Young Carers
At Soham Village College we are committed to providing fair opportunity for all students. However, not all students are given a fair starting point. We recognise that there are many students who have additional responsibilities and challenges at home which can have an impact on their ability to access education. There are approximately 120,000 young carers aged between 5-17 who have been identified in England, however, it is thought that there are many more than this yet to be identified.
Who might be impacted?
The definition of a young carer is someone under the age of 18 who helps look after a relative with a disability, illness, mental health condition, or drug or alcohol dependency.
This creates a wide range of students who might be impacted. The help that student might be giving can be both physical and emotional and if it in any way impacts a student’s ability to access education they could be included.
- Physical – helping around the home, cooking, cleaning, helping someone get dressed, helping someone move around, managing medicine or helping with communication
- Emotional – looking after siblings, playing with them to keep them occupied or talking with someone who is distressed and calming them down.
How might caring impact students?
Having caring responsibilities can be really difficult for some young people. Research shows that young carers can feel stressed or anxious, miss school, have limited time to spend with their friends, and feel they have to limit their plans for their own future.
Many struggle educationally with being able to focus on school whilst overwhelmed by other worries or can be bullied for being ‘different’. They can become isolated, with no relief from the pressures at home, with 1 in 3 young carers saying that caring makes them feel stressed.
Support offered in school
At Soham Village College we have a dedicated Young Carers Lead (Mr Huggins) who will liaise with our Young Carers and offer any appropriate support. If you are a parent or student who wishes to find out more about young carers or identify yourself/your child as such please contact zhuggins@soham-college.org.uk.
There are lots of ways school can help and these can often be tailored to individuals’ situations and what support they need to help them cope. This could include providing space for students to complete homework, time-out opportunities if things become overwhelming, fortnightly support meetings, regular wellbeing check-ins and referral to additional local council support such as that provided by Centre 33.
Additional Information:
Please see the wellbeing section of the school website for a variety of organisations dealing with many issues relating to wellbeing and mental health support or use the links below for young carers specific information and support.