Young carers

A young carer is anyone who’s under 18 and cares for another person. This is usually a parent or other family member but can sometimes be a friend.

They generally need care because they’re ill, older, disabled, living with addiction or have mental health issues.

If a child is caring for someone as part of a voluntary or paid job, they’re not officially a young carer, under Section 17ZB of the Children Act 1989.

Children and young people become carers when there’s a support gap that can’t be filled any other way.

For example, some families have two parents, or a network of relatives and close friends to lean on. Others rely on paid help. When these options aren’t available, caring responsibilities often fall on the children.

This often happens in these situations:

No two young carers’ lives look the same. Some will be responsible for just a couple of regular tasks at home, while others may take on a lot more. Examples of their responsibilities include:

• Physical care: Helping someone get in and out of bed, or use a wheelchair.
• Emotional support: Listening to problems, giving advice and reassurance.
• Personal care: Helping someone bathe or get dressed.
• Practical help: Cooking, cleaning, shopping and doing laundry.
• Medical support: Managing medication and making GP/hospital appointments.
• Money and admin help: Helping with bills and budgeting, and dealing with official forms and letters.
• Sibling support: Looking after younger children, helping with homework and taking them to school.

Every child carer faces different challenges, but most of them will be affected in the following areas:

Education

Young carers are often late for school. This can be because of regular morning tasks, such as managing medications or making breakfast.

Many have to miss whole school days because of their caring duties. In fact, young carers are around twice as likely to be persistently absent from school as non-carers.

All of this has a massive impact on how well young carers do at school. According to the Nuffield Foundation, roughly one in six young carers don’t reach expected levels of reading, writing and maths by the time they are 11. For children who aren’t carers, it’s about one in ten.

Many young carers experience mental and emotional wellbeing issues, including anxiety, stress and depression.

These mental health issues are often caused by a combination of pressures linked to caring, like isolation, exhaustion, or anxiety.

Many young carers also experience strong feelings of guilt for wanting or having a life outside of their caring responsibilities.

Child carers have to grow up much faster than other people their age. While their friends are having fun, most of their time is taken up with caring duties.

When they get invited to take part in activities, they might have to say no. Social invitations may eventually stop and friends start to drift away, leaving the young carer isolated and lonely.

We give young carers the chance to simply be young people.

Young carers can access regular breaks, and can join in fun activities with other young people - many with similar experiences.

We work in partnership with schools, social care, health services, GPs and voluntary sector organisations to make sure young carers know what support is out there. This early identification means they know someone is looking out for them – they don’t have to cope alone.

We include parents and families in our needs assessments, and make sure they can access advice, support and signposting. We also run events for parents, and outings for the whole family to enjoy together.

Young carers can get support from places like the NHS, community groups and local authorities. We support young carers, too.

Talking to someone else can help a lot. This could be a teacher, a social worker, a mental health professional or a charity helpline. Sidekick is our confidential text and email service for young carers aged 13 to 18. Young people can message any time, about anything that's bothering them. Our friendly team will find the answer and reply within 24 hours.

Financial support is also available, including the Carer’s Allowance (England, Scotland and Wales only), Family Fund grants, and the carer’s element of Universal Credit for those over 16.

As young carers get older, they may start to be described as young adult carers.

After they turn 18, young carers may start using their local authority or community adult care services. They can also request an adult carer’s assessment.

This looks at what they want out of life and whether they are receiving the right level of support.

It's important that support continues - challenges faced by a young carer at school or socially don't stop the minute they turn 18. We need to make sure that young carers are prepared for adulthood.