Young Carers

If you are a young carer, there are many ways and opportunities to get more involved in the Young Carer community at St Peter’s.

First, there is a new Young Carers group at St Peter’s School. Mrs Sooden runs a group in B12 (modern languages) on Thursday lunchtimes (1.30pm-2.00pm) as well as an after-school club every Thursday (3.05pm-4.05pm). There is no obligation to attend every week, and young carers are encouraged to come to the club whenever they can.

During the club times, young carers will have the chance to:

• Relax, play games and other activities.

• Have a space to do homework or work on the computer.

• Ask for help or support with schoolwork and school life.

• Talk to other young carers and form new friendships.

Next, there is now a Young Carers card which pupils can use during the school day and in class. Young Carer’s of St Peter’s designed the card by themselves and chose the important requests which feature on the card. Teachers have been informed that Young Carers may use these cards openly or simply say a number to a teacher. We are hoping these cards can both empower and support or Young Carers as they deal with day to day life at school whilst balancing their responsibilities at home.

However, Young Carers must register with Centre 33 before they receive a St Peter’s card.

St Peter’s is working closely with Centre 33 which is here to support young carers with a wide range of issues. They can support with mental health, caring, housing and food, sexual health as well as money, jobs and benefits. There is a support worker, Becca Bryant, who visits St Peter’s every fortnight, and students have a chance to meet 1 to 1 with her to see how they can be best supported by Centre 33.

In order to access the support of Centre 33, young carers need to complete a Centre 33 referral form which can be collected from Mrs Sooden or completed online:

http://centre33.org.uk/help/referral-form/

If unable, or if the young carer would prefer to fill this form out in school, Mrs Sooden can fill out the form with the young carer any Thursday during period 4. However, Centre 33 requires a parental/carer permission if the young carer is under 13. Over 13s can self-refer to join Centre 33.