Our strategic goals

Our strategic goals

Young people have told us about their experiences and what they need to help them in their caring role.

Making it Real for Young Carers and Young Adult Carers

Surrey Young Carers (part of Action for Carers Surrey) works to identify and support Surrey’s many young carers. Working with the NHS, SCC and young carers themselves, we have developed a strategy which outlines young carers’ needs and concerns, and defines a way we should all work to help them reach their full potential.

Strategic Priorities

Working with Surrey Young Carers, Surrey’s health and social care professionals commit to:

  • Supporting the identification/recognition and registration of young carers in all organisations, including primary care
  • Ensuring all young carers have their care needs assessed, and receive an integrated package of support in order to maintain and/or improve their physical/mental health
  • Empowering young carers to make choices about their caring role, access appropriate services, and support for them and the person they care for
  • Ensuring all staff are aware of young carers’ needs and their value to our communities
  • Respecting and listening to young carers as ‘experts by experience’, and actively involve them in care planning and shared decision making
  • Identifying key transition points early
  • Identifying, supporting and protecting young carers from ‘inappropriate care’

Time for Kids

As part of the Surrey Children’s Services system, the Time for Kids principles are being embedded into all practice and service delivery, including ours.

The five key strands of Time for Kids are:

  1. Believe (in what they can achieve)
  2. Belong (give children a sense of belonging and encourage them to shine)
  3. Hope (encourage children to tell their story and learn hope)
  4. Trust (provide children with a consistent relationship with at least one adult they trust)
  5. Connect (be crazy about the kid)

Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Strategy

The Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Strategy for children and young people in Surrey has three main focuses:

  • Making children and young people’s mental health a shared priority
  • Focusing on and investing in earlier intervention and prevention
  • Delivering specialist support differently

The pandemic impacted on the number of children and young people that experienced poor emotional health and wellbeing.  This has impacted young carers, who already experience disparities with their peers in relation to emotional wellbeing and mental health, which can be linked to isolation and the sense of responsibility that children may feel.

Children’s Services is using the THRIVE Framework to embed system change when responding to the emotional wellbeing and mental health support needs of children and young people.  THRIVE emphasises giving children and young people a central voice in decisions about their care and support. It aims to provide the support that children and young people want and need, where they want and need it, and in a way which best suits them.

Why support matters

Things have improved for me lately because one of the teachers has taken an interest and asked me how things were at home. I felt better once I told him, and I know he understands and will speak up for me if I get into trouble with homework or am late.

Matthew, 14

 

 

child emptying washing machine

What young carers want

  • • Recognise that I am a carer, remember I am still young
  • • Listen to me, give me the right information so it is easier for me to care
  • • Give me more support
  • • Talk to me about being a carer in a way I will understand
  • • Make it easier to get an appointment
  • • Tell me what to expect and changes I don’t know about

Facts

Some key facts about young carers in Surrey.

  • 14,000+

    Young carers in Surrey

    2-3 children in every classroom is a young carer

  • 67%

    Stressed!

    say their caring role leaves them feeling stressed

  • 55%

    Schoolwork/coursework

    say they struggle to keep up with schoolwork/coursework

  • 40%

    Breaks

    say a break from caring would improve their health

Action for Carers Surrey Strategy for young carers poster

Our Strategic goals

We hosted an event in October 2019, to enable practitioners to hear directly from young carers and young adult carers about what matters to them. We have captured the outputs from the event in this poster which we invite you to download and display!

View and download our strategy poster

Find out more...

For more information email [email protected]

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