Young Carer
What is a Young Carer?
A young carer is anyone, of any age, who as part of their normal life, offers help and support to a relative or friend who is dependent on them.
They may have adult responsibilities. Their day to day care often includes cooking, cleaning, shopping, providing nursing and personal care and giving them emotional support. Just being there for a person, talking to them and making them feel safe is an important part of being a young carer.
It has been estimated that there are over 700,000 carers in the UK and of these many care for over 50 hours a week.
Many young carers today feel that caring for others is a very rewarding role bringing with it a range of positive, emotional and psychological benefits. However caring can also have adverse effects such as anxiety, stress, tiredness, friendship issues, strains on relationships with parents, staff and friendship groups and generally an under-engagement and achievement in education.
It is shown where schools provide support to students who are identified as young carers; it reduced the emotional and educational impact of their caring.
That is why here, at Stratton School, the support we offer ranges from:
- Pastoral support via the House Hub
- Access to Period 6 spaces for home learning or catch up
- Coursework catch up and revision sessions on site after school
- Drop in sessions with House Hub team and external support
How do we assess for YC Status?
Sometimes, students do not realise they are in fact a YC. We use a MACA toolkit to support students.
The Multidimensional Assessment of Caring Activities (MACA-YC18) is a questionnaire (an 18-item self-report measure) that can be used to provide an index of the total amount of caring activity undertaken by the young person, as well as six subscale scores for domestic tasks, household management, personal care, emotional care, sibling care, and financial/practical care.
These assessment tools provide schools with structured frameworks to evaluate the extent of caregiving responsibilities, the impact on the individual, and the positive and negative outcomes associated with the role of young carers. By utilising these tools effectively, schools can design more informed and targeted interventions to provide appropriate support, enhance well-being, and alleviate potential burdens faced by young carers.
Below you’ll find various grant applications and financial support along with direct links to helpful websites and chat forums.
