Celebrating Young Carers Action Day

Young Torbay carers have been highlighting ways they can help each other improve their wellbeing and achieve success.

Their efforts come as Torbay today marks Young Carers Action Day, an annual event run by the Carers Trust which raises awareness of the important work of carers under 18.

In Torbay there are currently just under 500 young carers registered with the Young Carers Service, a team of four who carry out assessments to understand the needs of young carers, signpost them to local services and provide activities and clubs for them.

Young carer Hollie and the Lead Thrive Practitioner Karen Staton from Torquay Academy have launched a self-help booklet for young carers to improve their wellbeing.

Another group has helped to create a reference sheet to identify the traits and transferable skills they’ve developed since taking on caring duties. The idea is that young people can then use this when applying for jobs or higher education.

The Young Carers Service will be taking these resources into schools and South Devon College and schools are being encouraged to run assemblies and use resources to raise awareness of young carers.

Councillor Nick Bye, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “In Torbay we support young carers who have responsibilities in the home such as cooking, cleaning, shopping, helping with communication needs and often delivering personal care for a parent or sibling, and sometimes for multiple family members.

“They often put the needs of others before their own and their caring roles can prevent them from being able to socialise with their own age group, have any time for themselves or feel able to leave the family home. Many find it hard to get into school on time or stay there all day and after-school or weekend sports and activities – important for health and wellbeing – are often impossible.

“This means they are often disadvantaged when it comes to their physical and mental health, finances, education and employment.

“Caring for someone because of illness, disability or addiction should not be a barrier to equal opportunity in learning, earning or being able to participate and get on in life. But for far too many young carers, it is.

“In 2023, Torbay was in the top 10 areas in the country to have identified young carers in a school setting, which is a great reflection on the schools in Torbay.

“Today is an opportunity for everyone to call for better support for young carers and young adult carers, and to bring about change.”

The Young Carers Service works closely with the Young Adult Carers Service to ensure the transition to becoming an adult carer is as smooth as possible.