A year of creativity for young carers with UCA
Supporting young carers at University of the Creative Arts
This past year UCA and HEON have been collaborating with Action for Carers to provide young carers with opportunities to have fun, unwind, and practise creative skills.
Young carers, aged 5-17, provide support to family members who are ill or disabled. Caring pressures can mean they fall behind in life. Extra opportunities like these provided with UCA allow these young people time to be themselves, as well as develop skills and friendships.
On 29th November, participants worked with Creative Workshop Tutor and textile artist Sarah McAllister to create their own repeat pattern gift wrap inspired by furoshiki, a traditional Japanese cloth used for gift wrapping, carrying items, and decoration.
And in December, two groups of young carers took part in pop-up Christmas card workshops run by Creative Workshop Tutor and illustrator Tabitha Turner.
A year of creativity
These festive workshops round off a fantastic year of activities which saw around 120 young carers enjoy 13 different workshops. These included two 4-week Art & Design projects in June and July, a street art workshop, and even an SFX make up workshop on Halloween.
We are looking forward to an exciting round of projects in 2026, starting with 4-week masterclasses in animation and textiles in January and February!
What it means for young people
Michelle Harper, Young Carers Team Manager at Action for Carers said: ‘We are delighted to have worked with the University of the Creative Arts on such a beneficial project. Our young carers have loved the experiences and learned a huge amount, encouraging some to set their sights on arts careers. The sessions have also taken the young people away from the challenges of their daily lives, allowing them a chance to do something amazing, just for them.’
Find out more about ACS support for young people here. If you would like to know more about the work UCA are doing with Action for Carers, please get in touch with [email protected].
Huge thanks to UCA for their support in 2025.
