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Young Adult Carers

Helping carers care

Wakefield College works in partnership with Carers Wakefield & District to support young adult carers in Wakefield and the surrounding districts. Wakefield College is a Quality Standard in Carer Support accredited college.

Carers Wakefield & District offer advice and support to anyone over the age of 17 and in a caring role. Their support is individual to the carer’s needs, offering one to one support as well as support groups across the district.

Their Young Adult Carer (YAC) Group is for young adult carers age 17-25. Carers Wakefield & District have regular meetings such as games nights, going out for meals, bowling and trips to the coast providing young carers with the opportunity to have some respite from their caring role.

“Me and a couple of the other members from YAC had a good tour of Scarborough, we saw the castle, went to the arcade had fish and chips and generally enjoyed our walk round. We had a really good time and enjoyed our day,” said one YAC.

Another said “It was a welcome break, usually if I take a day off I would spend it at home on the computer, due to not being able to drive getting to the seaside is not really an option or would be costly.”

Carers Wakefield & District work in partnership with practitioners and partners such as Wakefield College to support young adult carers in Wakefield and the surrounding districts. Wakefield College is a Quality Standard in Carer Support accredited college.

In late 2019, the Driving Change Project, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, involved the Learning and Work Institute working in partnership with The Carers Federation, to improve the support that young adult carers receive in further education. Wakefield College was one of 12 Colleges accredited for supporting young adult carers through the project in 2020. We developed our processes to identify and support Young Adult Carers, making reasonable adjustments where possible to enable them to continue to care for their loved ones as well as studying to enable them to achieve their future goals. During the next academic year we will be applying for re-accreditation for all 3 Colleges within the group.

A Young Carer is young person aged 16-24 who is helping to look after someone who could not cope without their support. Most are caring for a parent, but some may be taking responsibility for a sibling, grandparent or other relative. In some instances, a young carer may care for more than one family member.

The person they look after will have one or more of the following:

• Physical disability (including sensory disability)

• Learning disability

• Mental health problem

• Chronic illness

• Substance misuse problem

For more information on Carers Wakefield please ring 01924 305544 or visit www.carerswakefield.org.uk/our-services/young-adult-carers/ or speak with the the College’s Young Adult Carer Lead - Carol Price on 01924 789755, alternatively you can email cprice@heartofyorkshire.ac.uk

A caring role can have a significant impact on a young person’s experience of learning and work and their overall wellbeing. As a caring college we want to ensure we do everything we can to provide the support that young adult carers often will need.
Clare Allcock
Executive Director Student Experience and Support

Careers Federation Logo

Wakefield College has really helped me with my confidence, they are kinder and more understanding, previously I would have tried to hide the fact I’m a young carer and skive. As a result, I’m in college more and learning so many new things it’s completely boosted my confidence.
Christian
Wakefield College Student
Since the lock down and moving to Lindsey’s class Christian has come on in leaps and bounds. Lindsey has kept in contact throughout, making sure Christian understands his assignment and even making sure he’s OK in general. It’s the first time in his life he’s felt like a person. He’s so determined to help people. I truly admire him.