A support service of family carers including young carers.

What does the service offer to young carers and to schools?

• Short awareness raising sessions to staff on the issues around identifying and supporting young carers in school.
• Advice to schools on developing a policy of good practice in supporting young carers.
• Support and signposting information to individual teachers who have identified a young carer in their school.
• Low key support to individual young carers where appropriate.

Contact

Rosemary Griffiths

Telford and Wrekin Council for Voluntary Service,
Meeting Point House
Off St.Quentin Gate,
Town Centre
Telford
Shropshire
TF3 4HS

Telephone: 01952 291350

Further Relevant Information

Who are young carers?

A young carer is any young person aged 19years or under whose life is in some way restricted because of the need to take responsibility for a relative who is sick or disabled. They are carrying out significant caring tasks which would usually be undertaken by an adult. In some cases the young person, whilst not taking on the main responsibility for a dependant relative, may be caring for siblings or taking on inappropriate household responsibilities. Their emotional, physical, social and educational needs may all be affected by taking on this caring role. Many young carers are reluctant to talk about this role to anyone including their teachers.

How can schools recognise and support young carers?

Caring about Carers - A National Strategy for Carers (published by HM Government in February 1999) and Social Inclusion - Pupil Support (DfEE circular No10/99 paragraph 3) emphasise the important role of schools in supporting young carers and make a number of recommendations.

A number of factors may indicate that a young person is a carer including inconsistent academic performance, difficulties in school attendance, isolation from peers and social activities, health and emotional problems, inability of parents to attend open evenings.

Once the young carer is identified and has gained the confidence to trust a member of staff with this information there are a number of ways in which the school can support the student academically and emotionally.

One important factor is to have a whole school policy for supporting young carers. Another issue is for schools to be aware of who else they should be working in partnership with in order to support young carers. For example health, social services, the voluntary sector.

Wolverhampton University has recently completed research into the needs of young carers in Telford and Wrekin, commissioned by Telford and Wrekin C.V.S. and funded by Quality Protects. It is hoped that as a result of this work further support for young carers will be developed in the near future.