The Manor School was actively involved in Young Carers Awareness Day on Thursday 28th January.
Staff have been wearing wristbands provided by Spurgeon’s Young Carers in Wiltshire with ‘#youngcareraware’ printed on them.
The children have been curious about the brightly coloured wrist bands and it has been an opportunity for staff to share information and raise awareness with them. It was hoped that the awareness day would reach as many people as possible to help them identify and raise awareness of young carers and the invaluable work they do.
Carers Trust revealed, “New survey results recently published reveal up to 80% of young carers are missing out on their childhoods because they are caring for family and friends, according to research carried out by Carers Trust, the UK’s largest charity for carers.”
This new data has been released, by Carers Trust, to mark the charity’s national Young Carers Awareness Day. In a separate survey by Carers Trust, new data also reveals that 30% of young carers across the UK are looking after an adult with mental health and substance misuse issues.
Spurgeon’s Young Carers in Wiltshire also provided a DVD produced by a group of young carers from around the county who had the opportunity to take part in a project at The Egg Theatre in Bath. The DVD shows how the project helped them and it also gives a very clear message of what it’s like to be a young carer.
The DVD was shown in assembly and The Manor will also be further raising awareness by hosting a special assembly led by one of the Spurgeon’s team. They are also working towards the Bronze award for Young Carers in Schools Award.
If your school would like to be involved or would like to consider applying for The Young Carers in Schools programme please contact sycw@spurgeons.org