Resources and support for education professionals

Join our Schools Network! We coordinate a free network for schools to develop their identification and support for young carers and young people affected by substance misuse in the family. This includes access to free training, resources and termly meetings to share practice with other schools across the city. Find out more here.

Resources: Aside from our resources available by joining our Schools Network, you can find lots of websites and resources to support young carers and young people affected by familial substance misuse here.

Education Development Worker: Shuna Beckett is SYC’s Education Development Worker. Her role is to help professionals identify and support young carers in schools, colleges, APs and universities across Sheffield. If you have any questions, please contact Shuna.

Greater Reach, Brighter Futures Project: We have recently finished a targeted piece of work alongside eight education providers across Sheffield for two years to improve the identification and support for young carers within their education settings. This work was supported by the Education Opportunities Foundation.

Thank you to the following education providers who participated in the project: Dobcroft Junior School, Firth Park Academy, Hartley Brook Academy, Lowfield Primary School, Oasis Fir Vale Academy, Phillimore Community Primary School, Rainbow Forge Primary Academy, University of Sheffield.

Take a look at our summary report here and watch our film!

£300 fund for young carer groups in education settings (up to age 18): We offer a £300 fund that groups of young carers can apply for, to give them a break in the way that they choose. We also grants to individual young carers. Find out more here.

Changes to the School census: Since 2023, there is a Young Carer indicator on the Spring schools’ census return for all schools (not nurseries). This indicator records whether the pupil has been identified as a young carer and by whom. Find out more here.

Other useful resources:

Made by young carers: Young carers have produced some fantastic tools for education staff to help you understand more about them and the issues they face.

  1. Simple but great ways that schools/colleges have supported us

  2. Young Carers Identification Guide - a tool for education staff (Word or PDF)

  3. Young carers and education (film)

  4. Top Tips for Identifying and Supporting Young Carers in Education during Covid-19 (some tips are still relevant!)

Young Carers Register for Sheffield: Sheffield City Council has a register for young carers living in the city. You can find more details here.

Learning through Caring: Children's University credits for learning through caring responsibilities: In acknowledgment of the barriers that many young carers face to accessing Children’s University (CU) activities, young carers can receive 1 CU credit per week in recognition of learning and skills development that takes place through their caring responsibilities. Click here for full details.

Locality working: Our staff work in localities to support young people who are referred to our service. (Please note: If we have staff absence, workers may have to cover different localities). Please see the list below to find out which workers are linked to your school. You can see photos of our staff here.