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It is estimated nationally that 1 in 8 young people are young carers so if you work with young people you will be working with young carers.

This is the first dedicated Young Carers of Dundee News which brings together all the information, advice and resources available in Dundee to support you to identify and support the young carers you work with.
Resources


*New* Primary School Resource Pack

Dundee Carers Centre has developed a dedicated Young Carers Resource Pack to help primary schools across the city identify and support young carers.

In the pack, staff will find session plans, storybooks, and practical activity resources to help build a comprehensive programme for young carer groups. Overall, the resources aim to help primary school young carers understand their caring role and develop peer support networks.

The pack will also include a range of leaflets and information on specialist support from the Carers Centre and schools.

All Primary Schools should have received their packs through information sessions held in June and August 2022.

For more information, or to check that your school has received their pack please contact your schools Dundee Carers Centre link worker or the Centre directly on 01382 200422.
 
Dundee Carers Centre staff showing other professionals the new Primary School Pack boxes
High School PSE Pack

As you plan your PSE programme this year, please remember that there is a dedicated school resource pack available from Carers of Dundee website. The resource includes 3 lesson plans and resources per year group from S1 – S4.  

We would encourage all schools to use these resources each year as they’re a great way to raise awareness and lead to young carers self-identifying and coming forward for support.

Please let your Dundee Carers Centre link worker know when your young carers PSE lessons are planned so they can support your guidance team, and the school Young Carer Ambassadors are also always keen to support these lessons.  

These resource as also suitable to be adapted to a youth work setting – if you work in a youth group and would like more information please contact Dundee Carers Centre direct on 01382 200422.
https://carersofdundee.org/wp-content/uploads/schools-resource-pack2020.pdf    
 
Young Carer Ambassadors

There are now 24 Young Carer Ambassadors undertaking volunteering roles alongside young carer co-ordinators and Dundee Carers Centre staff in schools across Dundee and D&A College.  These young people are young carers, supported by Dundee Carers Centre, who have volunteered to raise awareness in their school and provide support to other young carers.

Young Carer Ambassadors receive full training, are registered for Saltire Awards and have the opportunity to take part in other learning, training, trips and accreditation opportunities such as Dynamic Youth Awards.

10 of our young carer ambassadors recently participated in the Big Ideas Weekend run by Youth Scotland at Stirling University where they participated in workshops such as Problem Solving, Team Building, Special Effects Make Up, Emotional Intelligence and much much more. They are now back in school and full of enthusiasm to use these new skills to enhance our support to young carers in Dundee.  
 
3 images of young carer ambassadors from Big Ideas Weekend showing group o young carer ambassadors and 2 young carer ambassadors showing thei artwork

“I am loving my role as YC Ambassador. It was a bit unclear of what my role was going to be at the start but now I am starting to see progress through my school it really makes me feel like there is value in the role I am doing. It a great honour to be in a position where my voice is heard and I feel like I can actually make changes for carers in my school.” (Young Carer Ambassador)
Carers Of Dundee Website

If you haven’t used it before, do check out the Carers of Dundee website which is constantly being updated with new information and resources. If you would like to embed it in your organisation’s homepage or intranet – get in touch, we’d love to help!

There’s lots to explore – we are just highlighting a few pages – but do take time to explore. 

School Information Portal

This is a brand new resource which allows young carers, workforce and families find out key information for young carers at every school in Dundee. This will include details of the Young Carer Co-ordinator, Dundee Carers Centre Link worker, Short Breaks Link worker and Young Carer Ambassadors.
It will also include information on current groups or activities for young carers at that school. This is a brand new resource with information currently being updated and added.  If you would like to update the information page for your school please get in touch directly with communications@dundeecarerscentre.org.uk
 

Young Carers Page

All the information and resources you might need to help you identify and support young carers are here. This includes leaflets on identifying young carers, supports available and guidance for staff on types of support and how to complete young carer statements.
Information on additional resources available to young carers such as the Young Scot Young Carer Package and Young Carer Grant can also be found here.

School Leavers Page

For those of you working with senior phase pupils, you will already be supporting them to plan for transition and leaving school. We have gathered all our information and resources for young adult carers in one place with information on supports available from higher and further education, and flexible learning opportunities for those who do not yet have a planned destination.

Did you know that Dundee Carers Centre runs an annual young carers transition programme in partnership with D&A College and provides transition support to young carers with other destinations and none?  If you have young carers you feel would benefit from this tailored support please get in touch with your Dundee Carers Centre link worker.
 
Young Carers aboard kayaks on sunny day

Young Adult Carer feedback on transition programme:
“I really enjoyed meeting up with the other carers as we got to do fun activities which helped boost my mood and confidence. I loved meeting all the other people as I feel as if my friend group has expanded. I also met a girl who's also in the same course as me which was fantastic. I feel very supported in starting my new college year and feel as if I can start afresh knowing that I am being supported in my journey to obtaining my qualification.”

“I honestly think that if it hadn’t been for the college orientation day I would have been really freaking out about starting college. I’m actually really excited about it now.”
Short Breaks

Caring means something different for everyone, but one thing that carers tell us all the time is that they cannot keep going without a break. Dundee Carers Centre Short Breaks Team now have a named broker for Dundee Schools. Check out the online schools portal for your school’s contact.

Our trained Short Break Brokers support carers to identify the best break option and funding to make this possible. This means that breaks are tailor-made for the needs and interests of the carer. A short break does not necessarily have to mean a break from home. Carers decide when, where, with who and what they want to do. Some examples of short breaks we have provided include entry to day attractions (e.g., zoo, cinema), sporting equipment, therapies/treatments, meals out and anything to help carers pursue a hobby.

Please get in if you have any questions or would like to make a referral to the Short Break Service.
 
Image of Leanne, Christine and Lisa from the Short Braks Service with details of the schools they support
Learning and Training

If you work with young people and want to know more then just let us know! There is a dedicated emodule on the Carers of Dundee website for practitioners which guides you through how to identify young carers and the supports currently available. There are a range of other modules suitable for practitioners, carers and their family members.

We know that a number of school staff have accessed and completed the e-module and hope that one day we can say all staff in Dundee schools have completed it. If you haven't yet looked at this resource then you can do so here.

Young Carers Module feedback:

“Good module covering lots of information with good examples.”

“Great module, very clear and concise.”

“A great module that really highlights the need to support young carers both in education or leaving full time education.”

Dundee Carers Centre offers tailored information sessions and training for your school in-service days, staff CLPL, Guidance or other team meetings. If you would like more information and to arrange a session for your school, team or agency please speak to your Dundee Carers Centre Link Worker or contact Dundee Carers Centre directly on 01382 200422. 
 
Carers Of Dundee Learning Portal. Image of woman accessing online learning on laptop whilst njoying a cup of tea or coffee
Health and Wellbeing

Steph and Angela from The Corner Dundee Young Carer Outreach Team will be working with young carers across Dundee offering young carers a holistic health assessment.
 
The health assessments are an opportunity for young carers to reflect on their life and allow for any unmet needs to be identified and support to be put in place to address these needs and improve their health outcomes. This is very exciting as Dundee is the first local authority in Scotland to implement holistic health checks for young carers. The health checks will be available to high school pupils S3-S6. This will also be implemented in Dundee & Angus College for school leavers.

Steph and Angela will be ensuring all high school young carers have been issued with a Wellbeing Box. The Wellbeing Box contains several different items which promotes resilience and positive mental health and wellbeing.

The Drop-In at The Corner is up and running again from 1pm to 6pm Monday - Friday. All young people aged 11-19 (or up to 26th birthday if vulnerable) can access The Corner through Drop-In or can make an appointment via The Corner’s website.
 
Image of Steph and Angela from The Corner Dundee stnding in front of the Corner offices. The Corner's logo is on the right of the image
 
Funding to Support Work With Young Carers

To support the ongoing implementation of the Carers Act (Scotland) 2016, schools, children's services teams, community organisations or groups working with young carers in Dundee can apply for funding to help improve early intervention and collaborative approaches to identifying and supporting young carers in the City.   
 
An application form and full updated guidance are available from sarah.boath@dundeecarerscentre.org.uk or fiona.low@dundeecity.gov.uk. Please note that this is updated guidance which replaces guidance issued in 2021. The application should be able to demonstrate that it contributes to one of the four key priorities established by the Young Carers Sub-group to implement the duties in the Carers Act locally and involves young carers in the development of the application.

This is an ongoing programme and applications will be considered by the Young Carers Sub-group throughout the year. The next meetings of the Subgroup are shown below, and applications should be received one week prior to the meeting for consideration. Completed applications should be emailed to sarah.boath@dundeecarerscentre.org.uk
 
  • Tuesday 25th October 2022
  • Tuesday 6th December 2022
 (Dates for 2023 to be confirmed)

Funding approved so far has supported young carers access learning, training and accreditation opportunities such as First Aid and REHIS Cooking Skills; provided games, play equipment and arts and crafts resources for newly established groups; contributed to funding trips and activities such as a Christmas panto trip or to Edinburgh Zoo to enable young carers to widen their horizons and experience activities they might have missed out on due to their caring role.

Please do not hesitate to contact Sarah Boath, Mark MacAulay, Fiona Low, or Ashley McIntosh if you have any queries.

Visit www.carersofdundee.org for more on:

  • Carers information & advice
  • Young carers information & advice plus information and resources for youth support services and schools
  • Service directory
  • Events page packed with online information events and group sessions
  • Learning Portal packed with e-modules including Everyone Cares E-module
Remember to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates for carers. If you are an organisation that would like to be featured on the Carers of Dundee website, please contact support@carersofdundee.org

If you are an organisation and you are sharing any posts relevant to carers on social media, tag us using #CarersOfDundee and we will share or retweet.
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Copyright © 2021 Carers Of Dundee. All Rights Reserved.
Carers Of Dundee is managed by Dundee Carers Centre on behalf of the Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership.
Charity no. SC024115. Company no. SC160754.

www.carersofdundee.org

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Dundee Carers Centre · Seagate House · 132-134 Seagate · Dundee, Tayside DD1 2HB · United Kingdom

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