The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 and Young Carer Statement

1. Definition

The definition of a “young carer” is a child or young person aged under 18 who has a significant role in looking after someone else who is experiencing illness or disability e.g. parent, grandparent or sibling.

2. Range of Caring

The range of care a Young Carer might provide is wide and this can include having responsibility for providing emotional support, domestic tasks, medical care, personal care (help with toileting, bathing, dressing, etc.), looking after siblings, ensuring safety, supporting communications and managing finances.

3. Possible impacts on health and wellbeing of Young Carers

Being a Young Carer can impact on a child and young person’s health and wellbeing and learning in a range of ways, e.g. late arrival, absence, tiredness, social and/or educational under-performance, personal care issues, and low self-esteem.

Being a Young Carer has been deemed to be an Additional Support Need (ASN) since the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. As such, all Young Carers should now be recorded on SEEMiS as having ASN, regardless of whether they are known to a Young Carer organisation or not. A Young Carers level of need will depend on personal assessment. Many Young Carers will be at level 1, but they will be represented across all levels of need.

4. Young Carer Statement

The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 come into effect in April 2018 and placed a duty on the local authority to identify, record and support young carers. Local authorities are duty bound to recognise and prepare a Young Carer Statement that summarises the needs and actions that should be taken to address any barriers that young carers face. Statements should be prepared for carers under 18, or 18 and over if they are still at school, so schools have an important role in identifying and supporting young carers with “Young Carer” being a designated additional support need.

In Highland the Child’s Plan process will provide the vehicle for meeting this legal requirement. For some, the Young Carer Statement will be short and simple and can be recorded in

(i) Pastoral notes on SEEMIS, or

(ii) On a Form 1

Young Carers with significant caring roles however, require a more detailed plan and their needs and personal outcomes should be summarised in a Child’s Plan. Where a young carer already has a Child’s Plan to address other identified needs the statement should be incorporated within the existing plan to ensure there is a focus on the impact caring has on the young person.

The statement (Child’s Plan), should be regularly reviewed to account for any changes in caring and family circumstances.

The statement will continue to effect until a young carer reaches 18 and has left school. When a young carer reaches 18 and intends to continue to provide care they will be offered an Adult Carers Support Plan.

The Young Carer statement (Child’s Plan) should include the following:

a. Information on the level and type of care provided and the impacts of the caring responsibilities.

b. The extent to which the Young Carer is able and willing to provide care.

c. How far the nature and extent of the care provided is appropriate, based on discussion with the young person.

d. What personal outcomes matter in order to have a life alongside caring and to improve their own health and wellbeing.

e. Support available to the Young Carer locally.

f. Any support which the Partners to the plan intend to provide.

Bernadette Cairns

Head of Additional Support Needs

Highland Council

August 2018