At Ermine Primary Academy our Young Carers group has been running for the last six years and over this time we have enjoyed lots of fun and exciting activities both in school and out.
Being awarded the Young Carers Friendly Award by Lincolnshire Healthy schools has been a great achievement for all of us.
Children have the benefit of being able to have someone to talk to when they need to, and feel a lot safer and secure within school. Without this group children would not get the opportunity for the extra time and support with home life and a chance to talk about it.
They know they are not going to be judged and that someone understands the additional responsibilities that they have to shoulder. It also makes these children happier when they see other Young carers within school coping with their challenges and give great support to each other.
In February, the group visited Lincoln Castle Academy and with their Young Carers group, joined in with some circus training! It was really good fun!
Also just before half term, we spent some time learning how to make pizza baguettes! Yummy!
Useful phone number: – Tel: 01522 811 582
At EPA, we are aware that some students may well have caring roles at home.
We believe that all young people should have equal access to education, regardless of what is happening at home. When a young person looks after somebody in their family who has a disability, mental or physical ill-health or substance misuse problem(s), they may need a little extra support to help them get the most out of school.
We aim to understand the issues faced by young carers and to support any student who helps to look after somebody at home. For example:
We also have opportunities to meet other Young carers from other local primary schools as well. We respect students’ right to privacy as a young carer and will only share information about them and their family with people who need to know so that they can help the young person.
The majority of young carers look after one or both of their parents, brother or sister. A young carer might also care for a grandparent or someone else from their extended family
They do jobs in and around the home, such as cooking, cleaning, or helping someone to get dressed and move around.
Young carers may need to help a relative deal with their feelings by talking to them, listening and trying to understand their problems.
The difference between young carers and other young people who help in the home is that young carers are often responsible for someone else in their family in a way that most other young people aren’t.
A Young carer will take on additional responsibilities to those appropriate to their age and development. A young carer might be providing the main care or share responsibilities with another family member. The caring tasks that a young carer has to deal with can range from:
If an adult carer is regularly absent from the home due to work commitments, leaving a child or young person in sole charge of care provision (e.g. after school, in the evenings, at weekends), then the young person will be eligible for Young Carers.