In June this year, a Task and Finish group was formed to focus on developing a young carers’ educational support strategy in Wrexham. The group included Wrexham Local Authority led by Karen Evans (Chief Officer for Education and Early Intervention), Families First, North Wales Young Carers, Cheshire young Carers, Professor Saul Becker, the world leader in young carer research, and Chaired by Philippa Davies from The Neumark Foundation.
The Task and Finish Group for Young Carers
The role of the Task and Finish Group is to advise on, and create a new strategy for the provision of support to Young Carers in educational environments in Wrexham schools, and where appropriate this strategy will also be shared for support provision for other children and young people who have a barrier to achievement in their education and reaching their potential.
Philippa Davies, The Neumark Foundations’ Project Funding Manager, Chair of the Task and Finish group said “Through the Task and Finish group we want to develop a cohesive, collaborative, Wrexham-wide, forward work programme to support Young Carers in education and to introduce collaborative identification and support initiatives into educational establishments (primary and secondary, with a particular focus on transition) for Young Carers, in order to achieve positive outcomes in educational achievement, improved attendance, and improved behaviour and interaction between teachers/educational staff and peers. We hope that the success achieved through this group can then be replicated in other areas. We will be starting by running a Zoom conference for all heads of primary and secondary schools in Wrexham, in November, to highlight the importance of support for young carers and to provide information about new support strategies available for schools in the area, and their pupils. Speakers will include Cllr Phil Wynn, Lead Member for Education in Wrexham, Karen Evans and Professor Saul Becker.”
Rebecca Prytherch, CEO for The Neumark Foundation said “Having had the need for support highlighted to us through research carried out by Professor Becker through Cheshire Young Carers, we have already committed over £400,000 to replicate the fantastic work Cheshire Young Carers have carried out with schools in Cheshire, in North wales, along with a wider three-year research project with Cambridge University, led by Saul. We always believe that a collaborative approach across sectors works so much better, and we are proud to be part of this group, and very committed to supporting strategic improvement for all young people in order to enable them to achieve their true potential and live the best life possible.”
Wrexham Borough Council, Education and Early Intervention Team “We are delighted to be working in partnership with The Neumark Foundation to support our schools to improve how they identify and support young carers. This is a key priority area for education in Wrexham and the work of the task and finish group is playing a leading role in taking this forward. The key strength of this approach is the partnership that is developing with research playing a critical role in determining the actions the group takes.”
Graham Phillips, CEO North Wales Young Carers “The Task and Finish Group 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.
Working in collaboration with Local Authority, Families First and with input from the incredible Professor Saul Becker on this Task and Finish Group will provide Wrexham schools with the very best opportunity to develop a fantastic strategy for support, with a ‘Together we can’ approach which is really important to everyone concerned.”
“I am delighted that The Rudd Programme in the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Education is supporting the Wrexham Task and Finish Group’s important work on young carers in schools. Our research and knowledge transfer activities are helping to inform local policy and education practice, to deliver better outcomes and opportunities for Wrexham children who have caring responsibilities in the home.” – Professor Saul Becker. Andrew and Virginia Rudd Professor of Social Care Research & Education Practice, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge