1. Young Carers For many years, The Downs has been one of the few schools in the area that offers support for Young Carers and we want to make sure that all our families know of the support that we can offer. What is a Young Carer? “a child or a young person in Year 3 or above who provides care to another family member or relative” (Our full definition is in our Young Carer Policy, accessible via the ‘About Us’, then ‘Policies’ section of our website)

2. What might a Young Carer help with? Our Young Carers help in their homes in lots of different ways such as; helping with household jobs, giving emotional support to family members

3. performing caring duties such as dressing and giving medicines looking after younger siblings

4. The impact of caring Caring Role Emotional Impact Social Impact Health Positive Impact Education

5. How might a Young Carer Feel? Being a Young Carer can be hard sometimes……… Stressed No time Worried Lonely Upset

6. What happens in Young Carers? Most months, our Young Carers meet, have lunch and if the weather is ok, we go to for a bit of fresh air as well in places likes Fowlmead. Quite often, the children will catch up and support each other but it’s entirely up to each child what they talk about. We have a very strict rule; whatever the children discuss with each other must not be repeated outside of Young Carers!

7. Each summer, our last meeting of the year is extra special; we spend the whole afternoon together. In previous years we have baked our hearts out and prepared a delicious afternoon tea for the people we care for, we’ve also visited Northbourne school and built our own dens.

8. What should I do if I think my child (or another child) is a Young Carer? Simply contact Mrs Kilmurray or Mrs Dalton via the office!

9. Dates for our Meetings 2015- 2016 Friday 9 th October- Friday 6 th November Friday 4 th December Friday 8 th January Friday 5 th February Friday 4 th March Friday 6 th May Friday 10 th June Friday 1 st July

10. Useful Links Remember to stay safe online; use our SMART rules! https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/what-we-do/support-for-young-people/supporting-young-carers/ http://www.youngcarer.com/ http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/Pages/who-can-help-young-carers.aspx https://www.family-action.org.uk/what-we-do/children-families/young-carers-services/ https://babble.carers.org/