Young Carers Action Day 2026 Professionals' Seminar: Fair Futures for Young Carers
Marking Young Carers Action Day 2026, Wednesday 11th March, Action for Carers, is holding a free online seminar to ensure all of Surrey's 15,000+ young carers face a 'Fair Future'
Young Carers Action Day 2026: professionals’ seminar ‘Fair Futures’
Action for Carers Surrey is holding a seminar, ‘Fair Futures for Young Carers’, on Young Carers Action Day, Wednesday 11th March, 12.30-2pm (online).
This seminar brings together professionals from across schools, health and social care, to deepen understanding, strengthen practice, and celebrate the 15,000+ young carers in Surrey.
Designed to support learning and CPD, the event offers a valuable opportunity to share best practice with colleagues and enhance early identification, recognition and support of young carers.
Guest speakers will explore key themes including:
- The experiences of the youngest carers
- Young carers that are often invisible
- The impact of Surrey’s Young Carers Strategy
- Transitions into adulthood
- Mental health and wellbeing
Together, these insights will help ensure all Surrey’s young carers are supported to achieve a fair and thriving future.
Guest speakers:
We are pleased to announce our guest speakers for the event – see full bios below:
- Jo Cooper, Level Up Locality Manager for Dorset at MYTIME Young Carers
- Sue Cullen, previously at Preparing for Life, Ireland, and now of the Family Resource Centre
- Frankie Lynch, Play Therapist
- Michelle Harper, Manager of the ACS Young Carer Service, and Jill Coles, Team Manager, will open and close the seminar
How to book
Booking via Eventbrite.
If you’ve any queries about this event, or our training offer, please email [email protected]
Speaker bios:
Jo Cooper is the Level Up Locality Manager for Dorset at MYTIME Young Carers. A former teacher of 24 years, Jo has worked in inner‑city Birmingham and rural Dorset schools, where she held roles including Head of Department. A former young carer herself, she now supports Dorset schools to identify young carers and build meaningful support systems. Jo is also the author of Born to Care, a report highlighting the experiences of the youngest young carers and the vital role early years settings play in early identification. She is passionate about ensuring young carers feel seen, understood, and supported.
Sue Cullen previously served as Implementation and Fidelity Manager for Preparing for Life, an internationally recognised, evidence-based early intervention and home visiting programme in Ireland. In this role, she supported the national and International scale-up of PFL, championing high-quality, relationship-centred supports for families and promoting early identification and timely intervention to positively influence children’s life trajectories. Drawing on national and international experience, including work in Chicago, Sue brings a strong understanding of integrated, strengths-based family support systems that builds parental capacity. Sue now manages a newly established Family Resource Centre, leading collaborative, community-driven supports locally.
Frankie Lynch is a registered Play Therapist, having recently completed a two-year British Association of Play Therapy Master’s training, with a background in Psychology (BSc). She brings over 20 years of experience working alongside adults and children with additional needs. Her interest in young carers has developed through clinical work with children who hold caring roles, conversations with adults reflecting on sibling caring experiences, and her own parenting journey. Her dissertation explored how play therapy can support the emotional well-being, mental health, and identity development of young carers. She have also recently contributed to a podcast focusing on young carers and early intervention, and is keen to continue developing this work through practice, research and collaboration.