Dame Rachel de Souza,
Children’s Commissioner for England

Carers Trust was delighted to arrange a visit by the
Children’s Commissioner for England,
Dame Rachel de Souza,
to St John and St James C of E Primary School to meet Young Carers.

The visit was just two days before Young Carers Action Day, an annual event led and organised by Carers Trust to raise public awareness of young carers and young adult carers, the challenges they face as a result of their caring role and the need for more support.

The Commissioner was also able to hear from the school’s young carer lead and the Young Carers Manager at Enfield Carers Centre.  ECC are network partner of Carers Trust.

Two of the school’s young carers provided a tour of the school, before a special Young Carers assembly for pupils which led to a pupil identifying themselves as a young carer as a result of the assembly . Another young carer shared some of the top tips that their young carers group had come up with.

The commissioner met with the school’s young carer lead, the young carers service manager from Enfield Carers and Carers Trust’s Policy and Practice Manager for Young Carers and Young Adult Carers, to discuss a series of issues relating to young carers and education.

These ranged from the need to improve identification and awareness of young carers – including with trainee teachers – to the role Ofsted can play in ensuring young carers are identified and supported within education. The need for other professionals, such as GPs, to help to identify young carers was also discussed.

The Commissioner finished her visit by meeting a group of young carers from the school to hear about their experiences. The young people talked about the need for more awareness about young carers and more special provision for their siblings, highlighting the positive impact that would have for their parents, siblings and themselves. The young carers also said how important young carers clubs are to give them a break from their caring responsibilities.