Young Carers

Ridgeway Academy takes the welfare of our young carers very seriously and have recently put a number of initiatives in place to support them. We will provide them with support and guidance as well a safe place to go within school.

Carers Trust and The Children’s Society Young Carers in Focus partners, are working with schools across England to share good practice and develop relevant, accessible tools and training. This initiative is funded by The Queen’s Trust and Big Lottery Fund.

By taking part in the programme, Ridgeway Academy will be able to show they are meeting the needs of this particularly vulnerable pupil group (specifically mentioned in Ofsted’s School Inspection Handbook).

Ridgeway Academy was awarded the Bronze Young Carers in Schools award in 2017.

Research shows that:

27% of young carers (aged 11-15) miss school or experience educational difficulties (40% where children care for a relative with drug or alcohol problems) (Dearden, C, Becker, S, 2004).
They have significantly lower educational attainment at GCSE level – the difference between nine Bs and nine Cs.
A quarter of young carers said they were bullied at schools because of their caring role (Carers Turst, 2013).

If you know of a student who may be undertaking Young Carer responsibilities and needs support, please do not hesitate to contact the school and speak to:-

Miss Wesson – Young Carers School Operational Lead Email: WessonC@ridgeway.aetrust.uk

Mrs Airey – Student Liaison Officer Email: AireyJ@ridgeway.aetrust.uk