What is a Young Carer?

A young carer is someone aged 18 and under who cares for a friend or family member who, due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction, cannot cope without their support. Older young carers (18-25) are also known as young adult carers and they may have different support needs to younger carers.”

(https://carers.org/about-caring/about-young-carers)

What might a Young Carer do?

• Practical tasks, like cooking, housework and shopping.
• Physical care, such as helping someone out of bed. 
• Emotional support, including talking to someone who is distressed.
• Personal care, such as helping someone dress.
• Translating for parents/caregivers
• Managing the family budget and collecting prescriptions.
• Helping to give medicine. 
• Helping someone communicate.
• Looking after brothers and sisters.

How many Young Carers are there?

• The 2011 Census identified 177,918 young carers in England and Wales. One in eight of those were aged under eight.
• This is widely believed to be the tip of the iceberg, with some estimates suggesting that as many as one in five schoolchildren are young carers (University of Nottingham 2018), with this number increasing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Being a Young Carer can have a major impact on things that are important when growing up

• Young carers are already likely to have significantly lower educational attainment than their peers.
• With the added complications of COVID-19, young carers have missed out on even more school than before and urgent support is needed if they are not to be left behind their peers.
• Caring can also be an isolating experience but having the right support in place can give young carers a better chance of succeeding in all parts of their lives. 

What are we doing to help our Young Carers?

West Hatch is now following the National Young Carers in schools award in order to help us identify and help our young carers.

We now have a Young carers Team made up of:

Mr Cleere, School counsellor - Email: MCleere@westhatch.net

Ms Leigh, Head of Social Science - Email: JLeigh@westhatch.net

Mr Tester, Assistant Head Teacher - Email: RTester@westhatch.net

Ms Lord, Head of Music - Email: MLord@westhatch.net

Miss Duddridge, West Hatch P.E Team - Email: SDuddridge@westhatch.net

All of our team are dedicated to helping young carers, and you can email them for assistance with matters regarding young carers.

You can also contact the team by telephoning West Hatch on: 0208 504 8216

Accessing the school nurse and medical team at West Hatch:

To get an appointment to see our school nurse, please ask at Student Services where they will book you an appointment.

Student Services is also the place to go to access the medical team.

 

Map to Student Services 

Young Carers' Drop-in Service

Thursday Lunchtime (1:30pm- 2:15pm)

Counsellor’s Room in the E block

 

 

More help for young carers can be accessed by contacting:

Carers Trust

https://carers.org/about-caring/about-young-carers

Head Office

(Please note our address as of 1 May 2019)

Carers Trust 
Unit 101
164–180 Union Street
London SE1 0LH

Website: https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/essex/welcome/

Website: https://www.tuvida.org/london-and-essex

Tel: 01708 757242

Email: essex@tuvida.org

Tel: 0208 514 6251

Email: office@rcss.org.uk