Does your child or young person help to look after someone in your family?

Young carers are children and young people under the age of 18 who help to look after a family member who is disabled, physically or mentally ill, or has a substance misuse problem. A young person may be a young carer for a number of different reasons and who they care for and the support they provide is unique to their family situation. Care may be given to mum or dad, brother or sister, or even a grandparent and could include practical and physical support. This could be things like helping around the house, helping prepare dinner, helping someone get out of bed in the morning or helping to look after a sibling.

Young carers may also help to provide emotional support to a family member, for example, talking things through, listening or helping a family member feel calm and safe. We know that children and young people are often very proud of being a young carer; they learn new skills, gain independence and feel close to their family. We also know that young carers face some challenges. Young carers tell us they don’t always have time to themselves or can’t always go out as a family together. 

We know sometimes young carers worry about the family member they care for when they are in school. Young carers tell us that it can be helpful to have extra support in school and that it can make a real difference if somebody in school understands their caring role.

We celebrate and support young carers at our school. If you would like to have a chat or find out more about the support available at school for young carers, please come and talk to Miss Ingham who is our Young Carers Champion.