For information on how your school/college can get involved with this Ofsted acknowledged award, please complete the referral form via the link below, and we will be in contact shortly.
For help getting started, or if you have any questions, please contact our project coordinator:
Who is a ‘young carer’?
A young carer is a person under 18 years old who regularly provides emotional and/or practical support and assistance for a family member who is disabled, physically or mentally unwell, frail, elderly, or who misuses substances.
Having to care for someone can often mean missing school or having to bail on friends. It can put their childhood on the back burner. Many young carers, and the people around them, don’t even realise they’re carers.
Research shows that young carers have significantly lower educational attainment at GCSE level – an average of one grade lower than their peers.
Young carers are also less likely to be in education, employment or training (NEET) between the ages of 16 and 19 years old.
What is the Young Carers in Schools Award?
The Young Carers in Schools (YCiS) award aims to provide schools with the tools and resources to support young carers and reduce negative impacts, and give them the same access to education and future life chances as their peers.
Many schools already deliver exceptional practice that makes a real and positive difference to the young carers they support. Other schools aim to achieve these outcomes for their young carers, but are unsure how to begin. The YCiS award supports schools to create a supportive environment for young carers by working through a simple task list to build up an offer to be proud of and that supports young carers to achieve their very best.
YCiS Award Standards:
The Young Carers in Schools award has two tiers: Young Carers in Schools Award and Young Carers in Schools Award Plus (coming soon)
The award is built on 5 standards devised from feedback from young carers, and is achievable via a step-by-step process that makes identifying and supporting young carers in schools as easy as possible. To gain an award, schools must evidence how they are meeting these five standards:
1. UNDERSTAND: There are assigned members of staff with responsibility for understanding and addressing young carers needs
2. INFORM: Awareness is raised by sharing knowledge about disability, illness and young carers throughout the school
3. IDENTIFY: Young carers are being identified within your school
4. LISTEN: They are listened to, consulted with and given time and space to talk
5. SUPPORT: Young carers are supported within the school, and signposted to whole family resources and services outside the school.
How Youth UnLimited will help you to achieve the award…
- Youth UnLimited will help schools develop and set up provisions to identify and support young carers.
- Youth UnLimited will provide support and guidance in undertaking the application process and gathering the evidence to complete the the YCiS Award.
- Youth UnLimited will help to suggest ways in which to raise awareness in schools about the role of young carers, and how to help battle the stigma.
- Youth UnLimited will work with schools to help improve the experiences, support and achievements that young carers have, by providing useful contacts and networking opportunities.
- Youth UnLimited will help schools by providing staff sign-posting and training where needed.
- Youth UnLimited will provide a designated contact who will assist with all questions and queries about the YCiS Award.
Youth UnLimited co-ordinate the Young Carers in Schools Award in Somerset on behalf of Somerset County Council, with funding from Somerset Community Foundation.
