Council offers better support for Plymouth's young carers

There are more young carers in Plymouth than ever before and it is likely many more are still unknown, according to a city councillor determined to improve the support on offer for the thousands of children who look after loved ones.

Councillor Nicky Williams, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, made supporting young carers one of the Council’s top priorities last May, when she kick-started a project to identify and offer better support to young people looking after parents, siblings and relatives in need of care.

The latest figures show that Plymouth has identified an additional 214 young carers following a fact finding mission by Plymouth City Council to accurately capture the number of young carers known to various organisations in the city. But there are still estimated to be many more out there, coping on their own for fear of coming forward and telling people about their situation.

Councillor Williams, explains: “It is difficult to find out the true number of young careers in the city, as young people can be cautious in coming forward to ask for help, often struggling by themselves with little or no support.

"Often people feel there is a stigma attached to being a carer and are afraid to ask for help. We need to identify and reach out to these young people and help them balance their caring responsibilities with having the freedom to take part in normal childhood activities and reach their full potential.”

The Council is now putting in place several initiatives designed to better support young carers. During the autumn of 2013 and spring of 2014 Barnardos will be delivering training for groups working with children across the city to help staff spot young carers and point them in the right direction for support. The course material is currently being written, which will include some classroom-based courses and online resources, and will be rolled out from September this year.

Barnardos will also carry out further research, through its contact with other organisations working with young carers, to build on the information collated to date that will shape future planning and commissioning.

This will complement the school governors training which has already taken place this year and is set to continue next year following excellent feedback from those on the course.

The Council has also received grant funding from Health of £25,000 which has been awarded to five groups with the aim of supporting young carers to achieve in life and improve their health and wellbeing, which can suffer as a result of looking after a loved one.

Grants were awarded to ‘Relate’ for group and 1:1 counselling for young carers city-wide, ‘Mountbatten’ for locally based outdoor activities and Barnardos for transport linked to its on-going work with young carers.

Friends and Families of Special children were also awarded grant funding for its Fun and Freedom club, which meets once a month and supports carers as young as five. Yealmpstone Farm Primary school received cash for their in-school club for young carers to support their needs during the school day and beyond; and Notre Dame Secondary school received funding to build on existing support for young carers by offering short breaks and activities during the summer holidays.

Councillor Williams, said: “All those who received funding were delighted and are excited about making a real difference to the lives of young carers. I’m extremely pleased that we are able to tick off another one of our pledges, but most importantly, I’m glad there will be more support for young carers in the city as a result of this work.”