1. General – All leave is at the discretion of the Head of Boarding.

• List of approved Hosts for Your Daughter

At the beginning of each year, boarders' parents are asked to submit a list of names, addresses and telephone numbers of people with whom their daughters may spend weekend leave and exeats. Names may be added to the list during the year by notifying the Head of Boarding in writing. The completed and signed Approved Hosts and Visitors List acts as a contract between the boarder, her parents and the School. It must be emphasised, however, that even if a leave request is in accordance with the contract as set down by a Host List, the Head of Boarding still reserves the right to permit or deny leave at her discretion.

• Responsibility to Ensure Adequate Adult Supervision

It is unwise to allow girls to be checked out with a family that is unable to take care of the girl for the entire weekend because it leaves the boarder very much in charge of the weekend and how it is spent. Moving from one family to another family in the course of one weekend almost certainly leads either to inadequate or no adult supervision.

The consequences of such actions can be disastrous for the girls. In authorising persons as approved hosts whom their daughter may visit, parents are taking complete responsibility for the supervision and care of the boarder while away from the School and transferring this responsibility to the persons nominated on the Host List.

Please be sure that there will be adult supervision when giving your daughter permission to go out on leave. Parents approving their daughter visiting other homes should confirm their confidence in the suitability of the arrangement by making direct contact with the proposed hosts and thus assuring themselves that their daughter will be in suitable care. All hosts must read and sign the Approved Host form. This is available on the website.

2. Duties and Responsibilities of Hosts

Hosts take on the responsibility of the parents of a boarder with the consent of the girl’s parents. For this reason, hosts are expected to be of sufficient maturity to care for boarders. We recommend a minimum age of 21 years.

St Hilda’s policy has stated that students are not permitted to travel in cars driven by daygirls or drivers under the age of 21, and that they may not travel in any car unless authorised by parents and staff. Staff are not prepared to allow students who have recently left school to have the total responsibility for a student of a similar age or younger whilst in their care.

The Duty of Care infers the following responsibilities on a Host:

• Adequate supervision of the Boarder at all times
• Ensuring the Boarder’s behaviour is law-abiding (especially in the areas of drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and party attendance)
• Accountability for any avoidable or deliberate harm to a Boarder in your care

At no time will students be permitted to travel in cars driven by day students or drivers under the age of 21.

At no time will students be permitted to go out with anyone under the age of 21, for day leave or overnight leave.

St Hilda’s will not accept permissions for girls to be taken out with anyone under the age of 21. Some girls will be disappointed about this policy and will still insist that their parents can override the policy by simply sending a fax or email to give permission to go out with someone under the age of 21. St Hilda’s School is not able to accept these permissions.

3. Leave with siblings under 21

• Requests for outings with older brothers and sisters (under the required minimum age of 21) will be negotiated on an individual basis by written requests to the Head of Boarding.
• On the occasions when parents want their daughter to be driven home for a weekend or holidays by a sibling under the required age, the School will need written authorisation for this.
• Older siblings (under 21) are only allowed to sign out their sisters.

4. Leave Entitlements

Weekend Leave with Parents or Friends or Relatives
Friday 3.30pm - Sunday 7.30pm
Available on any weekend with people on the Approved Leave List
Information to be submitted by Wednesday evening 8.00pm
Overnight leave is not granted on Sunday because it is viewed as an evening of preparation for the forthcoming week.

Tea Leave
Boarders may take tea leave with their parents or grandparents from 3.45 p.m. to 6.45 p.m. Monday – Thursday, except on Wednesdays, as it is Boarders’ Chapel. Girls need to be back in time for the second prep session.
Requests for tea leave need to be lodged on Sunday night.

Casual Daygirl
From time to time parents find themselves staying on the Gold Coast during the school week. The Head of Boarding is happy to grant any parent’s written request to have their daughter stay with them.

5. Making Leave Arrangements

• Notification by the Preceding Wednesday

Weekend leave arrangements in writing, should be finalised with the School by the previous Wednesday.

• The procedure for boarders/parents organising leave is as follows:

  a) Parent or Host arranges the times and travel arrangements, by discussion with the boarder
  b) Each boarder is responsible for submitting her request for weekend or day leave to the respective Head of House no later than Wednesday evening prior to weekend of intended leave.
  c) New additions to the Host List must be confirmed by parents by fax or email to Head of Boarding by 6.00 pm Thursday evening. Fax is preferable.
  d) The School verifies the host is on the Approved Host List. Where the parents or their nominated adult representative has not confirmed the approved host, no leave will be granted

6. Signing In/Out Procedures
All boarders on Day or Weekend Leave must return by no later than 7.30 p.m.

Hosts are required to sign for a boarder, giving contact details for the period of time the boarder is in their care. When Boarders are checked out, the School has to ensure that they are being given into the care of the parent or the hosts approved by the parents and the school. We require a girl to be checked out by adults of a sufficient maturity to take responsibility for her.

At this time, with the consent of the girl’s parents, the School passes responsibility for the boarder to the person signing her out. The host has the responsibility to return the boarder to Boarders’ Reception and to sign her back in, thus restoring her to the school’s care.

Hosts who are collecting boarders are required to complete the signing out procedures at Boarders’ Reception prior to taking the boarder into their care. Hosts complete the signing out and in procedures at Boarders' Reception where Boarding Staff will ask the host to complete the appropriate paperwork. The times of departure and return will be recorded. No boarder is to leave the Boarding School until her parents or hosts have completed these check-out procedures at Boarders' Reception.

• In signing a boarder out for leave, the host
  • Is taking full responsibility for that student until he/she returns the boarder to the Boarding House
  • Accepts that the Duty of Care of the boarder, in all its variances, is transferred from the School to the Host while the boarder is in the care of the Host
  • Is expected to have the boarder in his/her care for the duration of the leave period
  • Is expected to have the boarder back to the Boarding House by the required time

7. Leave and School Sporting Commitment

Girls going on leave are required to fulfil obligations to sporting teams despite leave. By prior written arrangement, parents may check boarders out at a Brisbane sporting venue.

Intention to collect a boarder from a Brisbane venue must reach the School by the Wednesday prior to the event, thus giving the School time to notify all relevant staff.

Events held on the Gold Coast will be followed by normal checkout procedures at Boarders' Reception.