Introduction to young carers in schools
This toolkit contains everything you need to help you support young carers including how to respond when you identify a child or young person (CYP) as a young carer within your school or setting. It includes how to take a whole-school approach as well as responding to individual CYP's needs.
What is a young carer?
According to the Children and Families Act (2014), a young carer is a person under 18 who looks after or helps to look after a parent, guardian, grandparent or sibling who has a mental or physical illness, addiction or disability. The care they offer might include:
- Doing extra jobs in and around the home, such as cooking, cleaning and shopping
- Helping someone get dressed, get washed, or take medication
- Looking after a sibling while parents are busy
- Acting as an advocate with professionals if parents or guardians have mental health needs or learning disabilities. They can also act as an interpreter when English is an additional language
- Managing household budgets
- Providing emotional care to siblings, parents, or a family member
Will there be young carers in our school?
It is likely that there will be many young carers at every school in England.
- According to The Children's Society in 2023, 800,000 young carers aged 5-17 care for an adult or family member in England.
- According to Norfolk School Census 2022-23 data, there are an estimated 1153 young carers residing in Norfolk; however, we predict these numbers to be much higher.
- Data from The Children's Society suggests that 27% of young carers aged 11-15 miss school.
What does the research say?
- The Children's Society have completed a wide range of research on young carers
- 2022 Carers Trust Survey
- Barnados: 'Still hidden, still ignored'
Resources
Help! I've got a pupil or group of pupils that has just been identified as a young carer, what can I do?
To access a link to a padlet with step by step guidance and resources to help schools support individual CYP when they are identified as young carers, click on the button:
Individual or group approach page
We would like to take a whole-school approach to supporting young carers.
To access an audit tool, action plan and whole school approach guide, click on the button:
Use the audit tool to identify areas of good practice and identify areas for improvement.
The action plan, along with the whole school approach guide, will provide you with guidance and resources for every area to ensure you achieve a measurable impact.
If you need any bespoke support and guidance, we are happy to help and can be contacted at inclusionandsend@norfolk.gov.uk or on 01603 307736.