What is a Young Carer?

A 'Young Carer' is a child or young person who helps look after someone in their family who is ill, disabled, or has mental health needs. This caring role can involve many tasks, such as helping with daily activities, offering emotional support, or even helping manage medications. It's important to remember that being a Young Carer (YC) isn't just about looking after someone with visible disabilities; it can also include caring for people with invisible disabilities or mental health challenges. These young people are often very responsible and caring, and their role is important, even though it might not always be noticed.

• There are an estimated 14,000 YCs in Surrey, roughly 2-3 in each class
• 50% of YC go on to become persistently absent in Secondary School
• 2024 school census showed that 72% of schools reported no YC
• At The Greville, we actively seek to find out who might be a YC so that as a school we can offer support

What do The Greville offer to Young Carers?

At The Greville, we recognise that for some children the caring or supporting role that they might need to take on at home can be 'a lot'. We therefore want to create opportunities for the children at school where they can have time out of the classroom to engage with other Young Carers and take part in fun activities. Every half term we fun a day especially for our Young Carers to celebrate them and to give them time to socialise and have fun.

Our wonderful wellbeing team will also regularly 'check in' with our Young Carers and their teachers to ensure that they are ok and managing in school.

Mrs Cushnie (Assistant Head & Wellbeing Lead) Mrs E Bennett (Deputy Wellbeing Lead & Practitioner), Mrs E Knight (Practitioner)

How do I register my child as a Young Carer?

If you think that your child may be a Young Carer, please do reach out to our school office who will put you in touch with our wellbeing team. From there, we can guide you through the process of filling out the Surrey Young Carers referral form.

Surrey Young Carers

If you’d like to get in touch with Surrey Young Carers to find out more about the service and how it can help you, please call them on 01483 568 269, or email syc@actionforcarers.org.uk