Young Carers
At King’s Oak Primary School, we believe that all children and young people have the right to an education regardless of their home circumstances. We acknowledge that there are young carers among our pupils, and that being a young carer can have an adverse effect on a young person’s education
Who are Young Carers?
Young carers are children and young people, under the age of 18 whose lives are affected by looking after someone at home. They are carrying out tasks and responsibilities in addition to those appropriate for their age. The person they look after may have one or more of the following:
The person they care for may be a parent, sibling, or grandparent and the care they give may be physical and/or emotional.
Young carers’ responsibilities may include:
- Personal care (e.g. bathing, dressing, feeding).
- Giving or prompting medication/injections.
- Shopping.
- Housework.
- Emotional support.
- Looking after younger siblings.
King’s Oak Primary School is committed to developing provision for young carers and their families. We will capture the commitment by widening our provision, building on the needs of the young people and better meet young carers’ needs by reviewing King’s Oak Primary School’s provision for young carers with a view to ultimately achieving best practice.
How we will achieve this:
- The whole school is committed to meeting the needs of young carers so that they can attend and enjoy school in the same way as other children and achieve their potential.
- Appointing a designated Young Carers’ School Lead with responsibility for young carers and their families. Pupils and families will be made aware of the identity of this lead and how to contact them to access support.
- The school only shares information with professionals and agencies on a need to know basis in order to support pupils and their families.
We will actively seek feedback and ideas from young carers and their families to shape and improve support.
