Whole school approach to young carers in schools
What do I need to record and report?
The information we hold in schools can provide valuable insights and help us to refine provision and support for young carers. The attendance, attainment, progress and wellbeing of young carers should be monitored in the same ways as other vulnerable groups through effective use of pupil management systems.
January school census return
Since spring 2023, young carers are included on the January school census return. This provides a much better picture of the number of young carers in Norfolk schools.
Schools are able to record the information using the following codes:
- N - Not declared
- P - Identified as a young carer by parent or guardian
- S - Identified as a young carer by school
In order for the school census return to provide an accurate representation of the number of young carers in schools, schools need to have systems and processes in place to: raise awareness of young carers with all staff and CYP, flag who the young carers in your school are and ensure that young carers who are identified are linked into available support, both within school and externally.
- Ensure you have a flag on your pupil management system for young carers which is used consistently to raise awareness of young carers and to aid the monitoring of attendance, attainment and progress.
- Use this flag to review attendance and attainment for young carers alongside other vulnerable groups. See guidance from Carers Trust's how-to guide, Step 2 - Tool 4.
Top tip! Consider adding a question to your enrolment paperwork which asks if there is a parent(s), siblings or family members who have disabilities or other long-term physical or mental health conditions. Make clear why you're asking for the information. |
Reflection point:
- What are your key take-aways?
- What will you do differently in your setting?
- What impact do you hope this will have?