Time for young carers with Philippa Davies, Project Funding Manager for The Neumark Foundation

As Project Funding Manager for The Neumark Foundation, on a day-to-day basis, my role generally involves working with funding applicants and applications, Trustee meetings, working alongside our larger funded projects to help them to grow or develop their work, when needed, through creating local, multi-agency partnerships, and networking opportunities, evaluation of project reports, and creation of content for our website and social media. So, I was delighted when North Wales Young Carers, invited me to join them on two of their summer activities this month, as part of their holiday respite programme for young carers in Wrexham, Denbighshire and Conwy, to see for myself the brilliant work they are carrying out.

The Neumark Foundation has been funding The North Wales Young Carers Project since 2020, and recently, funding partners, The Waterloo Foundation and Steve Morgan Foundation, have joined forces with us, due to the continuing successful development of their work.

Before joining The Neumark Foundation, I spent more than 25 years supporting a diverse range of young people. My career has included working within education, lecturing both in academic science subjects in Higher and Further Education, and delivering training in aspects of personal development, and also for third sector organisations in partnership with, local government and local authorities, as well as private sector employers, I have developed and delivered many employability programmes, mentoring schemes and community development projects across North Wales and Ireland over the years. However, the one group of children and young people that weren’t sadly a focus in any of these programmes, were young carers.

Everyone in life, at some point, faces challenges, whether as a child, a teenager, or an adult, but for the estimated more than a million young carers in the UK, their challenges are complex, individual, varying in impact, and through their love and loyalty, too often, hidden.

Whilst there is sometimes a tendency to paint a very dark and negative picture of children and young people involved with a caring role, as young carers, maybe for a parent, grandparent, or sibling, actually, in many cases, the issue, I feel, the issue actually sits with the inconsistency in the provision of much needed understanding, and support, for young carers, to enable them to also achieve for themselves as well, and take time out to be a child or young person. The caring role they carry out, becomes a way of life for them, and the person they are caring for, they love very much, irrespective of the illness or situation, and that person is still an integral part in that young carers’ life, even if not in a conventional, recognised way, so it’s important that support takes that into account.  

So, what are the positive sides for young carers? Well firstly, they develop the most amazing inter-personal and practical skills, way ahead of their years. These skills make them incredibly mature, capable, resilient, calm under pressure, accepting of difference, and they generally have excellent organisational skills. These are skills all employers dream of seeing reflected in their workforce, so they are amazing transferrable skills to gain. However, there is still a long way to go, and a lot of work to do, for schools, further and higher education facilities, employers and even the young carers themselves to gain a recognition of the value, and respect a of these skills. Sadly, too often, what is picked up instead, when support isn’t provided correctly are absences, punctuality issues, tiredness leading to poor behaviour, frustration triggered by a lack of understanding leading to poor behaviour, poor achievement, poor interaction with peers and not fitting in or being a team player. Too often behaviour is judged, without understanding the reason, and the failure sits with the lack of support policies and processes, staff knowledge and training, and a lack of acceptance of the impact caring can have, rather than with anything a young carer has done wrong.  

The reason support is so important is because despite the achievement of skills, ‘way ahead of their years’, for anyone who understands child development, you will be aware of the ideal chronological steps of development that a child or young person should ideally take, to ensure optimal development, both physically and emotionally. It is the correct support that can enable a young carer to do what they do for their loved ones, and continue to develop optimally, reducing the issues attached to being a young carer. Support, like the holiday respite activities, that I was invited to join this month, as well as the fantastic school support work North Wales Young Carers carries out, are critical for young carers and their parents, guardians and the loved ones they care for, who don’t want to see their children missing out on their lives.

Seaquarium, Rhyl

So, for my first visit, I joined 8 young carers, between the ages of 5 and 14, and Donna Williams from North Wales Young Carers, for an amazing, fishy fun day out at Rhyl Seaquarium. I don’t feel any words are required, the pictures say it all, as do the words you also see below from their parents, guardians and families.

Dangerpoint, Talacre

On my second day out with North Wales Young Carers, I joined 7 young carers, between the ages of 7 and 14, and again Donna Williams for a visit to Dangerpoint, a fantastic Lifeskills education centre in Talacre, whose aim is to inform the next generation of how to cope with the dangers in our everyday lives. Dave, the Ranger, guided us through the interactive zones in the centre, where the group had a fantastic time learning through interactive games and activities about everything from household dangers, to the dangers of electricity, knife crime, sea safety and also along the way they discussed bullying and diversity. Again, the pictures and comments speak a thousand words.

I had the most amazing time seeing how much the children and young people who attended gained from these activities. Young carers are incredible, they do what they do, out of love, they don’t shout about it, they just do it.

I would like to say a huge thank you to North Wales Young Carers, for inviting me along, and for the work they do for young carers and their families, providing the well-deserved, right kind of support, to enable these children and young people to achieve for themselves, as well as the people they care for and love. Thank you also to The Seaquarium in Rhyl, and particularly Dangerpoint in Talacre.

To all young carers out there, you are simply amazing, and we hope that the work and research The Neumark Foundation has committed to fund, will go some way to ensuring that you and your families feel comfortable to come forward, and access the support you truly deserve.