Step 10

Supporting Young Carers in Schools

Step 10

Sharing Good Practice

Resource title: Supporting young Carers in School
Published: 2022 Author: Carers Trust

It is vital that schools that have adopted Steps 1 to 9 of this Step-by-step Guide, share their good practice and lessons learnt with feeder and linked schools including others in their school cluster or multi-academy trust.

By doing so they will ensure positive outcomes are delivered for young carers attending other schools. They will also make it more likely that the caring role of a pupil enrolling or transferring to their school is identified by others prior to the pupil’s transition. This will make it easier for schools to implement support and early intervention.

Don’t forget

Identifying a young carer early can stop them taking on caring roles which are excessive or inappropriate. Make sure no child or young person’s education, wellbeing and potential is affected by their caring role by sharing your good practice.

Schools should seek opportunities to share effective practice by:

Disseminating learning with feeder and linked schools, including others in their school cluster or multi-academy trust through transition planning, joint training, mail outs and other information forums.

What to do next?

The development of effective support for young carers in schools is a reiterative process of continual improvement. Schools should review the effectiveness of their policy and provision for identifying and supporting young carers and their families on an annual basis, with a view to continually improving outcomes. Reviews should be timetabled at appropriate points within the school calendar so that they:

Inform the school’s processes for planning and reviewing its use of Pupil Premium funding.
Ensure that where appropriate young carers are considered as part of the whole school development plan.

For guidance and tools to support schools to review their provision return to Step 2: Reviewing your school’s provision for young carers.

Sharing good practice examples and support on amending practice and policy will help schools meet the Gold level of the Young Carers in Schools Award. Monitoring and reviewing provision for young carers on an annual basis will help schools achieve the Gold level of the Young Carers in Schools Award.

Monitoring and reviewing provision for young carers on an annual basis will help schools achieve the Gold level of the Young Carers in Schools Award.