Young carers 86% less likely to get a degree than their peers
2% of secondary school pupils in Bournemouth are considered young carers
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole have identified the highest percentage of young carers in the country. Secondary school in the BCP area found 2.5% of pupils were actually young carers, in contrast only 0.6% ere recorded nationally.
There are an estimated one million young carers aged under 18 in the UK with 1,771 children aged five to seven caring for more than 50 hours a week – a figure that has increased in the past decade, according to Census data in 2021.
Findings from the Carers Trust shows that young carers are spending increasing amounts of time looking after family members who need support because of an illness, disability or addiction. Some are caring for a staggering eight hours a day, seven days a week.
The CEO of MyTime, Krista Sharp has called on the government and Department of Education to recognise young carers. She said: “Young carers don't feel like they are currently being supported. A one size approach does not fit all, they all have different caring responsibilities and need different levels of support.”
A report from University College London found young carers, caring for more than 35 hours a week, were 86% less likely to get a degree than their peers.
Krista Sharp told us: “Young carers are twice more likely to be absent from school and when you work that out over the course of their secondary education, it means they can miss up to 70% of the school year.
“That has a significant impact on their ability to do well in their GCSE’s, then that makes it harder to get into college and complete university.”
Young people have warned that they are “saddled with adult concerns” over things like rising food costs and soaring bills at a cost to their mental health, wellbeing and future prospects.
At a meeting with the Children’s Commissioner, Dame Dame Rachel de Souza, told us they need
Last month, the first ever parliamentary inquiry heard how being a carer impacts young people’s lives. They found more support in education and the workplace is needed, stressing that more needs to be done to ensure there are opportunities for them to “just to be kids”.
But according to MyTime, young carers often feel scared to talk to adults or teachers about what their caring role consists of in case people think “badly of their families.”
Krista Sharp said: “Often young carers themselves don't know that that's the role they're playing within their families. Even if they do, there’s a lot of stigma and shame associated with it.”