Big Lottery Funded programme led by The Children’s Society in partnership with YMCA Fairthorne Group, Rethink Mental Illness, DigitalMe, and The Fatherhood Institute.

Census ,363 young carers in England (240,00 including Wales) 80% increase in under 8’s reporting taking on unpaid care Young people who provide unpaid care are twice as likely to report ‘not good health’ as their peers

Hidden from View The average annual income for families with a young carer is £5000 less than families who do not have a young carer. Young carers have significantly lower educational attainment at GCSE level Young carers are more likely than the national average to be not in education, employment or training (NEET) between the ages of 16 and 19. Young carers are 1.5 times more likely than their peers to be from black, Asian or minority ethnic communities, and are twice as likely to not speak English as their first language. Young carers are 1.5 times more likely than their peers to have a special educational need or a disability.

The National Landscape Clause 96 in the Children and Families Act 2014 will come into force April 2015 and: – consolidate and simplify the legislation; – extend the right to an assessment to all young carers; – require an assessment on the appearance of need; – enable local authorities to align / combine assessments. The Care Bill – also enables local authorities to align / combine assessments; – requires regulations to be made about the detail of adult assessments, including a whole family approach to assessment.

Other National Drivers

Young Carers in Focus

YCiF on Makewaves Young Carers in Focus network on Makewaves provides young carers from across the country a safe social area to get involved in the work of the YCiF programme They can input into National consultations and resources Have a say in the development and delivery of the YCiF programme Receive support and information to raise awareness in their local area Provides an area for projects and networks to communicate within their groups and with a wider audience

YCiF on Makewav.es Ycif homepage

Accreditation on Makewav.es A range of online accreditation badges through Open Badge, including: -Advocacy skills -Digital Skills -Community badges -Participation badge -Evaluation Skills -Mental health awareness

Young Carers in Schools Guidance Resources Training Building Capacity Building Capacity Share Knowledge Networks Newsletter Online Award Gold Silver Bronze

Schools Award The Schools Award consists of five separate Young Carers’ Standards that young carers have told us are essential: 1.Understand2. Inform3. Identify4. Listen5. Support