INTRODUCTION 

This information page has been prepared in order to provide an overview of young carers issues that will supplement existing skills and knowledge.  It does not attempt to cover this very complex and sensitive subject comprehensively.  There have been several publications in recent years that consider young carers in greater depth and give more extensive guidance to professionals. 

*It is estimated there are 51,000 young carers in the UK.  There are no local figures to indicate how many young carers are living locally in Medway but we are hoping that the results of the 2002 Census will give us a clear indication of the number of people undertaking unpaid care and their age. 

I hope you find this information useful.  If you have any comments about this pack or would like further information about the Medway Carers Centre or the Young Carers Project please feel free to contact us on 01634 577340,
or with  FAO Young Carers Project in the subject line

Liz - Young Carers Support Officer

Tracey - Young Carers Activities Co-ordinator

WHO ARE YOUNG CARERS?

Carers UK define young carers as: 

“Children and young people under the age of 18 years whose lives are in some way restricted because of the need to take responsibility for the care of a person who is ill, has a disability, is experiencing mental distress or is affected by substance misuse or HIV/AIDS.” 

A young carer could be in any family, regardless of social or cultural background. 

The Young Carers Project recognises that a child or young person does not necessarily have to provide “hands on” care, such as domestic chores, laundry etc to be recognised as a young carer.  Even when there are services or extended family in place to assist with the care of that person, the emotional impact and restrictions due to the disability are often felt, regardless of the issues at home.   

Excluded from this definition are:

v    Those who undertake tasks around the house appropriate to their age

MEDWAY CARERS CENTRE 

The Young Carers Project is an integral service of the Medway Carers Centre.  The Medway Carers Centre team currently consists of: 

Bobbie Taiano – Centre Manager 

Liz - Young Carers Support Officer

Tracey - Young Carers Activities Co-ordinator

Gina - Adult Carers Support Officer

Our team is also complimented with a strong volunteer base as well as management committee.  Contact Medway Carers Centre.

 Young Carers Project

We aim to support young carers and their families within the Medway area by providing: 

v    Opportunities to talk to someone who will listen

v    Opportunities to meet other young carers

v    Information and help to access services available to them, i.e. education, health issues, support from social services,
 youth services etc.                                                                             

v    Advocacy, both within families and liaison with statutory and voluntary sector organisations

v    Having a voice 

We achieve this through:

o       After School Clubs and social groups

o       School holiday activities

o       Regular newsletters

o       User empowerment

o       Specific information sessions

o       1:1 key worker involvement

THE EFFECTS OF CARING 

As mentioned before, the impact on a young carers personal development cannot be measured by the amount of caring tasks they undertake in the home.  We need to consider the impact on that individual and the family.  Growing up with a disability or illness in the family will inevitably affect a young person, however the nature and effects will be dependant on a number of factors, e.g. the services and support available to the family, the structure and dynamics of the family and the nature of the disability or illness. 

Educational problems

*78% of young carers are of compulsory school age.  One in four of these children miss school because of their caring responsibilities. 
20% of young carers aged between 5 and 10 are either missing school or have a statement of special educational needs; this rises to
42% of secondary school aged young carers and 30% of those in higher or further education.

Young carers are often late for school as they may have the responsibility of escorting younger siblings to school first.  And those who do get there often have difficulty concentrating because of tiredness, concern about the person they are caring for and social problems within the school.

Homework may not be seen as a priority for a young carer due to domestic tasks that need to be done at home e.g. making a dinner or providing carer for siblings.  Others may not have a quiet place within the home for homework especially where there is a sibling with behaviour difficulties and/or special needs.

Academic underachievement, combined with continuing caring responsibilities can limit a young carers’ education and career options. 

Social problems

Social problems arise for young carers for a number of reasons.  Factors include:

Poor disability access in the community, thus making the family virtually housebound

Transport difficulties, either as the family have no access to a car or poor disability access to public transport

The stigma connected to the disability may lead to isolation from peers and the community

The behaviour of the cared for person may be seen as embarrassing

Due to caring responsibilities the young carer may not be able to engage in extra curricular activities after school or within the community.

These factors can all lead to isolation and bullying from peers and the community, loss of childhood, disaffection and problems with social and personal development.   

Physical ill health

If parts of the caring responsibilities include bathing or moving, young carers can experience physical difficulties as a result of lifting adults.  Heavy-duty domestic tasks can also strain the backs of young children, especially those that are still developing themselves.  Lack of personal care, sleep and poor nutrition can also have a negative effect on the physical development of a young carer.

Emotional Effects

 OTHER IDENTIFIED GROUPS IN NEED

Recognising and supporting the needs of young carers from ethnic minorities

As well as promoting integration, the needs of carers from ethnic minorities must also be taken into consideration when offering support.  Issues affecting young carers from ethnic minorities or cultures included:

¨      Some parents did not regard their children as carers but “Children who are providing support to people in the family”.

¨      Experiences of social services, healthcare professionals and schools showed a lack of understanding of the problems families faced and there were examples of discrimination by race and/or disability.

¨      The caring role for some young people had different meanings and purposes.

¨   The families thought that appropriate educational support was not offered.  For example, where young black boys had caring responsibilities that affected their behaviour and progress at school, this was more likely to result in exclusion from school rather than any other response.

¨      Families sometimes preferred their own children to provide care because care from the local authority and voluntary organisations did not take into account the significance of cultural and religious needs.

¨      Where parents did not speak English, children were often required to act as interpreters.  However in some cases this was wholly inappropriate, particularly if the child was very young or if the information was of a complex or sensitive nature.

¨      The families were proud of their ethnicity or culture but thought that the ways in which their ethnicity was understood or represented was often distorted or reduced in order to fit in with the requirement of service providers.

¨      Statutory and voluntary agencies did not monitor the ethnicity of service users even when they had a policy to do so.  Social care agencies did not gather information about black young people with caring responsibilities and it was therefore impossible to determine the numbers of black children and young people providing support at home.  It was also impossible for service providers to determine whether black people were under-represented within an agency’s client base and to plan for appropriate services.    

¨  Other studies indicate that black young people are more likely to be involved in informal caring arrangements than other young people. 

Notes taken from “Invisible Families: The strengths and needs of Black families in which young people have caring responsibilities”.  
Jones, Jayasingham and Rajasoriya 2002                                      

Supporting siblings       (All in the family : Siblings and Disability)

Young carers with a disabled or ill sibling may also be in need of support.  The impact of having a brother or sister with additional needs should never be undervalued.    Research shows that:

¨      *55% of children had their sleep disturbed by the sleeping patterns of their disabled sibling

¨      70% felt jealous or angry of the time parents spent with their sibling

¨      70% had been bullied or teased at school because of their sibling’s disability

¨      Over 40% were angry or upset because family outings were infrequent or limited in scope

A CHARTER OF RIGHTS FOR YOUNG CARERS

It should be recognised that young carers have the right to be involved in any decision that affects their lives and the lives of those requiring care.  Becker and Aldridge of Loughborough Young Carers Research Group compiled a charter of rights, which is widely recognised. 

The charter was first published in Community Care magazine as part of the “Young Carers – Back Them Up” campaign.  The charter consists of a number of basic rights that could be followed by service providers when working on a policy for supporting young carers. 

Young carers should have the right to:

Ø     Self-determination and choice (to be children, carers or both)

Ø     Be recognised and treated separately from the care receiver

Ø     Be heard, listened to and believed

Ø     Privacy and respect

Ø     Play, recreation and leisure

Ø     Education

Ø     Health and social care, specific to their needs

Ø     Practical help and support, including respite care

Ø     Protection from physical and psychological harm (including injury caused by lifting and other caring tasks)

Ø     Full consultation and involvement in decisions affecting their lives and the lives of their families

Ø     Information and advice from trained individuals, in confidence

Ø     Independent and confidential representation and advocacy, including befriending

Ø     Full assessment of their needs, strengths and weaknesses

Ø     Appeals and complaints procedures that work and are appropriate to their needs

HOW THE LAW SUPPORTS YOUNG CARERS 

THE CHILDREN ACT 1989

Advice from the Social Services Inspector in 1995 indicated that young carers with significant caring responsibilities should be seen as “Children In Need”, as defined by Section 17 of the children Act.

“It shall be the duty of every local authority (a) to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need; and (b) so far as is consistent with that duty, to promote the upbringing of such children by their families, by providing a range a level of services appropriate to those children’s needs”    
Section 17 (1)

“A child shall be taken to be in need if (a) he is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision for him of services by a local authority, or (b) his health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or further impaired, without the provision of him of such services”                                                                   Section 17 (10)

THE NHS AND COMMUNITY CARE ACT 1990

This emphasised the intention for care to be provided in the community rather than institutionalised care.  This obviously had a great impact and increased the number of carers.  Although the Act primarily relates to adult services, young carers can access services if it can be shown that services provided would benefit the adult being cared for.

*”The Children Act 1989 and the NHS and Community Care Act 1990 together provide the necessary powers and duties for local authorities to respond to the needs of young carers.  Where the disabled person is a parent, it is essential that the Community Carers Assessment focuses on the family and considers how to support the parent and recognises the needs of any young carers.  Services for the family can be provided under adult legislation”.

*Extract from a letter to Director of Social Services from Sir Herbert Laming, Chief Social Services Inspector 1995

THE CARERS RECOGNITION AND SERVICES ACT 1995

This act came into force on April 1^st 1995 and gives carers of all ages new rights by placing a duty on Social Services Departments to assess the ability of a carer to provide and continue to provide care for the person requiring care.

NATIONAL CARERS STRATEGY 1999

Released in February 1999, Chapter 8 refers specifically to young carers.

The strategy pledges that:

Ø      The Government will aim to ensure that children whose parents or other relatives have specific needs arising out of disability or health conditions enjoy the same life chances as all other children in the locality

Ø      Improved awareness training about young carers for GP’s, Primary Healthcare Teams, Social Workers and teachers at the time of their initial training

Ø      Awareness of young carers will be proposed through schools by Personal, Social and Health Education training

GOOD PRACTISE GUIDELINES

Teachers 

There are many reasons why teachers are important to young carers.  Form tutors have daily contact with students and have a professional interest in the overall performance and welfare at the school.  Young people are usually encouraged to turn to their form tutor as first point of call for advice or to discuss any issues they may have.

Not all young carers will choose to reveal their caring role to teachers, as they may be frightened of any actions that may be taken.  They may also worry that disclosure of their family’s issues will lead to an indifference of the way they are treated or that the information will be leaked to their peers.  However there are signs that you could be aware of that indicate a child may be a young carer. 

q       Little or no involvement in extra curricular activities, after school events or sports 

q       May leave the school premises to use a nearby public telephone 

q       May insist on having a mobile phone in school 

q       Young carers often mature quicker than others 

q       The child misses school with no explanation or prior warning 

q       Persistent lateness, morning, afternoon or both 

q       Absences on a Monday (common with drug and substance misuse) 

q       Child appears to be constantly tired or worried 

q       Homework appears to be rushed or lacking in content 

q       Parent rarely or never attends parents evening 

q       Information may already exist but may be classified and revealed on a need-to-know basis 

q       The child’s academic performance is erratic or there may be a fall in achievement 

q       They may walk to school alone, be accompanied by an older sibling, or have the responsibility of escorting a younger sibling 

q       The child may never attend longer-term school trips 

However, if all students are aware that the school and teachers will treat young carers and their families with respect and sensitivity, the young carer will feel appropriately supported. 

Support that can be offered by the school can include: 

ü      Access to a telephone at lunchtimes and break times with some privacy so they can phone home

ü      Providing the young person with information regarding relevant organisations and support groups

ü      Giving extra time to complete homework

ü      Giving them time to talk about their issues and worries

ü      Intervening when other children are seen to make life difficult, e.g. teasing

ü      Alerting Education Welfare Officers to a child who needs their support and intervention

ü      Showing a professional interest in lateness or absences with perhaps some persistence to find the underlying reasons

ü      By displaying some understanding of the particular illness or disability of the person they are caring for

ü      Ensuring there is disability access to enable disabled parents to visit the school

ü      In cases where the parent is deaf or cannot speak English, arrange for an independent translator to be present, rather than the child

ü      Invite your local Young Carers team to work with the school to strengthen the support to young carers

ü      Promote a positive image of caring and disability issues via PSHE lessons and/or assembly 

The Medway Young Carers Project team are happy to support schools in any way that we can.  We can support teaching staff and pupils by offering:

·        information sessions for staff regarding young carers and their issues

·        Giving a presentation during school assemblies in order to identify young carers

·        Providing Disability and Carers’ Awareness lessons directly to pupils or preparing lesson plans for teachers

·        Running lunchtime support groups/drop in sessions for young carers

·        Providing you with leaflets/posters/information material displaying contact details for the Carers Centre

·        Information and accepting queries at any time

·        Accepting referrals from teaching staff

The information on these pages was correct at the time of publication, to the best of our knowledge (April 2006).  
We cannot accept any responsibility for changes made  since that time.  
The information on these pages is up-dated on a regular basis. 
Please contact the relevant agency