According to the Carers Trusts’ 2023 Young Carer’s Survey, one in three young carers struggle to balance caring with education and 44% always or usually feel stressed because of their caring duties. 23% of young carers said that their caring role stopped them making friends (the Children’s Society 2023).
Caring can hugely affect young people’s lives. Juggling school and caring can often mean missing classes or homework deadlines, so they become in danger of falling behind, or not having time for social or leisure activities. On top of this, they can face physical and emotional exhaustion from their caring role.
It may also impact their future plans or opportunities. If they have to factor in caring for somebody at home, their college or career aspirations could be severely limited: they might have to choose a course based on its proximity to where they live, rather than the one they actually want to do, or their responsibilities may even prevent them from applying at all.
There are at least 14,000 young carers in the county, and Action for Carers Surrey wants to use the Young Carers Action Day on Wednesday, 13 March to focus on ‘why caring should not be a barrier to learning, earning or being able to get on in life’, using the strapline ‘#FairFutures For Young Carers in Surrey’.
There are several events taking place on Young Carer’s Action Day this year, including a recorded session at Surrey Hills Radio with older young carers sharing their experience of making future choices with younger carers, and a group of young carers meeting the Mayor at Reigate Town Hall. Action for Carers Surrey is working with Surrey County Council, local councils and the NHS to promote awareness of young carers’ issues, and they’ll also be visible in many Surrey hospitals during the week, highlighting the support they offer to staff and families.
Action for Carers Surrey also wants to connect with schools, colleges and employers across the county to help them understand and minimise the difficulties that young carers have, as well as ensuring that support is accessible to them. They have a range of free resources and training available for this.
Find out more at the Action for Carers Surrey website. Young carers can email Action for Carers Surrey on SYC@actionforcarers.org.uk.
