires medical attention during their stay.
  • Parents/guardians are responsible for letting us know of any changes to the student’s booking details after the booking form has been sent to us.
  • When completing our booking form, parents/guardians give permission for their child to be registered at their hosts’ local medical practice, and to receive emergency medical treatment if required.
  • When completing our booking form, parents decide whether to give permission for photo / video of their child to be used for marketing purposes by IH Manchester.
  • All of our school policies, including our child protection policy and privacy policies are available to view here – IH Manchester school policies