Young Carers Policy
Young Carers Policy
At East Wichel Community Primary School and Nursery we believe that all children and young people have the right to an education, regardless of their home circumstances.
We acknowledge that there are likely to be Young Carers among our pupils/students, and that being a young carer can have an adverse effect on a young person's education.
We have adopted our Young Carers policy so that we will be able to relieve some of the worries, which Young Carers may have about home and their school work, and show that we believe Young Carers' education is important.
Who are Young Carers?
Young Carers are children and young people whose lives are affected by looking after someone at home. They are carrying out tasks and responsibilities, which are additional to those appropriate for their age. The person they look after may have one or more of the following:
- Physical disability
- Mental health issues
- Learning difficulties
- Alcohol or drug misuse
- Long-term illness
The person/s they care for may be a parent, sibling or grandparent and the care they give may be physical and/or emotional.
Young Carers' responsibilities may include:
- Personal care (e.g. bathing, dressing, feeding)
- Giving or prompting medication/injections
- Shopping
- Housework
- Emotional support
- Looking after younger siblings
- Budgeting and paying bills
Young Carers can feel tiered, worried and isolated. Their social life is often restricted with few opportunities for fun and after school/college activities.
East Wichel Community Primary School and Nursery should ensure that the Young Carers Policy is implemented in conjunction with the following points:
- The school to support Young Carers by providing a named member of staff with lead responsibility.
- Include issues around disability, mental illness/health and Young Carers in PSHE and Citizenship lessons.
- Avoid stigmatisation or labelling of pupils/students who are carers and provide guidance on preventing bullying.
- Ensure parents can access school/college for open evenings etc. and if this is not possible, consider how links can be made with home.
- Have an agreed confidentiality policy, which includes statements on child protection.
- Include thinking about sensitivities and differences around cultural needs including refugees.
- Consider how information on pupils'/students' pastoral needs can be effectively passed between primary and secondary school, secondary school to FE college and FE college to HE or across other phases.
- Provide specific staff training.
- Include mechanisms for effective inter-agency work to support Young Carers (including child protection procedures if required)
- Include mechanisms to consult with Young Carers and their parents about content of policies and delivery of support.
- Include methods of regularly evaluating the effectiveness of policy and support (in addition to meeting OFSTED requirements).