Support Young Carers to reach for Higher Education
According to The Children’s Society there are 800,000 young carers aged 5-17 currently caring for an adult or family member in the UK. And over a quarter (27%) of them miss or have difficulties at school due to their caring responsibilities.
With Young Carers Action Day falling on 16th March, why not use this month to get to grips with the many barriers young carers face in reaching Higher Education and the positive steps you can take to support them?
If you’re wanting to understand the unique challenges and barriers young carers face, you can hear directly from them in our video here.
You can also discover the key recommendations to come out of our young carers ‘Aiming High’ research initiative by clicking here.
With 29% of young carers dropping out of degree courses because of the challenges they face (Carers Trust), the Aiming High research programme, run in partnership with The University of Sussex, sought to understand how to best support young carers not only into university, but through their degree course.
As a result of the research, The University of Sussex’s Widening Participation Team put in place a programme of support for young carers that others can emulate, including:
- Campus-based introduction activities for young carers including walk and talk tours and role modelling programmes to promote the value of higher education
- University tours for young carers and their families with all expenses refunded
- Dedicated information on the financial support available to young carers
- Post-entry fast tracking to free counselling and bereavement services and to financial hardship funds