It is now nearly twelve months since the North Wales Young Carers project started with funding from The Neumark Foundation with the aim of supporting schools in North Wales to confidently identify pupils who are young carers and then to provide a support plan for each young carer. There is no escaping the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on schools which in turn has impacted this project because it has been challenging gaining access to pupils who might be young carers.

North Wales Young Carers Pilot Project

The current pilot project is being run in Conwy, Denbigh and Wrexham with currently 52 schools actively engaged in the project. Schools taking part have access to our specially trained team to run staff briefing sessions on how to identify potential young carers, these pupils then have access to a specially designed assessment process to measure the educational impact of their caring role. The school also has access to support plans for each young carer with strategies that usually cost nothing to implement and require minimum additional time commitment. There are also a range of supporting materials for PHSE lessons and assemblies to raise awareness.

Currently 215 pupil assessments have been conducted with support plans created for each young carer identified. Of those assessed 72% of pupils are at the higher end of the measurement scale indicating potential significant impact on their education outcome at GCSE. Nationally at GCSE young carers on average are 9 grades below their peer group, which clearly can have a very significant impact on their life chances.

Another part of the support mechanism is the programme of respite activities for pupils identified as young carers from this programme. This is currently focused on school holiday periods that research amongst young carers indicates is a particularly stressful time. The respite activities planned are in addition to any support from other agencies supporting young carers and the aim is to continue to develop this programme in partnership with young carers.

This whole programme of work is free to schools and young carers due to the generosity of the Neumark Foundation who continue to fully fund the project to identify and support young carers in North Wales.

Wrexham Conference quote
This conference marks a potential “step change” for pupils in Wrexham who are young carers that could significantly improve their enjoyment of school, improve attendance and ultimately improve their educational outcomes through better grades. North Wales Young Carers is ready to help schools achieve better outcomes for pupils who are young carers with a well-tested programme of interventions requiring minimum time input from schools and at no cost due to the generosity of the Neumark Foundation who are fully funding our programme of work.
All I ask is that put us to the test because working together we can transform the lives of children who are young carers.

Graham Phillips
CEO
North Wales Young Carers www.northwalesyoungcarers.org