Young Carers
When a young person has a caring responsibility they may need extra support to help them get the most out of college. Our aim at Varndean College is to identify, raise awareness of and offer support to any student who looks after someone at home.
A Young Carer/ Young Adult Carer as a young person who has caring responsibilities for a family member with a
- Disability
- Mental health/ Physical health condition
- Substance misuse issue
- Long-term illness
Young carers may provide physical care, personal care, help with medication or practical tasks, or provide emotional support. Being a Young Carer can impact on home life, college life, social life, as well as physical and mental wellbeing if not well supported.
We are working in conjunction with the Young Carers Project at The Carers Centre for Brighton & Hove to provide this support. We also work with Young Carers support organisations in West Sussex and East Sussex.
In our current commitment to supporting Young Carers, we aim to:
- Have an appointed Young Carers Lead, who informs all new students who the member of staff is and what they can do to help.
- Makes referrals to the Young Carers Project where appropriate and with the family and young person’s permission. When possible, we facilitate visits from the Young Carers Project to work with students referred for support so they can meet in a safe setting for 1:1 support sessions.
- provide training and information to staff members on how to identify young carers and signpost them to the relevant support.
- Will proactively identify Young Carers and raise awareness of the issues they face as well as the support that is available.
- Treat Young Carers in a sensitive and person-centred way, upholding confidentiality. The young person’s caring role is acknowledged and respected.
- include Young Carers in any existing transition package so that relevant support is highlighted to the young person.
For any further information or Young Carers Professional Referrals, please contact the
Young Carers Lead (Daniela Sramova) – welfare@varndean.ac.uk or on 01273 508011 ext. 110 (term-time)