What is a host family?
Our homestay goal is to provide students with a stay in Ireland that is stimulating, memorable, safe, engaging and supported.
IELA is a premium homestay provider for International Students in Ireland. We believe each placement is pivotal to the success of our programmes and support both family and student from before arrival to beyond departure. All our families are carefully selected and provide a warm and welcoming home with the highest quality of accommodation.
We are genuinely grateful to have the most wonderful families who choose to work with IELA. They are an integral part of our service and an extension of our shared values, commitment, and reliability. IELA host families are regularly visited to ensure standard quality assurance and are vetted by Irish Police (Garda Vetted).
We have a large database of trusted host families who choose to work with us and provide a home for our visiting students. We take the utmost care in matching specific student requirements with the most appropriate accommodation for their needs.
Living and studying Ireland was an unforgettable experience for me.. I never had trouble in communicating with my host parents which made my stay even better. Overall, I enjoyed my stay with this family very much! I miss them a lot. As of today, I am very grateful that they were my parents! I know that I am always welcomed in their house. I will never forget about everything that they gave me and will always remember those days!
What if my child misses home during their stay?
At IELA we too are parents, so we fully understand children and the feelings of parents when their child leaves home. We are particularly dedicated to the welfare and happiness of each child attending our programmes. We promise our unique personalised service ensures your child has a safe, secure, happy and memorable experience of life in Ireland.
Our host families take an active interest in your child’s well-being and are there to offer help and advice if needed.
There is also the more ‘personalised’ cultural experience which is pivotal to the IELA experience. There can be no doubt that conversation with your host family can provide that unique integration with the English language and culture.
What is involved in being a host family?
Most students who travel to Ireland to improve their English choose to stay with a host family to make the most of their immersion experience. IELA’s host families may be ‘traditional’ families with children, young couples with no children, single-parent families and retired couples whose children have left home. The primary role of the Host Family is to ensure their guest is well looked after and treated as a member of the family during their stay. Our families must offer a warm welcome and be committed to the immersion experience of their guest.
Prior to registration, all host family homes are carefully assessed by IELA staff and family members aged 18+ are Garda vetted before they are allocated a placement on the IELA database.
Useful links for Host Families:
For more information or if you have any questions regarding our Host Family service contact us at: info@ielaireland.com