A young carer is a child or young person who provides substantial unpaid care for a relative who has disabilities,
long-term physical illnesses, mental health difficulties and/or drug or alcohol issues.
At Phillimore, we want every young carer to be recognised in their role and have the same
opportunities as other children and young people of a similar age.
First of all, speak to any member of staff.
Someone will then contact you to talk about what, if any, support you or your carer might need.
Support would include making your child's teacher aware of the situation and checking in more regularly to make sure everyone is okay or if you would like, a referral to Sheffield Young Carers (Please see the link to their website on this page).
We can make the referral for you, or you can refer yourself if you prefer by following these steps from Sheffield Young Carers;
Step 1: Please complete the referral form with as much information as you can. If you need any help with this, please call us on 0114 258 4595, and one of our staff can arrange a time to call you and fill it in over the phone. (The forms can be downloaded below).
Step 2: We will email you to confirm we have received the form and let you know if we require any further information at this stage. If you consent to us texting you, we also send a text every month while you’re on our waiting list to keep in touch and send you useful information while you’re waiting to join SYC.
Step 3: Once your referral reaches the top of our waiting list, one of our workers will get in touch to arrange to phone or come and meet you to talk through the support we can offer. (Our support is a time-limited intervention of one year).
We understand that being a Young Carer or being cared for is personal and private for you and your family. Telling us about your situation, however, can help us understand better and, in some cases, make allowances that support the caring aspect of your child's life.
An example of this may be that the morning routine is very difficult, causing regular late arrival at school. If we know why this is, we might be able to help and challenge you and your child less.
Another example may be that we support your child in telephoning home during the day to ease any worry they have for the person they care for.
Sometimes there are grants available to Young Carers. If we know your situation, we can tell you about these and how to apply for them.
Young carers are a hidden group, with the caring responsibilities of many not known to their school. This is due to the stigma and fears associated with caring, disability, mental illness and substance misuse, or because they have done it all their life and do not realise there is help available.
Young carers often experience disadvantage and difficulties in their education and do not achieve their potential as a direct result of their caring responsibilities and the impacts this has on their education and well-being.
In order to meet the needs of this group of pupils, we need to identify them so that we can support them in achieving their best.
At Phillimore, we will routinely assess children using the process developed by Sheffield Young Carers and delivered by staff who have had training.
Depending on the results, children identified as likely to be a Young Carer will have a follow-up meeting and, if appropriate, be offered a full Young Carer Assessment.
Typically, the process at Phillimore is as follows;