Young Carers
If you are a young carer, you can get help and support from the The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, Tel: 01259 219288
Young carers are children and young people whose lives are constrained by the need to care for a person who is ill, affected by disability or incapacitated by the misuse of drugs or alcohol.
The person being cared for can be a parent, brother, sister, grandparent or other family member. The young carer may be the primary carer, or may be assisting with caring responsibilities. In either case this can have a considerable impact on their lives.
Children may be required to provide care and support in the absence of adequate external support services.
Carers can experience
- emotional stress
- physical demands
- isolation
- loneliness
- lack of information
- lack of support
The move into adulthood for young carers is very likely to be hampered by lack of qualifications, limited social skills and continuing caring responsibilities, making entry into the labour market difficult.
Vulnerable people such as young carers, are twice as likely as their peers to have mental health issues.
Much progress has already been made in helping both disabled children and carers within Clackmannanshire and Forth Valley. Their needs have been identified in many of the relevant strategies such as the Carers Strategy, Accessibility Strategy and Statement of Education Improvement Objectives.
School Project
The Young Carers, School Liaison Worker aims to promote inclusion and help to address young carers' needs when their education achievement is affected by their caring role. They provide one to one support in school, and act as a link between young carers their families and school. They also raise awareness of young carers issues through PSE classes in school, and provide advocacy services where appropriate.
The Princess Royal Trust host this project and offer young carers access to a range of recreational activities, including respite through residentials.
You can email the project at e: schoolsproject@centralcarers.co.uk
Further details can also be found in our Children's Services Directory.
Scottish Government information
- Young Carers
- Carers and Young Carers Strategy for Scotland: 2010-2015
- The Scottish Government have launched this new strategy in partnership with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
Useful resources for professionals
- Early identification, assessment of needs and intervention - The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) for children and young people: a guide for practitioners.
- This guidance, available on the TeacherNet website, remains non-statutory and seeks to link together processes and tools to show how collectively they provide a package of support to help practitioners and managers implement integrated working in their practice.
- The Team Around the Child (TAC) and the lead professional: A guide for managers
- This guide has been updated and is available on the Every Child Matters website.
- A Resource Pack for people working with Young Carers
Research
Research looking at the experiences of young people caring for an ill or disabled parent, examined how young carers move into adulthood and how their caring responsibilities affect this:
- Young carers' transitions into adulthood by Chris Dearden and Saul Becker (14 June 2000)
John Barrett MP makes a link between child poverty and disabled families. Full text of the debate is available here:
- House of Commons debate on Child Poverty Bill(20 July 2009)
Publications & documents
- Clackmannanshire Accessibility Strategy
- Clackmannanshire Carers Strategy
- Clackmannanshire Carers' Charter
- Community Care Assessment leaflet
- Information for Carers - how to obtain a Carer's Assessment
- NHS Forth Valley Carers Information Strategy
- Sharing Personal Information in Health & Social Services
- Statement of School Improvement Objectives
Page tools
Contact information
For further information about this page please contact:
Social Services, Child Care
Lime Tree House, Castle Street, Alloa, FK10 1EX
Tel: 01259 452368 / 450000 Fax: 01259 452440
Email: childrensservicesplanning@clacks.gov.uk
Or use the on-line contact form
