If you have a teaching role, you will come into contact with students who have caring responsibilities. The student’s caring role can affect their school or college life. There are practical ways that you and your school or college can help young carers.
Who are young carers?
A young carer is anyone under 18 who provides unpaid care or support for a family member or friend who has a physical or mental health condition, is disabled or misuses drugs or alcohol.
It is estimated that there are 175,000 young carers in the UK, but the Princess Royal Trust for Carers say that the real figure could be much higher than this.
As well as supporting the person they look after, a young carer may also be responsible for household tasks such as food shopping, cooking or cleaning, and for helping to look after other siblings. In some cases, a young carer might need to take on tasks that would normally be seen as an adult’s responsibility, such as managing the household budget.
You and other staff at the school or college may be unaware of a student’s caring responsibilities, especially as the student themselves might be reluctant to talk about it. This may be because young carers might see school as an escape from the demands of caring, and want to forget about their responsibilities while they're at school. Others may feel embarrassed about discussing their home life or afraid of what might happen if others find out about their situation. Some may think that talking to a teacher or lecturer will not help them.
Identifying young carers
Every young carer’s situation is different, but there are common issues. Awareness of these issues can help you to identify students with caring responsibilities at your school or college. Signs that could indicate a student is caring for someone include:
- often being late
- regularly missing school or college: young carers may bring in letters from a parent asking that they be allowed to stay home
- underachievement or inconsistency in the quality of their work: homework or coursework may handed in late or not at all
- seeming tired or distracted
- needing to use a phone during the day
- difficulty taking part in activities after school or college
- physical problems such as back pain
- parents who seem distant and unwilling to engage with the school or college
Young carers often feel different from their peers. Caring responsibilities can make it difficult to find the time and freedom to take part in everyday activities such as seeing friends, and their adult responsibilities may make them feel and appear more mature than other students.
Having a family member who’s ill or disabled can also make a student feel as if they have less in common with other kids at school. They may feel protective of their family and want to defend them against people who don’t feel the same. For some, this can mean that they become aggressive or disruptive. Conversely, a young carer might seem quiet and withdrawn and young carers may experience bullying at school or college.
How teachers and lecturers can help
If you think one of your students may have caring responsibilities, you can help by asking them if they’re helping to look after anyone at home, and if there’s anything you can do to make things easier for them at school or college. It’s important not to do this in front of their peers, as most young carers say that they don’t want to be treated differently from others. Other ways you can help include:
- not sharing what they’ve told you with anyone else without their consent
- letting them know that you’re available if they need someone to talk to
- being flexible about punctuality and work deadlines
- setting up a homework club at lunchtime
- allowing access to a telephone at breaks so that they can call home if they need to
- being aware of local sources of support, such as young carers’ projects, and supporting the student if they want to access these (it’s best if the student’s family are involved in this)
Organisations such as the Princess Royal Trust for Carers, Barnardos and Action for Children run young carers’ projects. Local authorities also have a responsibility to provide services for young carers. Information about services for young carers is available from the free and confidential Carers Direct helpline on 0808 802 0202.
How schools and colleges can help
There are various strategies that schools and colleges can use to help ensure that students who care for someone get the support they need. These include:
- making sure that admissions forms provide an opportunity to identify and record whether a student’s family includes someone with care needs
- developing links with local young carers projects, and making sure there is a named member of staff who has responsibility for this
- organising events to raise awareness of young carers, such as assemblies
- putting up a noticeboard with information for young carers
- setting up a transition process for young carers moving from primary to secondary school
- actively promoting the inclusion of people with a disability or mental ill health, and challenging negative attitudes and stereotypes (a peer-led approach may be helpful)
- making sure the school is physically accessible for parents with disabilities
- looking at young carers’ issues during Personal, Social and Health Education time (see External links for resources to help with this)
