Young carers

[Gorgeousfeet]

Hello.
can anyone please tell me if the school has to get permission/ notify the parents if they deem a child as a young carer ?
Is there a criteria for this and why would a school refer someone under this basis without discussing with the child’s parents first ?
Can they do this?

Bump?

No.

basically.

schools don’t need to get permission for most things they do. It’s generally considered good practice to keep the parents informed.

isually young carers are offered the opportunity to attend a group of other young carers so they can talk to others with similar experiences.

it also usually means they get a bit of slack cut them on homework etc.

No, they don't need to get permission. It's usually to give the child a bit of extra support and so that they don't get routinely sanctioned if they're late etc

There aren't set criteria, but usually young carers are children who have a parent or sibling with a health condition (physical mental or neurodevelopmental) and may need to do more tasks around the house than most children of their age.

I've known a full range - from a 9-year-old who showered and dressed her mum and went shopping for her, due to severe physical and mental health needs, to children with siblings with autism who may need to advocate for them or support them to regulate.

I think it is good practice to share this with parents and should be done if there are going to be interventions as a result of the carer status.
However if it's referring to a child as a young carer, in order to make other staff aware that there may be things going on in the child's life that they need some awareness for, then I don't think that would need to be shared with parents

Refer the child to whom?

It depends on whether the child has been identified for support in school or to an external young carers organisation. However, it is good practice to meet with parents to discuss. There are criteria to help schools identify whether someone is a young carer. The school is not there to judge but to offer support. Feel free to message me with any questions - I am the young carer lead in my school.