The Children’s Society
c/o Whitecross Studios
50 Banner Street
London
EC1Y 8ST
Supporting Young Carers in Schools
Introduction to Supporting
Young Carers in Schools:
A Step-by-step Guide for Leaders, Teachers and Non-teaching Staff
Resource title: Supporting young Carers in School
Published: 2022 Author: Carers Trust
Welcome to Supporting Young Carers in Schools: A Step-by-step Guide for Leaders, Teachers and Non-teaching Staff.
This resource has been designed with teachers and school staff to help make the identification and support of young carers in schools as easy as possible. It is for use in primary and secondary schools in England but could be easily adapted for use in the rest of the UK.
A young carer is a person under 18 who looks after someone in their family or a friend who is ill, disabled, or has a mental health problem or an addiction.
As many as one in five pupils in the UK could be a young carer.
Often these children are caring for relatives without their teachers’ knowledge, slipping through the net, undetected by support services. The caring role they carry out means they have unique experiences and demands that impact on their capacity to enjoy and achieve at school.
Many schools are delivering exceptional practice, making a real and positive difference to the young carers they support. Other schools have told us they want to achieve these excellent outcomes, but don’t know where to begin. This Step-by-step Guide sets out ten key steps to make identifying and supporting young carers as easy as possible.
Like other aspects of school life, the development of effective support for young carers is reliant on regular reviews of current provision and the identification
of areas for continual improvement. The steps are therefore set out as a cyclical process, which schools should engage with throughout each school year.
Carers Trust works to transform the lives of unpaid carers. It partners with its network of local carer organisations to provide funding and support, deliver innovative and evidence-based programmes and raise awareness and influence policy. Carers Trust’s vision is that unpaid carers are heard and valued, with access to support, advice and resources to enable them to live fulfilled lives.
Our mission: We work to transform the lives on unpaid carers through collaboration, influence, evidence and innovation
Phelps, D, Leadbitter H, Manzi D (2010), Supporting Young Carers: A Resource for Schools (The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and The Children’s Society).
The Children’s Society (2013), Hidden from View.
Carers Trust (2022), It’s Harder than Anyone Understands.
Coram (2018), New Research by Coram Uncovers the Positive Impact of Schools Programme Helping Young Carers to Thrive in Education. https://www.coram.org.uk/news/new-research-coram-uncovers-positive-impact-schools-programme-helping-young-carers-thrive-their
The Children’s Society
c/o Whitecross Studios
50 Banner Street
London
EC1Y 8ST
© 2022 Young Carers in Schools