Support for young carers

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Are you under 18 and looking after someone in your family who is ill or disabled? This may be a parent, a brother or sister or a grandparent. Maybe you help by staying at home a lot to be there for them, helping them get washed or dressed, perhaps translating and interpreting for them, or doing lots of cleaning, shopping and cooking.

If this sounds like you, then you are a young carer. It may seem a strange way to describe yourself, because looking after someone in your family may feel like a natural role. But being a carer means you may have the right to help and support to make life easier. On this page you can find about the free support available.

Looking after someone can be stressful

It can be stressful as well as hard work looking after someone, even when you love them. And it can make it harder to keep up with things at school or to find time for yourself to relax, have fun or see your friends.

Help from the council

As a young carer you are entitled to get help and support. The council will not be looking to stop from you from supporting the person you look after, nor to separate you from that person. They will ask you what sort of support you would like to make your life and your caring role easier.

Support is available from the Early Help Teams in Family Services in the relevant borough. They can provide young carers with:

  • An assessment of their needs
  • One to one support for young carers with a high level of need
  • Advice to support young carers in their caring role
  • Information about other support services and activities they engage in

You can contact the council directly. Or, if you prefer, you can ask someone you know to contact them for you - maybe a friend or relative, a teacher, or your family doctor. Don't be afraid to ask - it is important to get the help you are entitled to.

Please contact Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's Early Help for Families Team via [email protected] or 020 7598 4601 / 020 7361 4129 for more information.

Referring a Young Carer to the Early Help team

Young Carers are children and young people aged between 5-18 years old, who provide emotional, physical or practical care to someone who experiences poor physical or mental health, a disability or a substance misuse need. 

We would like to encourage our colleagues in Children’s Services and partners such as schools and other services in the local community to promote amongst their services information about the identification of Young Carers, and where Young Carers are identified to ensure that they are being referred into our service so that they can be linked into appropriate support. 

In the Early Help Team our commitment to young carers is year-round, and we hope that through continued and consistent engagement with support we will reduce social isolation, and increase overall wellbeing of young carers across the borough. 

To refer a Young Carer for support, please contact us via [email protected].

Resources, information and advice

  • Assessment for young carers

  • Rights of young carers

  • Family Hub - The Family Hub is facilitating a fortnightly virtual group for Young Carers where you can join in fun activities or discussions. If you are a Young Carer and would like to join the group please feel free to contact the Early Help Service on 020 7598 4608 or 020 7361 4129, or [email protected]. 

  • Family Friends - a charity offering long-term practical and emotional support to disadvantaged families with a child under the age of 16 years through befriending and mentoring services. The support focuses on the parent(s), child/ren, or the whole family.

  • Insight KC - a free, friendly and confidential support service for young people who are living or affected by drug or alcohol issues. Open to young people in Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, or Westminster.

  • Young Carers Personal Budget Programme - This personal budget is aimed at raising the health and wellbeing of young carers. The programme offers payment of £150.00 for a chosen physical activity and support is given to look at which activities may be the most beneficial like dance classes, a gym membership, football, horse riding or others.

  • Sibs: support for siblings - Sibs is a registered charity offering support for sibling young carers 7 -17 year old. 

Related Advice

  1. What is the 'Early Help Service'?

Related Pages

  1. Support for disabled children and their families

Downloads

  1. Manual for Measures of Caring Activities and Outcomes for Children and Young People

Page last reviewed: 14/03/2024

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