A new school year is an exciting time for most kids, but this September, thousands of young carers will return to school with more than just homework on their minds. A young carer is a child or young person who has a caring responsibility. They may care for mum, dad, sister or brother. Someone at home who is ill or disabled needs their help.
Meet some of our incredible young carers: Amy, who at age 11 helps care for her deaf sister who struggles with communication; Victoria who helps her Mum with getting washed, dressed and doing shopping due to her mobility restrictions; or Joe (12 years old) whose brother has severe learning disabilities and can’t ever be left on his own.
Amy, Victoria and Joe are just a few of the many children we support who have caring responsibilities in their families. Young Savannah is another. Since she was two-years-old, she has been regularly helping her mum with her medicines and drinks. Savannah actually saved her mum’s life at just three years old by calling for an ambulance when her mum had one of her regular blackouts.
On average two children in every classroom are young carers. Sadly, despite doing extraordinary things for their loved ones, they face real disadvantages due to their additional responsibilities:
- Young carers are likely to miss nine more school days a year and achieve lower grades than their classmates – just four GCSEs at grades A*-C. compared to six for non-carers. They are also 60% less likely to achieve three A-levels or equivalent qualifications.
- Caring has a lasting impact on their mental health, contributes to low self-esteem and tragically, leads to a higher likelihood of self-harm and attempted suicide.
- Young carers are also more likely to have special educational needs and disabilities – 31% of young carers have additional needs compared to 19% of non-carers.
- Young carers are often victims of bullying for being different which leads them to feeling even more isolated in society.
- Young carers can often miss out on fun activities and trips that other children take for granted as they are needed at home.
We help young carers in our community feel supported, not overwhelmed.
We invite young carers to attend free fun activities during the holidays to give them a break from the pressures of caring, helping them to cope better and to look to the future more positively.
“I love coming to Young Carers. We don’t get to go out much in the holidays because of my brother, so coming here is really fun!”
Last year we helped over 400 young carers, giving them time to simply be kids. Of our 158 days of help and advice over the last 12 months, our most popular trips included swimming, beach days, workshops, axe-throwing and fun at Snozone!
Additionally, we raise awareness of young carers issues in schools by helping teachers set up groups for young carers. Young carers tell us of the positive difference these have made on their day-to-day lives and friendships at school.
Every child deserves the chance to learn, grow and have fun; to just be themselves. With your support, we help take the stress out of school throughout the year for our community’s extraordinary young carers. Can you help our young carers have time off, time for fun and help in school this coming school year?
- £5 a month could provide picnic lunches for our trips out, simple joys that make a big difference.
- £10 a month could help us fill a minibus with laughter, not worry.
- £20 a month could help us let kids just be kids through our young carer groups in schools.
- A donation of £50 could fund a full day out for a young carer – including transport, lunch and memories they’ll never forget.
Every donation makes a difference. Sadly, after our funding to work with young carers in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough was drastically cut, we are now faced with tough decisions about what activities to prioritise within our limited budget. We don’t want any of these extraordinary children to miss out.
Your kind donation will help young carers go back to school with confidence, not worry. Thank you for your kind support.
