June 2022 Newsletter - Young Carers

In this update

• Carers Week
• Young Adult Carers Activities
• Young Carer Indicator added to School Census
• Barnardo's Young Carers Action Day
• Directory of Services available to support children and families
• Skills Launchpad Live careers exhibition
• Uniform Store Plymouth
• COVID-19 immunisations
• Green Minds
• Let's Talk Teenagers - June 2022 Toolkit
• Share your stories with us

Welcome to our latest newsletter, which we hope you find useful and informative. If there's a colleague or another provider in your network that you think would like to receive the newsletter, please feel free to forward it onto them.

Please let us know if you have anything you would like us to share or publicise in a future issue.

Carers Week

6 to 12 June 2022

The theme this year is Visible, Valued and Supported.

The Plymouth Young Carers Service will be running a week-long social media campaign with young carers and young carers group sessions on Monday and Tuesday evenings.

Monday 6 June

• Post to show how we value carers: what we offer, how we support them and what they do when they are here.

Includes:

• Junior Young Carers session.
• Glitter lava/lamp style mindfulness jars using glass bottles, glitter, sequins and water. Watching the glitter fall can be used as a calming technique to take a moment to reset.
• Happy memory jars where we will paint glass jars with glass painting pens and sharpies. We can write happy memories on paper and keep them in the jar to be opened later.

Tuesday 7 June

• Chalkboard posts with young carers anonymously showing who they care for.

Wednesday 8 June

• TikTok post of young carers making friends and enjoying spending time together.

Thursday 9 June

• Post about why they like being a young carer, painted hands in a heart showing the best parts of being a carer.

Friday 10 June

• How we celebrated carers week, includes photos of glitter lava lamps and happy memory jars.

Find out more about what is happening nationally through the Carers UK website.

Young Adult Carers Activities

Young Carer Indicator added to School Census

The following update has been published on the GOV.UK website.

All schools (except nursery) can send us this information in the spring census only.

The young carer indicator identifies, for those children on the roll for spring census day, whether they have been identified as a young carer and if so, by whom.

Section 17ZA of the Children Act 1989 says a young carer is a person under 18 who provides or intends to provide care for another person (which isn't to a contract or voluntary work).

Young carers carry immense responsibility in providing care and support at home; but their own needs may remain 'hidden' from wider view. The increased pressures young carers have faced due to the pandemic has further highlighted the need to improve formal identification of this cohort in schools, understand their needs and provide early help as outlined in statutory guidance on keeping children safe in education.

Working together to safeguard children also outlines how school and college staff should be particularly alert to the potential need for early help for students who have taken on caring responsibilities.

Schools record the information using the following codes. Only one of the values will apply to each pupil and a school's MIS should provide a default value of N - not declared.

Code Young carer indicator

N      Not declared

P      Identified as a young carer by parent or guardian

S      Identified as a young carer by school - including where the pupil self declares

More information regarding young carers will be made available soon.

Barnardo's Young Carers Action Day

This year, on 8 March, Barnardo's Young Carers Service in Plymouth took to the digital airwaves to promote the service. Rob Harrison, Children's Services Manager, appeared live on Chaos Radio and was interviewed by a young adult carer from Cornwall about how we work in Plymouth, our partnership approach, and what the key issues can be that are facing young carers post COVID, including around education, emotional health and wellbeing, and the financial pressures as the cost-of-living rises.

Our "Be Creative" group also met on Young Carers Action Day and used the theme of the day of isolation as the focus for this group session. The group positioned scarves to show how individual young carers may feel separated, isolated and disconnected from others.

They then thought about how connections can be formed, how young carers value feeling part of a community, and how important peer to peer support is as well as the support from professionals in their lives. 

Directory of Services available to support children and families

Plymouth City Council's Targeted Support Service has developed a directory of support as a resource to help social workers in identifying available support for children and families within the city, helping them to engage in community-based interventions and build resilience.

• Early years and educational support
• Parenting and behavioural support
• Mental health support
• Physical health support
• Money and housing support
• Relationship support
• Support group support
• Targeted support
• Work and benefit support

If you know of other community resources that could be added, or have any other feedback on the Directory, please email TargetedSupportAdmin@plymouth.gov.uk.

Skills Launchpad Live careers exhibition

22 and 23 September 2022

Working in a city-wide partnership, Skills Launchpad Plymouth is going live with an exciting, interactive two-day careers event showcasing the breadth of opportunities available with local employers.

Offering impartial careers information, advice and guidance alongside recruiting employers and training providers, the event will bring together a variety of specialists to help shape informed future career journeys.

From students at school planning their next steps, to young adults just starting their journey or anyone looking for a career change, they will find out all they need to know at Launchpad Live.

Please have a look at the attached exhibitor guide for further details, including how to book a stand at the event.

Uniform Store Plymouth

The Uniform Store Plymouth is a free service for families to kit out their children for school.

Donations of good quality school uniforms are given to those in need, free of charge - no referral is needed.

The organisers operate a Pop-Up shop in Plymouth City Centre throughout the school summer holidays, and a 'Click & Collect' service that operates throughout the year, where parents/carers can order the uniform that they need for their children and collect it from our collection point.

To place an order for a school uniform, families should visit www.uniformstoreplymouth.co.uk and select the items required.

The collection point at Redeemer Church, St Barnabas Terrace, Plymouth PL1 5NN is open every Wednesday and Friday from 10 am to 12 pm.

For more information, please email hello@uniformstoreplymouth.co.uk

Building Support for children, young people and families

The Plymouth Safeguarding Children Partnership has launched a new approach to how we work together to safeguard children and young people in Plymouth.

Like many partnerships, the approach has evolved to be more conversational and based on finding the right service, at the right time for individual children, young people and families.

Find out more about this new approach and book yourself onto the next workshop.

COVID-19 immunisations

The roll-out of COVID-19 immunisations for children aged 5 to 11 years started this month. The attached leaflet provides detailed information on the immunisations offered.

Parents and carers should receive information on how to book an appointment for the child in their care or can call 119 to arrange an appointment. Immunisations will be given at a specific centre or pharmacy.

Rates of COVID in this age group are high; the main aim of this immunisation is to protect elderly and vulnerable people who might catch COVID from children.

If foster carers or others who work with children in care have any questions or concerns, please email the LAC Nursing Team.

Green Minds

What is the Green Minds Project?

Green Minds is a project that is helping Plymouth become a better place for wildlife and people.

We run free nature-themed events in Central Park and other green spaces in the city.

Find out more about the Green Minds Project at www.greenmindsplymouth.com

Green Mind Events

Wednesday 15 June 2022, 6 pm to 7 pm Butterflies in Plymouth (online talk)

• Join Jess Smallcombe from Devon Biodiversity Records Centre to learn which species you're likely to see in Plymouth and how to identify them. What do butterflies need to prosper? We'll give you tips on how you can help.

Wednesday 16 July 2022, 10 am to 1 pm Invertebrates

• Celebrating some of our Smallest Creatures. Join us to find out more about the amazing insects that live all around us but often go unnoticed. We will search for mini beasts such as butterflies, bees and beetles that live at Central Park, learn how to identify them and discover more about their lives.

Wednesday 13 July 2022, 6 pm to 7 pm Plymouth Sound's Amazing

• Marine Life on our Doorstep (online talk). Join this online talk to find out more about the intriguing marine life around Plymouth Sound. From fish that build nests, and crabs that decorate themselves to sea slugs that recycle weapons, Devon-based marine biologist Paul Naylor will tell their stories through his underwater photographs and video clips.

Thursday 4 August 2022, 10 am to 12 pm Green Minds Project

• Summer Wildflower Walk. Join Jess Smallcombe from Devon Biodiversity Records Centre to explore the wildflower meadows of Central Park, Plymouth. Learn about the different wildflowers that grow here and the work Green Minds is involved in at Central Park.

For more events and to book, visit https://greenmindsplymouth.com/events

Let's Talk Teenagers - June 2022 Toolkit

After the success of the first Let's Talk Teenagers sessions piloted earlier this year, the second series of online sessions will be held in June.

These sessions are an opportunity for parents and carers of teenagers to hear about the challenges young people are facing today whilst being offered tips, techniques and resources to explore for more help and support.

Funded by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Safer Devon Partnership, South Devon and Dartmoor Community Safety Partnership and Teignbridge Council for Voluntary Service, these evening, 90-minute sessions will be running on consecutive Wednesdays at 7 pm on the 15th, 22nd and 29th June. Designed to empower parents and carers to support their teenagers through the challenges they are faced with daily, topics covered include: 

• substance misuse
• exploitation
• healthy relationships
• safety online
• social risks

We would be very grateful if you can help promote the sessions by sharing information with your communities and partners.

A resource toolkit with further information and artwork to help you spread the word, including an A4 poster that you can print, and display is attached.

If you would like any more information about the session, please contact safetyandresilienceconsultancy@gmail.com.

Share your stories with us

Do you have any good news stories or information that you would like to share with the wider Young Carers Network in Plymouth?

Please email Time4U@plymouth.gov.uk with your suggestions.

We'd love to share all the amazing things you are doing!

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This page was last updated on 1 December 2022.