Young Carers

A young carer is a person under 18 who provides, or intends to provide, care for another person. In practice that usually means caring for a parent or sibling affected by illness, disability, a mental health condition, or drug and alcohol misuse. The care can be physical, like helping someone wash, dress or move around; practical, like cooking, cleaning and managing money; or emotional, like keeping a close eye on a parent's mental state.

The definition matters because it is a statutory one. The Children and Families Act 2014 (which inserted section 17ZA into the Children Act 1989) gives young carers specific rights, and names them as a group local authorities must actively look out for. A child does not have to be doing heavy personal care to count. A ten-year-old who is the emotional anchor for a parent with severe depression is a young carer.

Caring responsibilities do not switch off at the school gate. Young carers are more likely to arrive late or tired, to miss deadlines, to be absent, and to fall behind their peers. Many will not tell you what is happening at home, sometimes out of loyalty, sometimes out of fear that services will split up the family. The result is that a young carer can look, on paper, like a child with a behaviour or attendance problem, when the real picture is a child carrying an adult's load.

There is a safeguarding dimension too. A home where a child is doing significant caring may also be a home where there is neglect, where a parent's needs are going unmet, or where there is hidden harm from parental mental ill-health or substance misuse. Identifying the young carer is often the thread that, when you pull it, reveals the wider family need.

No single sign confirms a young carer. It is the pattern that matters. Common indicators include:

• Persistent lateness or tiredness, especially early in the day
• Falling attendance, or leaving promptly at the end of the day with no time for clubs or friends
• Homework regularly incomplete, despite ability
• Anxiety about a parent or sibling, or frequent phone contact home during the day
• Maturity and capability beyond their years, alongside difficulty with peer relationships
• Reluctance to talk about home, or to have anyone visit
• Physical signs of tiredness or, occasionally, of doing manual caring tasks

A child who is anxious about getting home, rather than reluctant to go home, is a useful distinction to hold in mind. Reluctance can point to harm at home; anxiety about getting back often points to a caring role.

This is the part most school staff have never heard of, and it is the most useful thing you can know. Under the Children and Families Act 2014 and the Young Carers (Needs Assessments) Regulations 2015, a local authority must assess whether a young carer in its area has needs for support, and if so what those needs are, on the appearance of need. The family does not have to request it, and the child does not have to be in crisis.

The assessment must consider whether the caring is appropriate, the child's own wishes and feelings, and whether their education, training, recreation or work is being affected. It can lead to support for the young carer and, crucially, can prompt an assessment of the cared-for adult so that some of the caring load is taken off the child altogether.

Keeping Children Safe in Education names young carers as a group who may benefit from early help and may be more vulnerable. Schools are not expected to fix a family's circumstances, but they are well placed to do several things that change a young carer's experience:

• Identify and record. Have a known route for staff to flag a possible young carer to the DSL, and a way of recording it that follows the child.
• Have a named lead. Many schools appoint a young carers lead or champion. The Young Carers in Schools programme (Carers Trust and The Children's Society) offers a free framework and award.
• Build in flexibility. Sensible adjustments to homework deadlines, a quiet place to phone home, a trusted adult to check in with, and access arrangements for exams where the caring role has affected preparation.
• Refer. Make sure the local authority and any local young carers service know, so the statutory assessment and practical support can follow.

If a member of staff raises a concern that a child may be a young carer, treat it as you would any other welfare concern: record it, talk to the child sensitively, and speak to the family. Most young carer situations are best met through early help rather than a child protection referral, but the two are not mutually exclusive. Where the caring sits alongside neglect, or a parent's needs are placing the child at risk, the threshold for a referral to children's social care may be met.

If you are not sure which way to go, work it through with our Section 17 and Section 47 threshold checker, and consider whether an early help assessment is the right first step.