Our #YoungCarersCount campaign helps secure major change to support young carers in England
From 2023 schools will register how many of their pupils are looking after a loved one
Last updated 10th Jun 2022
Plans have been announced that will see schools register if pupils are acting as a young carer for a friend or family member.
Until now, there has been little data to fully estimate how many young carers there are in the country but from next year, a child's carer status will be included in the school census in England.
The census is currently used to gather data on children who might need extra support, or who might have more complex family backgrounds, like being in a military family.
The new proposals come after our campaign asking the Government to create a list of young carers to make sure they were getting the help that they deserve.
#YoungCarersCount Campaign
During the pandemic Greatest Hits Radio launched the #YoungCarersCount campaign to highlight the plight of young carers through lockdown.
Many reported feeling isolated, with care packages cut off, and home-schooling pressure affecting their education.
But it soon became clear there was a major problem, it seemed there was no understanding of exactly how many Young Carers there are in the UK.
That led to us team up with politicians and charities to ask the government to intervene.
Why do we need to know how many young carers there are?
Our campaign to get a full list of child carers was founded after hearing from The Children's Society and The Carer's Trust.
They were both concerned that the current estimate of 800,000 Young Carers across the country could be an underestimation, leaving thousands of young people unaccounted for.
That would mean they wouldn't receive the support they need and there were fears many could be struggling on their own, missing school, skipping meals or not looking after their own health because of their care responsibilities.
The new plan to add a child's carer status to the school's register means authorities can proactively seek out these carers, and be responsible for making sure they get support.
WATCH: Here's what The Children's Society told us back in 2020
Changes on the way from 2023
The new rules are set to be introduced in the next school year, with the first data being collected in Spring 2023.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Young carers around the country provide invaluable support for their loved ones, and we are ensuring that we’re supporting these children’s attainment through billions invested in recovery programmes, to provide targeted catch-up and support.
“The Adult Social Care White Paper also confirmed that we are amending the school census to include young carers, to identify this cohort and inform further evidence for targeted support for these pupils.”
"Such an important shift"
Helen Leadbitter from the Children's Society told us: "It's such an important shift, and such an important campaign.
"We've been thinking about these Young Carers and asking who they are and where they are and thinking about their needs for many years and to be able to make this shift through the campaign is so important.
"To me it's important, having for many years spoken to Young Carers who tell me they need help with their schoolwork, or they need time to focus on school, or 'I love my family but sometimes I get tired and sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming' and to actually now to have people say we need to recognise this, to recognise these young people and support them"
"(It's important) so they can thrive and enjoy their childhood and have positive relationships with their family, but also have the experiences of childhood and a good childhood as well."
Find out more about how The Children's Society support young people