Young carers
At Lordswood School for Girls, we believe that no barriers should exist between students and their education. We are dedicated to understanding the needs of young carers and how to support them to achieve their full potential. Being a young carer is an important and vital role and we want to show students that we recognise their effort as well as assuring them that they deserve a much-needed break like everyone else!
What is a young carer?
A young carer is a person under 25 who helps take care of a family member with an illness, disability, and/or addiction. Young carers carry out various daily tasks to support this person. These could include but are not limited to:
- Practical tasks – such as cooking, housework, shopping
- Physical care – such as lifting, helping up the stairs, physiotherapy
- Personal care – such as dressing, washing, helping someone go to the toilet
- Emotional support – such as listening, calming someone, being there for someone
- Household management – such as paying the bills, managing finances, collecting benefits
- Looking after siblings – such as putting to bed and walking to school
- Interpreting for parents – with hearing or speech impediments or language barriers
- Administering medication – such as insulin needles and preparing tablets
The designated young carer coordinator at Lordswood School for Girls is Miss M Hadfield. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch via email at m.hadfield-putt@lsg.kevibham.org if you have any inquiries.
What we do to help young carers:
- Regular meetings each half term to catch up with students and how they are doing
- Spreading awareness about young carers, their roles, and how it can impact a student so that they can be understood by their peers and teachers
- Social events with other young carers to foster connections with those with similar experiences
- Monitoring behaviour and attendance
- Celebrating Young Carer Action Day (March 12th)
In the last year, it was reported that:
- 1 in 5 children in the UK are young carers – nearly 1 million across the country.
- Young carers miss 23 days of the school year on average – a whole month of teaching
- 48% of young carers reported bullying
- 23% said that their role made it difficult to make friends
These statistics show us just a few of the barriers that young carers may face.
Looking for support outside of school? Spurgeons, a charity dedicated to young carers, offer:
- Confidential one-to-one support with a dedicated worker
- Help to access other services
- Training opportunities, e.g. first aid, fire awareness or building self esteem and confidence
- Phone support
- Workshops
- Access to counselling services
- Transition into the adult carers service once they reach 18
- Whole family support
- Opportunity to take an activity break, make friends, and have fun!
Access their website at https://spurgeonsyc.org/birmingham/
For more support information, please see this link: http://tinyurl.com/45h295z4
