Support for Young Carers Scrutiny Review
Children and Young People Scrutiny Commission
A 'young carer' is a child or young person under 18 years of age whose lives are in some way restricted because of the need to take on inappropriate or excessive responsibilities for the care of a person who is ill, has a disability, is experiencing mental illness or is affected by substance misuse.
The Commission felt it was important to look at the support available to these young people and in particular how different services work together to help these families. During the Commission's previous review that looked at raising the aspirations of young people (PDF), primary research carried out by Hackney Youth Parliament identified a number of young people whose caring responsibilities were a barrier to them realising their aspirations. As part of this review, the Commission considered the support given to young carers through schools and other organisations so that they can access the same opportunities as their peers.
The Commission found that more needs to be done to identify young carers in the borough, and to provide adequate support to them once they have been identified by services. A range of services come into contact with young carers and their families and it was clear from this review that there needs to be better joint working and communication between these organisations to provide co-ordinated support where needed. Awareness needs to be raised of young carers amongst staff in all organisations: schools, healthcare providers, adult social care, children's social care and drug and alcohol services. Staff should understand how to identify young carers, how to provide flexible support and how to refer them onto further support if necessary.
It is clear that with the continuing financial pressures on public services it will be increasingly important for young carers to receive the support they need through universal services, such as schools. At present many of these services in Hackney do not do enough to support young carers. Some schools in the borough do provide additional support to young carers and the Commission wants to see others learning from the good practice at these schools.
As part of this review, the Commission heard from Children's Social Care, Adult Social Care, local health providers (including Homerton Hospital, the local mental health trust, CHYPS Plus and GP's), The Learning Trust and school representatives, Young Hackney, Connexions, Hackney DAAT (Drug and Alcohol Action team), City and Hackney Carers Centre, the Chair of the National Young Carers Coalition and Hackney Young Carers Project. Most importantly, Commission Members also heard directly from young carers about their experiences and also the family members of young carers.
Hackney Youth Parliament also carried out a piece of work to contribute to this review and as part of the UK Youth Parliament's scrutiny initiative. This included interviewing young people in the borough and holding a Youth Scrutiny Panel into the topic of support for young carers. Their report of this work is available below as Appendix 1 of the Commission's final report.
The Commission's Final Report
In drawing together the findings of the evidence, the Commission made 16 recommendations focused on improving communication between different services about young carers, the need to raise awareness of young carers amongst all services, the importance of a while family approach, the importance of providing support for young carers in universal settings in particular schools, and the need for young carers' voices to be heard.
- Scrutiny Report: Support for Young Carers (PDF)
- Appendix 1: Hackney Youth Parliament report on young carers (PDF)
- Appendix 2: Further information on Young Carers Standards Award for schools in Swindon (PDF)
- Appendix 3: Hackney's version of the Memorandum of Understanding between Adult and Children's Services (PDF)
Response from the Cabinet Member
Cllr Rita Krishna, Cabinet Member for Children's Services, responded to the review in March 2012, saying "this Council, along with its partners, are actively seeking ways to maintain and improve the support that our borough's young carers deserve". The Cabinet accepted all the recopmmendations.
What has happened as a result of the review?
The Commission is due to receive a progress report on the implementation of the recommendations later in 2012, and a copy will be included here.
Page updated: 23 May 2012
.