A wowzer moment for young carers.

On behalf of the 700,000 young carers across the UK I would like to thank my team for doing an amazing job on the third year of Young Carers Awareness Day. We secured millions of pounds of coverage and really achieved our objective of raising awareness of young carers.

Our theme for the day was when I grow up. This related to the stats that came from our latest research which suggested that 73% of young carers miss school, and a third do so regularly. Its no wonder then that young carers consistently underachieve at school, and if they get there at all, are much more likely to drop out of higher education, all because of the stresses and strains imposed on them for being a carer. Its just not good enough is it? And that’s why young carers awareness day is important, to keep these issues in the public eye.

Our story is here https://carers.org/news-item/young-carers-risk-not-fulfilling-their-dreams-and-ambitions-new-figures-show-young-carers This was used to talk to the media and key stakeholders.

And this is what we achieved:

• BBC Breakfast video https://twitter.com/BBCBreakfast/status/824514224697155584 the film was run three times and Carers Trust CEO was interviewed twice, getting the story across throughout the morning.
• Newsround video https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/38750929 ran throughout the day in conjunction with CBBC. A young carer also provided some tips to others in this situation https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/38756768/tips-on-being-a-young-carer--from-someone-who-knows reaching young carers of people with other conditions.
• Sky Sunrise ran the story on Friday, the day after once again with our Chief Executive in the studio and young carer Morgan.
• Channel 5 filmed a young carer with her mum and ran the story with our Chief Executive alongside to put the story in focus. They also used their extensive social media reach to engage audiences.
• Guardian article https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/26/crisis-young-carers-uk-child-schools-end-secrecy-stigma?CMP=share_btn_tw was written by a former young carer and was widely shared on social media. The author also then joined the debate on the BBC Asian Network later in the evening.
• #YoungCarersAwarenessDay was trending on twitter as thousands of people supported the day! Support came from all the big children’s charities, numerous condition specific charities including Macmillan, some celebrities including Gaby Roslin and lots of corporations including new potential supporters.
• Numerous members of The Carers Trust Network ran local events, promoting their services raising awareness with local schools and raising money to support their work. These were picked up extensively by local press and radio, giving great traction to the issues.
• The Minister for Community Health and Care David Mowat showed his support by visiting Carers Trust in Cheshire and Warrington (his local constituency) and writing a very supportive blog https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/ambition-interrupted-young-carers-awareness-day
• The Children’s Minister Ed Timpson made a short film focussing on what he wanted to be when he grew up, which was widely shared on social media.
• The First Minister in Scotland actively supported the day on social media. Lots of MPs took part in local visits and supported the day on social media too.
• The Children’s Commissioner for England actively supported the day with a short video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoxcKMqpoJo Other key professional bodies also supported including ADASS, LGA and CQC providing commentary and responses which were shared on social media.
• NHS England ran a blog marking the day and the issues young carers face. The Chief Nurse Jane Cummings did a short film about when I grow up. In addition, lots and lots of staff considered what they had wanted to be when they grew up, and reflected on the support that had been there for them. It opened their eyes to how much harder it can be if you are the one doing all the supporting! https://www.england.nhs.uk/south/2017/01/26/young-carers/
• Huffington post ran a great piece in their young people’s section. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/thousands-young-carers-potential-carer-trust_uk_5888cbb0e4b03cf273dced2b?ir=UK+Universities+%26+Education&utm_hp_ref=uk-universities-education
• Children and Young People Now, the bible for children's service providers ran our story https://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/2003060/majority-of-young-carers-take-time-off-school In addition, First News and The Education Supplement ran extensive pieces meaning our messages were heard loud and clear in schools.
• ITV Wales used the main story and adapted it to reflect the issues for children in Wales https://t.co/WT0PNa9UU3
• Numerous Local Authorities got on board and shared our materials with anyone working with children and young people in their organisation, including schools. Many chose the day to launch new initiatives, make pledges and use local press to get messages out there about young carers rights to assessments.
• Professor Saul Becker used the day to launch a film about his pioneering work in the sector and got involved with several Network Partners.
• Lots and lots of schools got involved telling us what they do now and what they hope to do now they know more. School nurses took a lead role here using the materials Carers Trust provided. One Carers Trust Network Partner as a result of the day has opened the door into 55 schools.
• BBC Asian Network ran a debate about the issues, allowing us to reach an entirely new audience.
• Just about every children’s charity who run services for young carers took part in some way adding to the event and its sector wide credibility. Locally there were some joint events for example Leeds Carers with a Barnardos service, Willow.
• We even got overseas mentions from organisations linked to work with young carers including this from Germany https://www.zqp.de/wp-content/uploads/ZQP_2017_Report_JungePflegende.pdf sorry but my school girl German is not good enough to translate this!

This all resulted in hundreds and hundreds of hits on our website from people looking for information and services.

So we achieved a lot for young carers on the day. But young carers don’t just care for a day, they care 24/7 every day of the year. They need identifying and signposting to the support that’s available to them so they can grow up without stigma, without fear and without the pressure that caring can bring. Carers Trust have a lead role to play in helping others to identify carers and developing this support network. We have a great base to build from, but have to keep the momentum up.

Thank you to everyone who got involved in #YoungCarersAwarenessDay…..it doesn’t stop here. If you want to help us do more, please get in touch.

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