December 2021 Newsletter - Young Carers

In this update

COVID-19: guidance for providing unpaid care
Kooth
Carers Awareness Training for Professionals
Young Carers Leads Hubs for Schools
Share your stories with us
Useful links
Calendar
How to get in touch

REMINDER: Annual Young Carers Survey

COVID-19: guidance for providing unpaid care

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has, updated the guidance for people who are providing unpaid care for friends or family during the COVID-19 outbreak in line with the latest clinical advice from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), and in alignment with other policy changes relevant to unpaid carers.

Please refer to the summary change note in the guidance for a full breakdown of all the updates.

Kooth

The holiday season is coming and here at Kooth we have a wide range of things going on this month to support young people's wellbeing throughout what can sometimes be a difficult time of year.

Due to the tragic loss of Bobbi-Anne we also wanted to acknowledge this significant trauma for the local community and the city of Plymouth and to remind you that we are available for young people in supporting their mental health and wellbeing at this time.

If you need any support or resources please let us know and I will get some of these sent out to you.

Download resources from our Promotion Hub

This month our #YouAreNotAlone #Christmas21 campaigns are aimed at supporting those who may be struggling or feeling lonely this holiday season.

Kooth is still here during the holiday period and our chat availability can be found in the resources below along with our December what's on guide and NEW parent and carers support pack.

You can also view our new Kooth in the capital report below too which has some really useful information and is the first in its series to look a little closer into what we are identifying on Kooth, what is going on in the minds of young people and what skills we have found to be useful in supporting young people and spotting the signs.

New resources

Here are some of the new resources we'd like you all to be aware of and for you to use:

Finally, there continues to be support available from me as the Engagement Lead across Plymouth and Devon to deliver the following:

Kooth Staff Training
Presentations and Talks for Children and Young People
Mental Health and Wellbeing themed workshops

*Please note as we are a commissioned service there are no costs attached to this delivery.

Please do pass on this information to any other colleagues who may be interested in Kooth and please contact me at cmiles@kooth.com if you have any further queries, require resources or would like any other additional support.

Carers Awareness Training for Professionals

Caring for Carers is a service that supports friends and families who provide unpaid care to another.

Barnardo's Young Carers Service work to support young people who have a caring role. Together we also offer training to organisations that work with carers in Plymouth. We can provide a range of training and support on carer's issues and run workshops on interactions with carers. Areas that the training covers are:

who is a carer (young carer and adult carer) and what the issues they face are
what services and support are available locally
how to refer to relevant organisations

We can undertake presentations at staff meetings and if any staff members have a key role in working with carers, we can arrange to contact them to discuss the opportunities and resources available.

Due to the current climate, we are offering training sessions via Microsoft teams.

We offer both a 2-hour presentation, or if time is limited, we offer a 20-minute presentation with 10 minutes of Q&A after.

For more information or to book a training session please email dawn.geary@improvinglivesplymouth.org.uk

Young Carers Leads Hubs for Schools

SPRING YC Leads Hub Meeting
14/02/22 @ 13:30 (Venue TBC)

SUMMER YC Leads Hub Meeting
13/06/22 @ 13:30 (Venue TBC)

Please email michael.house@plymouth.gov.uk if you would like to attend these meetings.

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!

Useful Links

Calendar

Young Carers Action Day - 16 March 2022

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This page was last updated on 1 December 2022.