Young Carers

A Young Carer is a student who is under 18 years old who helps to look after a family member; this may involve physical or emotional care, or taking responsibility for someone’s safety or well-being, this also includes substance abuse. However the level of responsibility assumed by a Young Carer is often inappropriate to their age at a level beyond simply helping with jobs at home, which is a normal part of growing up; as such it may impact on the education of the young person. This includes household chores that are usually completed by adults in the home over and above what a young person would be expected to assist with. This responsibility can impact on their education, missing days from school due to looking after the family member, sometimes getting behind with school work as they do not have the time to complete their school work due to their further responsibilities. This is where our Young Carer Leads can help to ensure that they get the necessary help and support in school with homework or assist them catching up with work they may have missed.

Alde Valley Academy are signed up to the Suffolk Young Carers Schools Award and we have been working very closely with the service to help identify Young Carers in our school and raise awareness of the great work all Young Carers do for their families. We raise awareness of Young Carers in assemblies, staff training and larger National events such as National Young Carers Day in March each year. We were awarded our Bronze award in 2021 are we are currently working towards our Silver Award.

This year Suffolk Young Carers through Suffolk County Council have devised Young Carer Ambassadors.  These are Young Carers within the school who assist with the planning of activities for their group, update the webpage, update the Young Carer Notice Board and act as a liaison between Suffolk Young Carers, our leds and the Young Carers themselves.