Young Carers’ Futures At Risk As School Attainment Gap Widens
The futures of hundreds of thousands of young carers are at risk, according to data that reveals how growing caring responsibilities are leading to a widening education attainment gap between young carers and their peers.
This is why young carers across the UK are using Young Carers Action Day on March 11th to highlight not just the alarming impact of this attainment gap on their futures, but also the extra support they urgently need from politicians and education settings.
At a series of events in Westminster, Holyrood, the Senedd and across the UK, young carers will call for a Young Carer Lead (a designated member of staff with responsibility for identifying young carers and getting them the support they need) in every school, college and university in the UK.
Heavy caring responsibilities for young carers
There are estimated to be over one million young carers aged up to 18 in the UK, with many as young as 5 years old. Data from a recent Opinium survey by the charity, released for the first time today, shows the daunting caring responsibilities taken on by these young carers:
• More than one in five (22%) regularly have to get up in the night to help the person they care for and a third have to help them get washed or dressed.
• One in five (19%) give first aid, including 16% of those aged under 11, and have to speak to doctors and other professionals on behalf of those they look after.
• Almost half of young carers (44%), including a third aged 11 or under, have responsibility for giving medicine while one in 10 (12%) help with the family bills and money – including 10% of those aged 11 or under.
The same research found almost half (44%) of young carers spend as much as 3-4 hours a day on their caring role, severely restricting the time they have for homework. And over one third (36%) told the survey caring had left them tired or worn out at school.
Impact of caring responsibilities on young carers’ education and attainment
These caring responsibilities have an alarming impact on young carers’ education and learning.
This was highlighted last autumn in official data from the Department for Education that showed:
Fewer than half (46%) of young carers left secondary school with 5 GCSE passes including English and Maths. Young carers are 25% less likely than their peers without caring responsibilities to achieve this academic milestone.
• Fewer than half of young carers (49%) left primary school this year with the expected standard of reading, writing and Maths.
• Just half of young carers (51%) finished school with GCSE passes in English and Maths, compared with 65% for young people with no caring role.
Andy McGowan, Policy and Practice Manager, at Carers Trust said:
“The evidence is clear. Because of caring responsibilities at home, far too many young carers are missing out on learning opportunities available to their friends without a caring role.
“Having a Young Carer Lead to look out for young carers, being aware of the challenges they face at home and helping them get the support they need is a relatively simple way for schools to make a massive difference for young carers. We have seen young carers’ opportunities transformed thanks to Young Carer Leads understanding a young carer’s individual circumstances at home and how to manage this alongside learning at school and homework and ensuring there is support available across the school.
“This is why all education settings should have a lead for young carers. At Carers Trust we’re already working with hundreds of schools. And thanks to National Lottery players, Carers Trust has received almost £5 million from The National Lottery Community Fund. The funding will be used to work with local carer services to support young carers in 3,000 schools and colleges across England, Scotland and Wales.”
On Young Carers Action Day, and beyond, Carers Trust is also calling for any statutory ban on mobile phones in schools to include exemptions, where appropriate, for young carers who need to be in contact with the person they care for at school, when required.
Chris Vince MP is the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Young Carers and Young Adult Carers. Looking forward to Young Carers Action Day and the APPG meeting in Westminster on that day for young carers to meet MPs and Peers, he said: “Being able to focus on lessons and take advantage of all the great opportunities school has to offer should be an option for every child. But far too many young carers are missing out on these opportunities because of the ever-increasing amount of care they need to provide at home for a family member or a lack of support in school.
“I am delighted following my discussions with the Secretary of State for Education that the recent schools white paper specifically makes mention to Young Carers and the need for greater awareness of the challenges they face. As the Government continues to take forward plans to help ensure all young people can access education, employment or training, one really simple thing we can do right now is to require all schools and educational settings to have a Young Carer Lead. The effect this would have on supporting hundreds of thousands of young carers to take full advantage of learning and training opportunities would be transformational. And just as importantly, we’d be giving them the chance to develop the futures they deserve.”
