Young Carers

They may irritate you by coming late to school, failing to complete homework assignments and not paying attention in class. But before you give them a punishment exercise, Louise McDonald urges teachers to consider the possibility that a pupil who is performing poorly may, in fact, be a 'young carer'.

Recent studies suggest that as many as 100,000 children in Scotland, some as young as four years old, are undertaking a caring role in the home that is 'inappropriate to their age'. An estimated 50 per cent will be looking after a family member with a physical illness or disease. The remaining 50 per cent are caring for someone with a mental illness or an alcohol or drug-abuse problem.

Although young carers are generally praised on TV and in the press as being 'little angels' with 'hearts of gold', the negative aspects of their situation are rarely publicised. Looking after parents or siblings - and sometimes both - can have a detrimental effect on the well-being of a child.

Supporting young carers

Louise McDonald knows this only too well. She is the Young Carers Development Coordinator in Scotland for the Princess Royal Trust for Carers. The Trust has 29 centres in Scotland for carers, 26 of which have young carers projects attached to them. In addition, there are dozens of other young carers' projects/clubs in Scotland run by organisations such as Crossroads, NCH (National Children's Homes) and MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Scotland, all of which come within Louise McDonald's remit. She explains:

'We are all part of the Scottish Young Carers Services Alliance and we all have the same goal. We want it recognised that these children are young people and we want young carers to be given the support they need to have a much more normal childhood.'

The role of schools

Louise points out that schools can have a vital role to play in both identifying young carers and supporting them. She says: 'Not all young carers live near a young carers' project or want to join one if they do. But even if they are members of a support group, the caring burden for them is lightened if the school has at least an awareness of their situation and the negative impact it can have on their education and social life.'

She continues: 'Schools may be the first to notice that a child is displaying behaviour which, on investigation, turns out to be due to the fact that they have become a carer. Or they may notice that a pupil already identified as a carer is starting to struggle and needs more support.'

Louise points out: 'This is the kind of information that can be shared at the integrated services joint agencies meetings that are in operation in most local authorities now and are the ideal network to support young carers.'

Signs that may indicate a pupil is struggling in a carer's role include: arriving late; absence from school; homework not completed; persistent headaches/sore stomachs; non-appearance of mum/dad at parents' nights.

Says Louise: 'If there is a nurse at the school, they can also have an important role to play in helping young carers. Pupils may need advice about looking after themselves - making sure they're eating properly, getting regular exercise and finding time to relax and socialise. There may also be problems with increased worrying and anxiety.'

She continues: 'A common complaint from many young carers is that there is often very little information about the illness or disease their parent is suffering from written in language they can understand. That's something health staff at the school could also help with.'

Raising awareness

For schools just beginning to develop an awareness of young carers and wanting to take it further, Louise McDonald advises: 'Good practice in schools is that a named person is in charge of young carers. I suggest that the named person then goes onto the Young Carers website, which both adults and young people say is a real pleasure to use. It's very easy to navigate and is full of information for teachers and other professionals, young carers and parents.

'They can then contact me through the website or e-mail me directly and I can provide them with young carers' awareness resources for staff and pupils and/or put them in touch with a young carers' project if there is one in their area. Some materials can also be downloaded from the website.'

Some schools organise a Young Carers focus week, when information is displayed on boards and a representative from a young carers' project is available at lunch time to speak to pupils privately. Louise adds: 'Schools that have really taken the issue of young carers on board ask parents of incoming pupils if there is a young person in the house who has a carer's role. And the subject is brought up on an awareness-raising basis at year group assemblies.'

Not all schools have the luxury of being linked to a local young carers' service, but there are many ways in which the school itself can provide support. Where the local schools and the local young carers' service work together, the benefits for young carers are greatly increased.

TYKES

Myra Clark works for TYKES (The Young Karers East Sutherland), a young carers' project with premises situated just a short walk away from Golspie High School. TYKES has 54 members, 29 from the High School and the rest from primary schools (plus three youngsters currently on the project's waiting list).

Commenting on their relationship with the High School, Myra says: 'The school is very supportive of young carers and it makes a difference. We give presentations to the first year intakes, and project members have permission to come over to us at lunchtime to watch a video, read a book or maybe have a chat. We can liaise with the school if a child is getting into difficulties due to their carer's role or if, for instance, they need to accompany a parent who has a hospital appointment and will be absent from school.'

She adds: 'Our young carers at primary school often need reassurance more than anything else. For example, children looking after an alcoholic parent can suffer a lot of verbal abuse and they find that difficult to cope with.'

William Irwin is headteacher at Golspie High School, which has a roll of 376.
He says: 'Our association with the TYKES project began before 2002 and we meet with them regularly because they're part of the joint agency group. We all want to improve the well-being of pupils so we're very happy to work with TYKES.

'The most common way for pupils here to find out about young carers' support in an informal way is at the school's ‘drop zone'. That's a room where information about bullying, young carers, sexual health, pregnancy, etc. is on display. Pupils can go in there at lunchtime to have a look and pick up leaflets. Representatives from the health board, TYKES and other relevant groups take it in turns to staff the room twice a week at lunchtime so pupils can have a chat with them if they want to.

'Young carers also have a presence at our first year parents' nights, along with representatives from our other partner agencies. Guidance teachers normally deal with young carers' issues but we do a ‘young carers' presentation on in-service days to raise awareness amongst all the staff.'

• Myra Clark (TYKES): tel: 014086 33017
• William Irwin (Golspie High School): tel: 014086 33451