March 2022 Newsletter - Young Carers

In this update

• Young Carers Action Day - 16 March 2022
• Barnardo's Young Carers Service and School Transitions Work
• Employers for Carers and Digital Resources for Carers
• Uniform Store Plymouth
• Young Carers  - Fun and Freedom Club
• Young Carers and NSPCC Positive Relationships
• Who Cares Campaign
• Young Carer Creative Makers
• Share your stories with us
• Useful links
• Calendar

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.

Young Carers Action Day - 16 March 2022

Young Carers 

Plymouth Young Carers have been working towards the Young Carers Action Day 2022 topic of 'Taking Action on Isolation' through offering support sessions, group work and activities.

The group offers weekly sessions for Young Carers to access youth provision, youth workers and the chance to meet other Young Carers.

The Summer Mix and Bath Philharmonic music project have also offered Young Carers a chance to take part in days out, activities and develop new skills in the hope of reducing isolation.

Laura Redman the Plymouth Young Carers Health Champion has produced a short vlog tackling issues around isolation. Laura created some' top tips' on how to reduce isolation and loneliness for Young Carers. 

Youth workers will be attending All Saints Academy to join the Young Carers for lunch. We will discuss what support is available, how to tackle feelings of isolation and be there for them.

Watch the video on You Tube

Young Adult Carers

Young Carers Action Day 2022 is about taking action on isolation.

Caring for Carers in partnership with the Carers Trust are working hard to ensure that all young adult carers receive the support and access to services they need to live full lives alongside their caring roles.

Help us tackle social isolation with young adult carers and join us at Central Park for our 'Walk and Talk' session followed by lunch.

Furry friends are welcome and encouraged!

For more information, please email yacs@improvinglivesplymouth.org.uk

Young Carers School Leads Hub

The Young Carers Schools Leads will be encouraged to utilise the Carers Trust Young Carers Action Day Campaign Pack to promote Young Carers Action Day on 16 March 2022. 

The Young Carers city-wide activity will be to make a Human Young Carer with students' photos.

A montage poster will be created utilising all of the photographs and then circulated to schools, for display and to raise awareness.

Look out for the final poster in schools which can be displayed on Young Carers Action Day and beyond.

Plymouth Young Carers and Bath Philharmonia

If you are interested in watching the performance, please email kerry.powell@plymouth.gov.uk

Barnardo's Young Carers Service and School Transitions Work

Barnardo's Young Carers Service have had some interest from schools around the transition work which is starting in April, and we are looking forward to taking this forwards.

We will be working with Young Carers' school leads around the identification of Young Carers either in Year 6 before transition, or those coming into Year 7 from September onwards.

The aim of this is to make sure Young Carers and their families are supported through this key change, to reduce the number of young people having to "re-tell their story" to different professionals and to make sure schools have support to put in place strategies and resources within the school.

What can we support schools with: 

• Targeted support alongside Young Carers leads in school
• Consultation around Young Carers assessments to help the school put this training into practice
• Relationships Education (RSE) sessions in school to make sure children know about Young Carers and that support is available
• Support to develop and embed a Young Carers group in school 

We will be working with Plymouth's Young Carers Champion (Mike House) to ensure that this compliments the current offer to schools. 

If your school is interested in accessing this, please email bycs@barnardos.org.uk by the end of March 2022.

Please do let us know the number of Young Carers identified in your school and the number of these Young Carers who have 90% or less attendance due to their caring responsibilities, as this will help us make sure we tailor our work to your school and its individual needs and priorities.

Employers for Carers and Digital Resources for Carers

To confirm, any SME with up to 250 employees will be able to access Employers for Carers (EFC) and our Digital Resource for Carers (DRC). Please use the following codes below to allow access to each platform. 

• Employers for Carers - EFC2465
• Digital Resource for Carers - DRC1922

Uniform Store Plymouth

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

Through donations of good quality school uniforms, we give these items out to those in need, free of charge - no referral is needed.

We run a pop-up shop in Plymouth City Centre throughout the school summer holidays, and a Click and Collect service that runs 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 school uniforms, families should use our website.

Our collection point is at Redeemer Church, St Barnabas Terrace, Plymouth PL1 5NN.

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

Young Carers - Fun and Freedom Club

Young carers do lots to help someone in their family to get up, get washed and dressed or to get around in a wheelchair. Some do lots of the household chores like shopping, cleaning, cooking, and maybe looking after younger brothers and sisters as well. 

Do you do some of these things?

The Fun and Freedom Club can offer you:

• Lots of fun with weekend clubs, days out, trips away and activities
• A chance to make new friends in a similar situation to you
• Someone who will listen when you need it and who is on your side
• Information and advice for the whole family 

Joining the club is FREE and all of the activities are subsidised.

The club holds monthly meetings, allowing you time to meet other Young Carers, have some fun away from your caring role and give you some support and help with any worries or problems that you have. 

Friends and families also run a range of activities for children and young people with additional needs, along with several support groups and training for parents and carers. 

To take part in our events, you will need to register.

Young Carers and NSPCC Positive Relationships

Who Cares Campaign

Founded in Salford, the Who Cares Campaign is campaigning to improve services for Young Carers across the UK. They are offering a few (free) opportunities for local Young Carers services and underrepresented Young Carers across the UK.

Black Young Carers Project and Survey 

The Who Cares Campaign is working with LUNG (a theatre company), CAHN (The Caribbean and African Health Network) Gaddum (the local Young Carers service in Salford) to launch a visual resource to help professionals understand how to better support, find and refer Black Young Carers.

They are working with a young carer, an illustrator and an artist to publish the findings of a survey of Black Young Carers across the UK about what change they would like to see.

Do you know any young people who would like to get involved?

The deadline for responses is 30 March 2022.

The Who Cares Campaign is also working with LUNG and Positive Steps (the registered Young Carers service in Oldham) to create a similar resource by, with and for South Asian Young Carers.

Both visual resources are being led by artists and young people from the backgrounds specified. Everyone who fills in either survey will be entered into a raffle to win £15 worth of Amazon vouchers.

Who Cares Education Resource

LUNG's award-winning play 'Who Cares' is now available for anyone (Young Carers services, schools, young people focused organisations) to engage with.

The play was made with a group of Young Carers in Salford, and they were involved in all aspects of making the production.

It was performed on BBC Radio 4 and at The House of Lords. 

• To access the education resource (a filmed recording of the play and accompanying education resources), visit the Who Cares Tour website.
• You can also listen on BBC Radio 4.

The Who Cares Campaign have found these resources to be a powerful tool for finding hidden Young Carers and making professionals aware of how to better support them. Please feel free to use them if you'd like.

Young Carer Creative Makers

The theatre company, LUNG, is also looking for new partners for their flagship project: Young Carer Creative Makers.

This art project runs over school holidays with a Young Carers service and their local arts venue.

The aim is to give Young Carers a break, a chance to meet other young people like them and give them a space to get creative.

You can find more information about the project by visiting the Lung Theatre website.

If you would like to find out more about receiving Young Carer Creative Makers (either online or in-person) in your area, please email info@lungtheatre.co.uk.

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This page was last updated on 1 December 2022.