Young carers are children and young people under 18 years old who provide regular and on-going care to another person who is physically or mentally ill, disabled or misuses substances.

Mostly, young carers help look after a parent or sibling.

Young carers may:

• Care for a family member because of illness, disability or old age.
• Help someone with bathing or dressing, going to the toilet or getting in/out of bed.
• Need to cook for your family.
• Look after money or organise the family budget.
• Help anyone to take medication regularly.
• Collect prescriptions or benefits on behalf of someone else or go shopping for the family.
• Look after brothers or sisters, by taking them to school, doing their laundry or cooking their meals.
• Take care of housework, such as dusting, hoovering, washing or ironing.
• Speak on behalf of someone who has difficulty speaking or communicating for themselves.
• Translate or interpret for someone at home.

At Merrylands, our Young Carers have access to additional support and regular check ins from our Young Carers Champion, Miss White, where they are able to talk about anything they wish to, have time away from class if they need or want to and can spend time with other young carers. Our main aim is to support our Young Carers to access the support they need and thrive at school and at home.