Targeted youth support: young carers after school club
Contact
| Provider | Training and Development Agency |
|---|---|
| Topics | Targeted youth support |
| Type | Emerging practice |
| Date | September 2006 |
| Region | London |
There are strong links between being a young carer and underachieving at school, with many failing to attain formal qualifications. Almost a third of young carers have serious educational problems or have dropped out of school, with nearly all reporting missing school when the person they care for is having difficulties.
Barnet has established an after school homework club to ensure that this does not happen and to support young carers who are already beginning to experience difficulties in school.
The homework club housed in a school classroom with 20 computer workstations is open from 4 - 6pm, once a week, every week during school term. Young carers make their own way to the club from schools in the local area and are offered transport home via a minibus at the end of the club.
The homework club is beneficial for a number of reasons. First, young carers benefit from considerable smaller class sizes and more one-to-one support from a teacher. This helps them work on topics that they have struggled with and raises their attainment levels in these subjects.
By enabling young carers to tackle some of their educational problems, the service is supporting young carers to stay in school and not truant as a result of their caring roles.
Not least, the club enables young carers to meet others in a similar situation and benefit from the peer support.
Click to read more good practice case studies related to the targeted youth support change process.
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