Support for Families

Dear Families,
Welcome, we are glad you have found us!

Working with young carers we understand that living with and supporting a family member who has an illness, disability, mental health or substance misuse problem can come with unique challenges. However, we also recognise it brings strengths and can create strong bonds between the carer and cared-for.

Whether you feel your child has just started their caring role or has been supporting a loved one for some time, please know that you are not alone and there is nothing to be ashamed of. Gloucestershire Young Carers is committed to supporting your family in feeling listened to, respected and empowered. We are not here to judge, we’re here to recognise the role that your young carer plays, while also making sure they have the support, understanding and opportunities they deserve.

Refer a Young Carer

Think your child might be a young carer?

If you think your child may be taking on a caring role at home helping to look after a family member who has a physical illness, disability, mental health condition or struggles with a substance misuse problem, Here’s what you can do to help:

Recognise the signs

Young carers might do all kinds of different things to suport family member. They might help with mobility or personal care, cook, clean or manage household tasks or provide emotional support. They may even take care of any younger siblings in the home if their parent is unwell.

Contact us and connect to GYC!

Contact us and connect to GYC! We would be more than happy to chat to you about any questions or concerns you may have regarding your child and their caring role. We will provide you with information, advice and guidance and most importantly, reassurance. We can signpost you to our referral form, or arrange a telephone appointment with you at a convenient time, to complete a referral form for you.

Speak to your child’s school

Let a trusted teacher or a member of the pastoral team know your thoughts on your child being a young carer (we can help with this if you are not sure how). We are incredibly proud that we have a Young Carers Lead in every school in Gloucestershire, so they can provide additional support and advice and guidance. They can make a referral to us on your behalf with your consent, or support you with the referral process.

Talk to them and let them know you are proud and appreciate what they do

Let them know you are there to listen and support them. Remember, that a lot of children will not see themselves as a young carer as it’s ‘normal’ for them.

Reassure them

Let your child know that they are not alone and that being a young carer is nothing to be ashamed of (it is estimated that 1 in every 12 secondary-aged school children are young carers, that’s between 2-3 per class). Many of our young carers have informed us that being a young carer is a positive experience as they feel grown up, closer to their family and appreciated. Let your child know that they are not responsible for everything, and that they deserve time to have free time and fun.

What to expect if a referral is made for my child

Once we receive the referral, a member of our team will contact you to arrange a time to meet. We’ll arrange to talk with you and your child to start understanding your family’s circumstances and any support needed. I don’t think ‘strengths’ is the correct word for here. We mention strengths-based at the end of Step 2.

We usually meet you in your home, but we can also arrange to meet your child in school, as sometimes young carers prefer to talk to us away from the home. We would only do this with your permission. In some cases, we may offer a phone call to talk to you instead of a visit. During our meeting/s with you and your child, we will complete:

A Young Carers Assessment with your child – this is a conversation to explore what’s going well, what’s tricky, and how we can help.
A family conversation to look at any unmet needs within the household — including the needs of the person who is cared for

These conversations are relaxed and strengths-based — we’re here to listen, not judge.

Together with your child, we’ll create a simple plan that outlines:

What support they feel they need – important that we point this out
How, who and when the support will be provided
Whether we recommend contacting other services (with your consent)

If needed, we also might suggest a referral for:

A Carers Assessment for the main adult carer
An Adult Social Care Assessment for the person who’s being cared for. This would be to assess any support/aids you may be entitled to to makes things a little easier for you

We’ll always talk this through with you first and ensure you are happy for us to make any additional referrals.

Once the plan is agreed, we will send you and your child a copy via the email address you provided, and we’ll start the support. This might include group activities, 1:1 support, help in school, or other parts of our wider service offer. You and your child will receive a copy of their support plan.

We complete an internal review of the plan at 3 months, and arrange to meet with your child again at 6 months to make sure the support is still effective and that we’re doing what we said we would.

How do we help?

Young Carer Groups

We organise regular respite group sessions for those registered with Gloucestershire Young Carers. These sessions provide a safe space with other young carers, giving them free time away from their caring responsibilities.