NIACE’s Work with Young Adult Carers

The aim of NIACE's work with young adult carers is to:

• Raise awareness of the needs and experiences of young adult carers (16-25)
• Support young adult carers to effectively engage in learning, have high aspirations and achieve their full potential
• Support organisations and learning providers that work with young adult carers to offer effective, tailored and flexible support
• Contribute to improving the lives of young adult carers, by developing work that helps to reduce their levels of disadvantage, isolation and marginalisation.

This work is being conducted in a number of ways, and across a number of projects.  The methodology for these projects includes:

• Desk research
• Interviews and focus groups with young adult carers, practitioners and policy-makers

The audience for NIACE's work with young adult carers is:

• Young adult carers themselves
• Young adult carers with a learning difficulty
• Staff who support young adult carers with a learning difficulty
• Staff across the informal learning and youth work sector (including Connexions staff)
• Social services, school based staff and carers' centre staff who work with young adult carers
• Policymakers
• Practitioners and managers in the FE sector

Who Cares? Project

Following the successful completion of the Nuffield Foundation project, NIACE received funding from the Department of Health Third Sector Investment Programme for a new project entitled 'Who Cares? Promoting Family Focussed Learning Opportunities for Young Adult Carers.'

The purpose of this project is to support practitioners who work with young adult carers to develop learning opportunities that are family-focussed and responsive to their needs. The Who Cares? Project also has an explicit focus upon the needs and experiences of young adult carers with a learning difficulty; a group of potential learners about whom little is currently known. The main outputs from the Who Cares? project will be:

• An Easyread book for young adult carers with a learning difficult, about their rights as a carer and access to learning.
• A short briefing paper for staff who work with young adult carers with a learning difficulty - to accompany the easyread book
• A 'Really Useful Book of Learning and Earning for Young Adult Carers 2011' (RUBLE) - this is a resource for direct use by young adult carers, to enable them to think about their learning and development, plan ahead and develop strategies for achieving their goals.
• A staff guidance paper for staff who have a role to play in supporting young adult carers - to accompany the RUBLE .
• A resource pack - for use by managers and practitioners within the FE sector.
• A training session for staff across a range of roles, to support them in their work with young adult carers. Please click on the relevant link below to access these resources:
  - Top Tips Cards - [Word]
  - Getting a Carer's Assessment - Handout - [Word]
  - A Day in the Life of a Young Adult Carer... - [Word]
  - Staff CPD presentation - [PDF]
  - Staff training session plan and notes - [Word]
  - Young Adult Carers Facts quiz HANDOUT - [Word]
  - Young Adult Carers Facts quiz answers - [Word]
  - Whole organisation approach  - [Word]
• A policy briefing paper Effective learning opportunities for Young Adult Carers [PDF]

Nuffield Foundation Project

During 2008-9 NIACE received funding from the Nuffield Foundation to produce a policy briefing paper and a project summary report to raise awareness of the issues around access to education and training for young adult carers, aged 16 - 25, as they go through key transitions. This work is now complete. The policy briefing paper and the project summary report are available as FREE DOWNLOADS from our online shop.

Supporting the Inclusion of Young Adult Carers in FE

This tool is for use by FE providers.  It is designed to support them to assess the extent to which their organisation is responsive to the needs of young adult carers, by identifying current provision, priorities for improvement and producing a development plan towards a whole-organisation approach to young adult carers.

This tool is FREE and can be accesses by clicking on the link below

Web Links
	Nuffield Project – Project Summary Report
	Nuffield Project – Policy Briefing Paper
	Supporting the Inclusion of Young Adult Carers in FE

This work will have an impact at a range of levels, it will:

• Raise awareness of the needs and experiences of young adult carers (16-25) - both at individual, policy and practice level.
• Support young adult carers to effectively engage in learning, have high aspirations and achieve their full potential
• Support organisations and learning providers that work with young adult carers to offer effective, tailored and flexible support
• Contribute to improving the lives of young adult carers, by developing work that helps to reduce their levels of disadvantage, isolation and marginalisation.

Nicola Aylward, Project Officer

NIACE
21 De Montfort Street
Leicester, LE1 7GE

Tel 0116 2047059

E-mail nicola.aylward@niace.org.uk