Are you (or someone you know) an unpaid Carer?

An unpaid carer is someone of any age who, without payment, looks after a relative or friend who due to ill health, physical or mental illness, disability, frailty, or addiction, cannot manage without their support.

For many, caring is a rewarding and positive experience, but for others, without the right help and support, caring can feel overwhelming. For some, caring can trigger feelings of lonliness and frustration and many often find their physical and emotional health, work or finances affected.

Types of unpaid carers:

• Student Carer - This is a student aged 18 or over who provides unpaid supprot to someone who could not manage without this help. This could be caring for a relative, partner, or friend who is ill, frail, disabled, or has mental health or substance misuse problems.

• Young Adult Carers - These are young people aged 16-25, who care, unpaid, for a family member of friends with an illness or disability, mental health condition or an addiction. There are at least 376,000 young adult carers in the UK.

• Young Carer - Someone under the age of 18 who helps look after someone in their family, or a friend, who is ill, disabled, has a mental health condition or misuses drugs or alcohol. There are at least 700,000 young carers in the UK.

• Parent Carers - Someone over 18 who provides care to a disabled child for whom they have parental responsibility. A non-parent carer of a disabled child is someone over 18 who provides care to a disabled child for whom they do not have parental responsibility (such as a grandparent).

• Adult Carers - A carer is anyone, including children and adults, who looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help becuase of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction and cannot cope without their support. The care they give is unpaid. There are estimated to be almost 13 million adult carers in the UK following the COVID-19 pandemic when a further 4.5 million people became carers.

If you think you might be an unpaid Carer, or know someone who is; and you would like some help; please contact school, as we have been given access to a wealth of guidance and directions to places of support.