Boarding school resources for staff, students and families

Everything boarding staff need before their first shift.

The BoardingReady Staff Bundle brings together the Staff Handbook, the REACH Complete Guide and the REACH Cheat Sheet in one discounted bundle. Three resources. One purchase. Everything you need to walk in confident on day one.

The Staff Handbook is the practical guide for boarding house staff built from 10 years inside Australian boarding houses. Covers your first week, student welfare, parent communication, real scenarios and your own wellbeing. Interactive checklists and live school setup fields that update throughout the handbook automatically.

The REACH Complete Guide is the guide that should have come with the system. Step by step instructions for every key REACH function including roll call, leave management, pastoral reports, duty reports and airport view.

The REACH Cheat Sheet is the laminate card every boarding supervisor needs in their pocket from day one. Print, cut and laminate. Everything you need mid-shift without searching through menus.

Together they cover everything from your first login to your first welfare escalation.

Built from 10 years inside Australian boarding houses.
Open in any browser, no app needed.

Every BoardingReady guide in one bundle.
Built for boarding schools who want to do it properly. Staff onboarding, student welcome packs and family guides, everything in one package.

The Complete Suite brings together all five BoardingReady resources for boarding staff, families and students in one discounted bundle. Five guides. One purchase. A complete resource suite built from real experience inside Australian boarding houses.

The Student Welcome Guide is written directly for new boarders. Real talk before day one covering packing, homesickness, roommates, phones and what a normal Tuesday actually looks like.

The Boarding Family Guide is written for parents and guardians stepping into boarding life for the very first time. Covers who is looking after your child, homesickness, struggling signs, the practical day to day and boarding lingo explained.

The Staff Handbook is the practical guide for boarding house staff. Covers your first week, student welfare, parent communication, real scenarios and your own wellbeing. Interactive checklists and live school setup fields that update throughout the handbook automatically.

The REACH Complete Guide is the guide that should have come with the system. Step by step instructions for every key REACH function including roll call, leave management, pastoral reports, duty reports and airport view.

The REACH Cheat Sheet is the laminate card every boarding supervisor needs in their pocket from day one. Print, cut and laminate. Everything you need mid-shift without searching through menus.

Built from 10 years inside Australian boarding houses.
Open in any browser, no app needed.

The resource that didn't exist for boarding house supervisors. Until now.

Most people start working in boarding before they ever access formal training. You are on shift, navigating real situations, long before anyone sits you down in a room and walks you through the theory.

This handbook is for that gap. The practical knowledge, the scenarios nobody prepares you for and the conversations nobody writes down. Give it to new staff before they start or pick it up yourself if you are thinking about a career in boarding. Either way you will go in with your eyes open.

What's inside:

📋 Active Supervision — what it actually means at 10pm on a Tuesday
📝 Documentation — facts not opinions, duty reports, pastoral records
🧠 Behaviour Management — de-escalation, real scenarios, practical guidance ⚠️ Mandatory Reporting — your obligations by state, when to act
🌍 Cultural Competency — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, international students
🔄 Shift Handover — the most important ten minutes of your shift
📖 Scenario Bank — six real boarding scenarios with honest guidance
🏠 My Boarding House — customisable setup tab for your school

Sits alongside ABSA training - not instead of it. The practical resource you reach for on the floor.

10 years. 1,000+ students. Built from the inside.

Everything your family needs before boarding starts.

The BoardingReady Family Bundle brings together the Student Welcome Guide and the Boarding Family Guide in one discounted bundle. Two perspectives. One purchase. Everything you need before drop-off day.

The Student Welcome Guide is written directly for your child. Real talk before day one covering packing, homesickness, roommates, phones, the exeat dip and what a normal Tuesday actually looks like.

The Boarding Family Guide is written for you. For parents and guardians stepping into boarding life for the very first time. Covers who is looking after your child, homesickness, signs your child may be struggling, listening without fixing, the practical day to day and boarding lingo explained.

Together they cover every conversation your family needs to have before the car is packed.

Built from 10 years inside Australian boarding houses.
Open in any browser, no app needed.

If you use REACH as your boarding management system — this is the shortcut.

REACH training isn't always part of the onboarding process. Most boarding staff pick it up on the job — figuring it out shift by shift. This guide shortens that learning curve and gives you a practical quick reference to reach for when you need it most.

What's inside:

💻 Cheat Sheet — the daily essentials at a glance

🖥️ Kiosk & Airport View — explained step by step

✅ Roll Calls — exactly how to run them

📝 Duty Reports — facts not opinions, every time

👤 Pastoral Records — what to record and why it matters

✈️ Leave Management — the full sign in and out process

💊 Medications — how to run the round, record it correctly and escalate if needed

🔧 Troubleshooting — six common problems solved

📋 Quick Reference Card — print it, laminate it, keep it on you

🔍 How to find a student's emergency contacts in seconds — student mobile, parent mobile and host contact. Know where they are before you need them.

📄 Manual Sign In / Sign Out backup sheet — for when REACH is unavailable. Print and keep a stack in the duty room.

Plus three step by step scenarios:

📋 Leave request approval — how to approve a leave request correctly in REACH, step by step

⚠️ Student not back on time — their leave is showing as overdue in REACH. Step by step: what to check, who to call and how to document it.

🏠 Unplanned overnight leave — what to do This one happens every Friday. A student wants to go somewhere that hasn't been approved.

Built from years of daily use — so your first shift doesn't have to be your training.

Independent resource. Not affiliated with REACH or Class ICT.

The laminate card every new boarding supervisor needs in their pocket for a standard shift.

Print it. Laminate it. Keep it in the duty room.

✅ Finding a student fast — three steps
✅ Roll call process — step by step
✅ Leave management — the essentials
✅ Medication round checklist
✅ Reports — facts not opinions
✅ The Golden Rule of REACH

Designed to print on A4, laminate and post in the duty room. One page. Everything you need.

Built from years of daily REACH use.

Independent resource. Not affiliated with REACH or Class ICT.

Real talk for new boarders — before day one.

This isn't a school brochure. It covers the real stuff — day one, homesickness, roommates, friendships, phones, the exeat dip and what a normal Tuesday actually looks like. Plus a letter from a Year 12 boarder to their Year 9 self that every new boarder should read. Honest, practical and no-nonsense.

What's inside:

🎒 Day One — what actually happens, hour by hour
📦 Packing list — bring this, leave that
📅 A typical Tuesday — the full day from wake-up to lights out
🏠 Homesickness — honest and practical
🛏️ Your roommate — the things nobody says
🏥 Health — what to do when you're sick at 1am
💌 The letter — the one every new boarder should read

Built from 10 years inside Australian boarding.
For every new boarder about to start the best chapter of their life.

Whether you're considering boarding for your child or you've already made the call —

This guide is for you — the parents, guardians and families navigating the boarding experience from the other side of the gate.

The trust you place in a boarding house when you drop your child off for the first time is extraordinary. This guide is written to honour that trust — with honest, practical answers to the questions you're too nervous to ask.

What's inside:

🏠 Who's there — who looks after your child and what they actually do
🌙 Who's there at 2am — overnight supervision explained honestly
💬 Listening without fixing — the chapter every boarding parent needs
😢 Homesickness — yours and theirs
👫 Friendships — how they form and what your role is
📱 Phones, health and the practical stuff — a day in the life
🗓️ The exeat dip — what it is and why it happens
💛 Did we make the right call? — the question every boarding family asks
🌟 The extraordinary part — what boarding gives you both

Built from 10 years inside Australian boarding. For every family about to start something really good.