Young Carers Service

Young Carers are children and young people under the age of 18, who care for a family member with a long-term physical or mental illness or disability, misuse substance or have an additional need.

Are you a Young Carer?

You are if your caring role includes one or more of the following:

Emotional support – sitting and listening to the person you care for

Household jobs – extra domestic chores such as cleaning, cooking, washing up, shopping and ironing

Medical care – helping with medicine and injections

Personal care – helping with washing, dressing, feeding or taking them to the toilet

Physical care – helping the person to move around the house or go out.

EDUCATION

Young Carers often have additional challenges to contend with, like being bullied for having a caring role, missing school to help at home, having difficulty concentrating at school or completing homework.

We work in schools throughout Sutton and with families to increase awareness of your challenges and help you through difficult times.

Do you know about YC peer support running at your school?

Click to expand this list.

social

Having a caring role can be demanding. It might mean missing out on social or leisure activities such as going out with friends. Maybe you like to keep your home-life private, because of lack of time or money, difficulty getting to and from activities, or having to be there for the person you care for. Whatever the reason, it can result in feeling lonely and like you don't have anyone to talk to.

We hold regular peer support session so you don't feel alone. Full group details and dates are on each YC page.

Emotional

Spending lots of time worrying about the person you care for can result in feeling stressed and worried about how you will be able to manage your daily routine as well as your caring responsibilities.

We can support you and there are lots of resources out there to help too.

Useful contacts

talk to us

If you think you are a Young Carer, or you are the parent / guardian of a young person you think has a caring role, complete a self-referral form.

If you work with a Young Carer, complete our professionals referral form.

Please call us first if you would like to discuss this on

020 296 5611.

YC sign up

Meet the team

Julia - Young Carers Service Manager

When I started working at SCC, I had worked in education for a very long time. I had noticed that many of the young people I worked with had a caring role but the school didn’t quite understand what that meant.

Starting work at SCC was my dream job, as this meant I was going into lots of different schools in the borough, setting up peer support groups, delivering assemblies and helping you to identify yourselves as Young Carers. It also meant educating, teachers and staff to be able to understand the impact caring can have on young people and identify you and some of your peers as Young Carers.

Fast forward, I have learnt so much from you amazing Young Carers that I am proud to be managing the Young Carers Service. As a Young Carer myself, I remember how happy I was to help my sibling, but sometimes there were things that I wished adults would understand.

I don’t want to be your voice; I want to encourage you all to use yours - then be a tool to amplify it!

Sharlene - Young Carers in Education Senior Support and Development worker

Hello Young Carers! I know my title is long-winded - but it basically means that I am here to help). I enjoy the sound of laughter/fun, I love most sports. I am a movie fan, and yes, I still love Disney films. I look forward to meeting you all in the future. You will see me around your schools and on Mondays after school at 'Chill & Learn' sessions at Sutton Carers Centre. Come and join me… It would be lovely to see you. I have previously worked in three schools, totalling more than fifteen years and have experience of working with Young Carers. Coming from being a Young Carer, then going on to becoming an Adult Carer has allowed me to have a personal understanding of the everyday challenges that we all face. The truth is, I did not even realise that I was a Young Carer when I was young. I wish that my school had noticed. This is why I am here now, in this role, so I can assist schools in understanding the challenges and positives Young Carers face.

Marcel - Young Carers Engagement & Support Worker

Hello Young Carers, I am responsible for engaging with our YC’s, from organising events which support Young Carers' needs to designing content to inform and entertain. I'd like to share that during my time in education I myself was a YC, but to my surprise I wasn't even aware until I started working at Sutton Carers Centre. I spent most of my time misunderstood, however, because of this, I understand first-hand how it feels. I am a passionate nerd who designs/illustrates freelance. I love anime, making music and supporting young people - and naturally that means Young Carers. I look forward to meeting you soon!

Vicky - Adult Carers Information Worker & Young Carers Initial Contact Worker

I work with Adult Carers Information and Advice Service Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. I help Carers to complete Forms, organise and administrate the appointments for Carers to speak to Citizens Advice Sutton and also, offer information and Advice to Carers who call or drop in. On a Monday I work as the initial contact for new Young Carer registrations and personally support those Young Carers affected by a Hospital Discharge within their Caring role.

Find your space

Young Carers 8+

This is your space for groups & activities, support,

and latest YC news!

YC Zone

Young Carers 18-25

You can access support and services from the Adult Carers as well as YC staff with regular online peer support sessions.

YACs 18+

Young Carers 14+

Get involved in Peer Support, find out activity dates and the latest news to help you balance caring with education, work and life.

YAC Space

Professionals

This is your space to find out how to contact us and make a referral.

Prof Zone

Did you know...

There are at least 800,000 Young Carers in the UK

27% of Young Carers aged 11 – 15 miss school regularly

39% of Young Carers said nobody in their school was even aware of their caring responsibilities

1 in 3 Young Carers have their own mental health condition

Out of 177,918 identified young carers in England and Wales. 1 in 8 of those were aged under eight.

Young Carers are known to have significantly lower educational attainment than their peers.

To get up to speed, please read The Big Ask survey results here.

Upcoming activities

YC Creatives

What have you been up to? Do you love photography, drawing, singing or making stuff out of bits and bobs? Maybe you don't usually have time to express yourself, but you've created something you're proud of? Send an image, video or file by email or whatsapp so we can add another YC Creative!