At Denver VC Primary we are committed to ensuring that all pupils get the support they need to have a positive school experience, are happy in school and can achieve their full potential.

Our Young Carers Champion is Mrs Louise Jones.

We know that for some pupils, factors outside of school can have a big impact on this, particularly if there is someone in their family or a friend who is ill, disabled, or has a mental health problem or an addiction. We think in every class there could be as many as 2 pupils who are helping to support someone because of one of these factors – we call these pupils young carers.

Pupils can be young carers for lots of different reasons:

• They might be providing physical support to a parent with a physical illness such as fibromyalgia or ME, such as cooking, fetching things or helping with things like putting shoes on or doing the shopping
• They might be helping a parent with a disability who needs help with more personal tasks such as getting dressed, bathing or changing dressings
• Or it could be more emotional support – like being there if their autistic sibling is upset, taking responsibility for young siblings whilst parents attend health appointments, or checking that a parent with depression/anxiety is ok.

Some young carers might be doing lots of caring, others just a small amount but are impacted by the situation at home for example by worrying about the person with the health condition, or needing to do more things for themselves compared to other students.

Too often their role is not known, and this means the impact of their caring role is not understood, and they do not have the essential support they need.

However, there is lots of support available for young carers and their families should they ever need it – both inside and outside of school.

In school we are working hard to achieve the Young Carers in Schools award.

Carers Matters Norfolk is a good source of information and advice Young Carers and Families Support Norfolk | Carers Matter (youngcarersmatternorfolk.org)

Useful information can also be found at: Young carers | Barnardo's (barnardos.org.uk)

The NHS website has information about the rights of young carers: Being a young carer: your rights - Social care and support guide - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

The Carers Trust also has valuable information on its website: About Us - Caring as a Young Carer (carers.org)

If you think that any of the above applies to your child, and that they might possibly be a young carer then please contact Mrs Jones to discuss how we can support them. Even if you feel your child or family are doing really well and don’t need any support, we find that it’s better for us to be aware and have them on our radar as potential young carers, in case the situation suddenly changes and they (or you) do need support. It just means that you and your child don’t have to start from scratch with letting us know what is going on if things have become difficult.

The Swan Youth Project offers a lot of support for Young Carers. Here is a poster highlighting what they offer.