Three young carers and young adult carers from Gloucestershire attended an in-person meeting with the Young Carers National Voice at the University of Birmingham in April.

They joined young carers from all over the country to continue work on this year’s campaign to improve early identification of young carers in schools.

The current campaign has seen the creation of resources for schools including an assembly pack, activity resource and identification tool for professionals, with input from twenty-four different organisations nationwide.

In partnership with the Carers Trust, a letter was also written and delivered to HMI Chief Inspector Sir Martyn Oliver on Young Carers Action Day to highlight the challenges for young carers in education and calls on Ofsted to take action to support them.

Young Carers National Voice was established in February 2020 by Gloucestershire Young Carers and Sheffield Young Carers who facilitated the first meeting. Since then, the network has continued to grow, bringing together young carers to work on campaigns to improve support in areas such as: education, mental health, health and wellbeing and early identification.

‍

‍

Scott Bailey-Locke, Youth Participation Lead said: “The power of bringing together young carers from all over their country and harnessing their collective voices cannot be overstated. The work they have done to date has been incredible and we hope the resources made help improve identification of young and young adult carers nationally.”

Zaynab, one of the young adult carers in attendance said: “I believe it’s important for young carers around the world to come together, as it creates a sense of community where no one feels alone. My favourite part of the event was seeing various organisations unite for a shared goal—working as a team to build a better future for both current and future young carers. The atmosphere was incredibly welcoming, social, and supportive."

‍

‍