Freedom in the Air’s final day with carers from Spurgeons and Bedfordshire County Council Rural Communities Charity. In this slideshow, we get to hear from an instructor, senior carers and of course the bubbly and adventurous younger carers.
Young carers are children and young people who are the main carers of a sick or disabled parent or sibling. Estimates of the number of young carers in the UK vary between 15,000 and 50,000.
Young carers have the same rights as other carers under the NHS and Community Care Act 1990. They can also be considered “children in need” under the Children’s Act 1989 depending upon whether or not the local authority considers the child’s caring role as preventing him/her from achieving or maintaining a reasonable standard of social opportunities and achieving full school attendance.
Young carers face serious caring responsibilities. In addition to the daily tasks they complete for their parents such as housework, cooking and bathing, they live with the added pressure of school and, often, a lack of understanding from schoolmates. The physical and emotional strain is sometimes too much – many skip school and suffer depression.
Let Talent fly…
