Young Carers

If you are a young carer, you can get help and support from the The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, Tel: 01259 729917

Young carers are children and young people whose lives are constrained by the need to care for a person who is ill, affected by disability or incapacitated by the misuse of drugs or alcohol.

The person being cared for can be a parent, brother, sister, grandparent or other family member. The young carer may be the primary carer, or may be assisting with caring responsibilities. In either case this can have a considerable impact on their lives.

Children may be required to provide care and support in the absence of adequate external support services.

Carers can experience

emotional stress
physical demands
isolation
loneliness
lack of information
lack of support

Young Carers' stories

Who can I speak to?

Some problems won't go away on their own, but you can feel a lot better when you talk to someone about them. You might want to talk to friends, parents, or even a pet!

Talking to a professional like a teacher, doctor or social worker can be best if you want someone to help you with something. You can refer to our Child Care web page for more information.

If you are finding it hard to find the right moment to bring something up with someone, try writing it in a diary, a poem, or a letter first (you don't have to actually give them the letter if you don't want to)!

You could practise what you want to say with ChildLineor telephone 0800 1111 or by emailing YCNet e: youngcarers@carers.org.

School

Pupil

Advice and guidance:

YC Net
- Someone in my class is a young carer

Teacher

Teachers are often the first point of contact for identification and referral of young carers. You you can find information and practical examples to help you make your school more young carer on The Princess Royal Trust for Carersweb pages below:

Education
Schools Resources Pack
- Pack for primary teachers which contains assembly plans, lesson plans, ideas for where young carers can get further help such as through young carers' groups and other useful information.

Support

Clackmannanshire Council funds a School Liaison Worker whose aims are to promote inclusion and help to address young carers' needs when their education achievement is affected by their caring role. They provide one to one support in school, and act as a link between young carers their families and school. They also raise awareness of young carers issues through PSE classes in school, and provide advocacy services where appropriate.

The Princess Royal Trust host this project and offer young carers access to a range of recreational activities, including respite through residentials.

You can email the project at e: schoolsproject@centralcarers.co.uk

Further details can also be found in our Children's Services Directory.

Other issues

The move into adulthood for young carers is very likely to be hampered by lack of qualifications, limited social skills and continuing caring responsibilities, making entry into the labour market difficult.

Vulnerable people such as young carers, are twice as likely as their peers to have mental health issues .

Much progress has already been made in helping both disabled children and carers within Clackmannanshire and Forth Valley.

Their needs have been identified in many of the relevant strategies such as the Caring Together The Carers' Strategy for Scotland 2010 - 2015, Accessibility Strategy and Statement of Education Improvement Objectives, Integrated Children's Services Plan.

Scottish Government information

Young Carers
Carers and Young Carers Strategy for Scotland: 2010-2015
- The Scottish Government have launched this new strategy in partnership with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
Getting it right for young carers
- Young people's summary on the effects of caring

Useful resources for professionals

Early identification, assessment of needs and intervention - The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) for children and young people: a guide for practitioners.
- This guidance, available on the TeacherNet website, remains non-statutory and seeks to link together processes and tools to show how collectively they provide a package of support to help practitioners and managers implement integrated working in their practice.
A Resource Pack for people working with Young Carers
Big Lottery Fund
- Good practice in actively involving young carers

Research

Research looking at the experiences of young people caring for an ill or disabled parent, examined how young carers move into adulthood and how their caring responsibilities affect this: