From January, the school census will include young carers for the first time. Schools will record whether a pupil is a young carer, and who identified them as such. The change will provide a much better picture of their number and has the potential to significantly increase awareness, identification and support.
What we know already is that in every classroom there are likely to be at least two pupils who are balancing their studies with caring responsibilities for a parent, sibling, or other family member who is living with a physical or mental illness, disability or addiction.
We also know that over 1,500 children aged five to seven are caring for 50 hours a week or more. A quarter of young carers are bullied because of their caring role, and one-third say their caring role results in them ‘always’ or ‘usually’ feeling ‘worried’, ‘lonely’ or ‘stressed’. Over a quarter (27 per cent) of young carers aged 11 to 15 miss school or experience educational difficulties, and their attainment and access to further education and employment is lower than their peers’ as a result.
