How can schools boost young carers attendance?

How can schools boost young carers attendance?

Too many children are missing out on education due to social and emotional difficulties. Unlike students who truant they want to attend but there are complex issues which can keep them away from school.

Some students who are absent for long periods are missing school because they have caring responsibilities. Young carers looking after a family member often have many roles, from accompanying a parent to a hospital appointment, to practical tasks such as housework, cooking, and shopping.

These students can face multiple challenges which put them at risk of Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA).

Sometimes students and families can be reluctant to share the difficulties they are facing with the school. This means school staff need to act sensitively if they are concerned a child's caring responsibilities is causing them to be absent from school.

However, there are some effective ways schools can support children with caring responsibilities.

Why are young carers at risk of school avoidance?

Students with caring responsibilities are often dealing with a heavy mental load that can make them more vulnerable to EBSA.

Young carers might be:

• Concerned about an unwell parent or relative
• Tired due to caring duties
• Stressed by managing multiple household tasks
• Feeling alone and different to other students
• Worried about falling behind with homework and missing lessons
• Living in an unpredictable home environment
• Anxious about not having the correct uniform or equipment because of financial difficulties

Six actions schools can take to support young carers

Here are six actions schools can take to increase the attendance of students missing school due to caring responsibilities:

1. Raise awareness of the situation

It is important relevant teachers and staff understand the challenges the student is facing, but always check first to see if they are happy for you to share that they are a young carer with other staff members.

Where possible involve families and other agencies and professionals in discussions about ways the student can combine their caregiving duties with their learning.

2. Allow students to contact home

A student with an ill parent or relative at home or in hospital can feel very anxious when they are away from them. Giving students the opportunity to check in on them during the day, either by using the office phone or their own, can help reduce their anxiety and support them to stay in school.

For secondary school students, ensure all their subject teachers know the student may need to leave class to make or receive a call from home.

3. Be flexible around homework

It can be hard for young carers to manage homework alongside caring responsibilities. To reduce stress and anxiety around handing in their homework on time, be flexible around deadlines and offer a quiet space where the student can complete homework during breaks or free periods.

If they haven't been able to prepare for a school test, allow them to sit the test later when they have had the chance to revise.

4. Provide opportunities for a break

A student might be involved in caring responsibilities at night, making them too tired for school. To help them cope better with the school day, give them the chance to take a break if they need it and a quiet space to rest and re-charge.

Because students can feel anxious about being different to their peers, it is helpful to have a prearranged signal they can use to alert their teacher when they need time out from the classroom. This could be a colour coded card or wrist band.

5. Allow flexible school hours

Caring responsibilities are not always compatible with school hours. This can cause anxiety and put some students off from coming to school.  

One way to help reduce their anxiety around attending school is to make reasonable adjustments. For example, allowing them to start school slightly later or leave earlier, so they can take a sibling to school or attend a hospital appointment with a parent.

6. Help carers be children again

Being a young carer can be isolating and hard. So, it can really help if they can meet other young people in the same situation. Organisations like the Carers Trust, Barnados Young Carers or Carers UK offer support an advice.

If your school has several young carers, holding drop-in sessions so they can talk through the challenges they are facing with their families can also help students to feel less alone.

Being a young carer can be stressful, isolating and significantly impact a student’s education experience. Action for Children report that over a quarter of young carers aged 11-15 regularly miss school and 23% of young carers in the UK say their caring role has stopped them making friends.

By making reasonable adjustments, schools can help children with caring responsibilities combine schoolwork with caring. Early intervention and support will reduce the risk of school absence.