Young Carers Action Day will take place on 15th March 2023. A day that shines a light on the challenges young and young adult carers face, and the support they need. This year’s theme is ‘Make Time for Young Carers’. It hopes to highlight two things that are really important for young carers:
- The need for professionals and responsible adults to make more time to listen to young carers. Explain the challenges they face as young carers, so they can better understand the support young carers actually need.
- Once they understand the sort of support that’s required, responsible adults then need to make time to put that support in place.
What is a Young Carer?
In the UK, a young carer is a young person under the age of 18 who cares, unpaid, for a person who has any type of physical or mental illness, physical and/or mental disability or misuses substances such as alcohol or drugs. The Children’s Society report that some carers are as young as 5 years old. However there could even be children younger than this.
Young Carers in the UK
In 2022 it was reported that there were approximately 800,000 young carers in the UK. It was also reported that 39% of young carers said that nobody in their school was aware of their caring responsibilities.
According to the census, in 2021 there were 9,160,198 children between 5-17 years in the UK, which indicates that almost 9% of 5 to 17-year olds in the UK are considered to be a young carer, which is a heart-breaking amount.
Often these young people have a huge amount of responsibility which can affect not just their ability to achieve and excel in their school work, but also their personal and emotional development. Research shows that 27% of young carers aged 11-15 miss school.
The effects of being a Young Carer
The responsibility of caring for another person at such a young age can result in a lot of stress. As a result, it was reported that 1 in 3 young carers had mental health issues before the pandemic, which is likely to have worsened since.
The impacts of being a young carer go further than educationally and emotionally. It also has a significant physical, social and financial impact. Suffering from pains and strains. Inability to participate in normal activities such as meeting up with friends. And regularly feeling isolated because of the weight of their responsibility. It’s also likely that they will have low family income, placing them into the ‘disadvantaged’ category.
Often schools may not be aware that they are facing this alone. There are many organisations that seek to identify and support young carers. There are a variety resources available to educators, helping them to identify and support young carers. These can be found on the Children’s Society website.
Giving Young Carers hope
Through the work at The Gifted, we work with educators who have identified disadvantaged students within their school or college. Often the young people in these situations will have little or no hope for their future. Our Butterfly Project works with young people to help raise their aspirations. It connects them with others to help them feel less isolated and gives them the tools to imagine a brighter future.
82% of disadvantaged students who have participated in the Butterfly Project said that they felt more confident as a result. One student aged 13 said “I wanted to know how to boost my self-confidence and get over bad memories. I have learned that there are some pretty things about me. I now understand how to love and respect myself more. Everyone is pretty in their own way.”
Online programmes
Although availability is limited for our physical programmes, students can participate in the project remotely through the Butterfly Digital. Aimed at young women, the project includes six sessions. Taking them on a journey of self-discovery in confidence, self-esteem, resilience, identity and aspirations. You can find out more here or to sign up please email kemi@thegifted.org.uk.
To ‘Make Time for Young Carers’ by supporting Young Carers Action Day, visit the Carers Trust website.
Article Sources:
- https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk
- https://www.youngcarers.org.uk/
- https://carers.org/
