Young carers


1. What is a Young Carer?

1.1 A ‘young carer’ is a individual aged under 18 who has a responsibility for providing primary or secondary care, on a regular basis for a relative (very occasionally a friend) whose needs may arise from:

  • Physical or sensory disability;
  • Learning disability;
  • Mental health related difficulty;
  • Chronic or terminal illness; or
  • Misuse of drugs or alcohol.

1.2 Young carers as well as providing emotional support, are frequently involved in shopping, cooking, cleaning, ironing, washing clothes, budgeting the household income and nursing responsibilities including provision of intimate personal care.

 

2. Identifying Young Carers

2.1 Identifying young carers is not always easy. Research has found that a significant number of young carers do not tell anyone about their caring responsibilities and often do not recognise themselves as young carers. It is the responsibility of all agencies to be curious about young people’s circumstances and to recognise when children are young carers. Those organisations working with adults need to adopt a “whole family” approach and consider the role of the young person within the family system, and schools particularly can be best placed to enable children to access support as young carers.

 

3. What a Young Carer might 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.
  • Managing the family budget and collecting prescriptions.
  • Helping to give medicine.
  • Helping someone communicate.
  • Looking after brothers and sisters.

 

4. The Care Act 2014

4.1 This strengthens the rights and recognition of carers in the social care system. For the first time, Young Carers have new rights under this act.


5. Children’s Act 2014

5.1 Once a Young Carer is identified we must consider their support needs, through a Young Carers Assessment. The local authority must also carry out such an assessment if a young carer, or the parent of a young carer, requests one. Such an assessment must consider whether it is appropriate or excessive for the young carer to provide care for the person in question, in light of the young carer’s needs and wishes.

5.2 The local authority need not carry out a young carer’s assessment or a parent carer’s assessment if the local authority has previously carried out a care-related assessment of the young carer/parent carer in relation to the same person cared for, unless it appears to the authority that the needs or circumstances of the young carer/parent carer or the person they care for have changed since their last Child & Family Assessment or adults assessment.


6. The Young Carers’ (Needs Assessment) Regulations 2015

6.1 In assessing the needs of the Young Carers the needs of the whole family must be considered. Young carer’s assessments can be combined with assessments of adults in the household, with the agreement of the young carer and adults concerned.


7. Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018

7.1 In addition to the above, multi-agency training is important in supporting the collective understanding of local need. Practitioners working in both universal services and specialist services have a responsibility to identify the symptoms and triggers of abuse and neglect, to share that information and provide children with the help they need. To be effective, practitioners need to continue to develop their knowledge and skills in this area and be aware of the new and emerging threats, including online abuse, grooming, sexual exploitation and radicalisation. To enable this, multi-agency safeguarding arrangements led by the three key safeguarding partners should consider what training is needed locally and how they will monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of any training they commission.

 

8. When might providing care and emotional support be a safeguarding issue?

8.1 All agencies in contact with young carers should consider if those individuals are in need of support services in their own right.

8.2 Local Authority Children’s Services should consider whether any provisions of the ‘Children Act 1989’ or Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995 need to be applied.

8.3 The extent and effect of caring responsibilities may satisfy the criteria of Section 17 (1) ‘Children Act 1989’ for ‘Children in Need’ i.e. where a child is ‘unlikely to achieve or maintain a reasonable standard of health or development’ because of those responsibilities.

8.4 If any agency is concerned that the young carer is at serious risk of neglect, abuse or harm, this must be referred to Local Authority Children’s Services and if appropriate, a Strategy discussion held. 

8.5 Unless there is reason to believe it would put her/him at risk, a young carer should be told if there is a need to make a referral. If possible, the young carer’s consent should be sought through a discussion of why the referral must be made and possible outcomes.

8.6 In those situations where the child does not give consent, but it is still considered necessary to make a referral, s/he should be kept informed of all decisions made and offered support throughout.
Responses should be the same as for any other child and no additional procedures apply.

8.7 A Young Carer with excessive or inappropriate caring responsibility should be considered a ‘Child In Need’.

8.8 ‘Excessive or Inappropriate Caring Responsibilities’ are those that mean a young carer is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or to have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision of services by a Local Authority under this Section 17 of the Children Act.

 

9. Covid Impact

9.1 The effects of the coronavirus pandemic have seen increased pressure on young carers providing essential support to a family member in their household, with previous opportunities for a break from their responsibilities, such as meeting friends at school or through social groups currently not available.

 

10. Do you care for someone in your family who is ill or disabled?

10.1 Young carers are children and young people under 18 who provide regular and on-going care and emotional support to a family member who is physically or mentally ill, disabled or misuses substances.

You may be helping with:

  • bathing
  • dressing or the toilet
  • helping with the housework
  • shopping, preparing meals
  • caring for siblings
  • listening to / talking through issues and difficulties for the cared for person

With so many adult responsibilities, you probably often miss out on opportunities to play and learn.

 

11. Do you want to meet other young people who care for someone?

There is support in your area and online locally and nationally:

The Junction
Website: https://thejunctionfoundation.com/services/young-carers/
Email: info@thejunctionfoundation.com
Telephone: 01642 756000

Eastern Ravens
Website: https://www.easternravenstrust.org/
Email: info@easternravenstrust.org
Telephone: 01642 678454

Hartlepool Carers
Website: https://www.hartlepoolcarers.org.uk/
Email: staff@hartlepoolcarers.org.uk
Telephone: 01429 283095

Stockton Young Carers Support Service via Eastern Ravens: https://www.easternravenstrust.org/young-carers/

Stockton Council’s Support for Carers webpage: https://www.stockton.gov.uk/our-people/support-for-carers/

Not specifically for young carers - the carer’s hub: https://www.stocktoninformationdirectory.org/kb5/stockton/directory/carers.page

 

National support and guidance can be found at:

Carers UK - https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/practical-support/getting-care-and-support/young-carers-and-carers-of-children-under-18?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIytqVmff-6AIVibPtCh2rvACWEAAYAiAAEgKhlvD_BwE#sec0

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

Childline - Childline is a free and confidential telephone helpline for children on 0800 11 11. You can talk to someone on Childline who may be able to give you advice and get you help.

Children’s Society - https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/information/young-people/young-carers