Young carers

We know that there are many young carers in our classrooms, with at least 1 in 12 secondary school students estimated to be young carers.

Yet, a poll conducted by You- Gov on behalf of children’s charity Barnardo’s found that 40 per cent of teachers were not confident they would be able to identify a young carer in their class. almost a third (29 per cent) said they didn’t think their school had any particular ways of supporting young carers.

As well as the day-to-day responsibilities including cooking, cleaning and shopping, young carers may also provide emotional support to the person they care for.

We know from working with young carers that this can take a huge toll on children’s mental health, as well as their achievement at school.

More than three-quarters of the practitioners Barnardo’s surveyed said that most or all of the young carers they had supported had suffered from anxiety, depression, isolation and feelings of anger. All the practitioners had worked with children who had selfharmed.

Despite changes to legislation which have led to more young carers being identified, there are still children with caring responsibilities slipping under the radar.

While many schools do excellent work with young carers, it is clear that more needs to be done to ensure that the impact of the caring is minimised as much as possible.

This can include ensuring that there is a designated member of staff responsible for young carers.

Jonathan Whalley, Barnardo’s South East and Anglia Regional Director