Crosshill's commitment to young carers
At Crosshill, we are aware that some of our pupils are young carers. By definition, a young carer is someone under the age of 18 who looks after a family member or friend who has a physical or mental health condition, or misuses drugs or alcohol. They may also look after brothers, sisters or elderly relatives too.
Research suggests:
- 800,000 young carers aged 5-17 care for an adult or family member in England
- 27%of young carers aged 11-15 miss school
- 39% said nobody in their school was even aware of their caring responsibilities
Did you know that 1 in 12 secondary students are young carers? Young carers regularly help to look after someone in their family, or a friend, who is ill, disabled or misuses drugs or alcohol. They have extra things to do at home and might help by:
- Cleaning, cooking and shopping
- Sorting out medication
- Looking after brothers or sisters
- Supporting someone physically, like helping then out of bed
- Supporting someone emotionally, like listening to someone who is upset
- Helping someone to communicate
Crosshill is committed to meeting the needs of young carers so that they can attend and enjoy school in the same way as other pupils and achieve their potential.
We have a designated young carers senior leadership team lead, Mrs Hadfield, who has responsibility for young carers and their families and she works closely with Mrs Zand, our young carers operational lead. We make pupils and families aware of who this is and how to contact them to access support.
Once a young carer is identified, the school will contact parents to request signed permission to work alongside the carer. We only share information with professionals and agencies on a need-to-know basis in order to support pupils and their families. The school has an effective referral system and strong partnerships in place with relevant external agencies, including the school nurse and the local young carers service. We also offer regular weekly drop-in sessions at lunchtime and one to one individual support for young carers in school, as and when needed.
Further information
If you are a student and would like to receive further information or you would like to self-refer, or you are a parent/carer who would like to receive further information or to refer your child, please speak to Mrs Zand or Mrs Hadfield for more information. You can also find more support and advice at the following links:
Young Carers Support - CANW
Advice & support for young carers - The Children's Society
Support and advice for families with young carers - Barnardos