The Blandford School identifies 40 students who are young carers

School staff have been working with the charity MTYIME

Author: Jamie GuerraPublished 8th Nov 2023

MYTIME Young Carers has helped The Blandford School identify 40 children who bear substantial caring duties.

That equates to 4% of the school population.

The school has established a partnership with the charitable organisation and are “dedicated to championing the rights of young carers” by ensuring they receive the necessary support, opportunities, and friendships.

PE Teacher and Student Achievement Champion, Dan Johnson told us: “We meet fortnightly with the young carers and working with those individuals is the most rewarding part of the job because when you're working with a pupil one to one, you can really see a change in them and the impact you're having.”

The Blandford School show compassion for the students caring responsibilities so accommodate for the lateness of young carers and lifts the school’s “no-phone rule” if they need to contact home.

Mr Johnson explained what young carers struggle with the most: “Having additional homework and coursework or attending extracurricular clubs after school, they can find that difficult because of their caring responsibilities.”

As a result of the partnership with MYTIME, all staff members are now able to identify a young carer and specialist staff have been trained to work with those pupils.

Mr Johnson said: “We think that's going to be the next big step to highlighting a lot of those unidentified carers.

“When they are older, they almost see their caring responsibility as something they have just done for X amount of years and don't feel the need to confide in staff.”

MYTIME Young Carers deliver ‘Making Memories Trips’ for young carers to ensure they are getting time for themselves as well as employability classes for older students.

Rhianna, a young carer in year 10, said: “These students have a lot to deal with on top of the usual pressures of school life, and knowing that the school is taking this seriously and they are being looked after by the school is a step in the right direction.”

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