Young carers
A young carer is a child or young person under the age of 18 carrying out significant caring tasks and assuming a level of responsibility for another person which would normally be undertaken by an adult.
Surveys carried out by The Princess Royal Trust for Carers have shown that as many as one in ten pupils is a young carer in some areas, which raises issues for all schools.
Issues for young carers
In most families children will be expected to take on additional responsibilities as they get older to prepare them for adulthood but young carers are not just ‘helping out’. If they don’t do the work, it will often not get done at all.
Tasks undertaken by young carers are many and varied and include housework, personal care for those they look after, being a companion and providing emotional support. ‘
PDF file: Young Carers in the UK: The 2004 Report’ highlights some of the negative impacts of the caring role as follows.
- Limited opportunities for social and leisure activities.
- Limited horizons and aspirations.
- Difficulty in relating to their peers because of different experiences and maturity levels. This can often lead to bullying.
- Isolation – a feeling of exclusion and being outsiders.
- Stigma by association – children can be victimised and bullied because a family member is different.
- Fear of what professionals might do – that someone may be removed from the home.
- Living with silence and secrets – hiding the family situation from others.
- Health problems, both physical and mental.
- Emotional difficulties – from adopting a role that is beyond their developmental ability or from seeing a loved one in pain, or in the case of mental ill health the person they are caring for may be irrational and unpredictable.
- Educational problems – missing school, being tired and distracted when at school, not completing homework. Many leave with low grades or no qualifications.
‘Young Carers in the UK: The 2004 Report’ was published by Carers UK, 20/25 Glasshouse Yard, London EC1A 4JT.
What can schools do?
The key is identifying that the pupil is a young carer. Some schools have developed a policy of asking about caring issues at initial guidance interviews. Sometimes support can be as easy as allowing a pupil access to a telephone at breaks or lunchtime to call home to check if their parent is all right.
Being flexible and realistic about timekeeping and homework can also be helpful. What are not helpful are punishment exercises which involve more for the young carer to do at home!
Some young carers may need more intensive support and staff should follow the guidance for the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. There is more information on this on the Inclusive Education website.
Many schools have found that contacting their local young carers project and inviting them to come along and do awareness-raising for staff and pupils has been beneficial. There are young carers projects in all but three council areas in Scotland. For information about your nearest project, call The Princess Royal Trust for Carers on 0141 221 5066.
Useful resources
‘Making it Work – Good Practice with young carers and their families’, Jenny Frank, The Children’s Society and The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, 2002
‘Making it Work – Resources for work with young carers and their families’, Alison Kendall, The Children’s Society and The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, 2003
Both of these are available on the Making it Work page of the Young Carers Initiative website.
Useful links
Young Carers
This website, run by The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, has a useful section for professionals working with young carers, as well as interactive help, advice and supervised chat rooms.
Young Carers Initiative
Useful website for young carers, their families and those working with young carers.
