St Ambrose Catholic Primary School

Signpost Young Carers

Signpost Young Carers

Signpost Young Carers is part of the independent charity, Signpost for Carers which was established in 1986. Signpost Young Carers is the part of the service that supports children from the age of 6 and young adults up the age of 25.

Definition

A Young Carer is a child or young adult who spends time looking after or helping a member of their family who because of an illness or disability, mental health problem or drug and alcohol issue is unable to take care of everyday tasks themselves without some help.

The help they may give could be shopping, making meals, doing the laundry, or perhaps helping out with some nursing care, eg; giving medication or supporting someone up and down stairs or in and out of bed etc.

Signpost Young Carers offers

A range of services and groups for children and young people, which include activity groups, issue based groups, One to One support with a Young carer worker, residentials for a break away and family support.

Issue based groups

Held on a monthly basis the Wednesday group gives Young Carers a chance to take part in a whole host of creative, constructive and rewarding activities. From craft based sessions to special visits from guest speakers to celebration parties and indoor sports evenings these groups remain relaxed, friendly and professionally organised.

The groups also allow Young Carers to talk about their caring role in a safe and supportive environment.

The venue for each group is at The Heatons Centre, Thornfield Road, Heaton Moor, Stockport, SK4 3LD

Activity groups

The Thursday activity groups are for Young Carers with a substantial caring role and who are socially isolated. The groups give young carers a break from their caring responsibilities and a chance to take part in activities which they would normally find difficult to access. We provide a variety of activities which aim to build young carer’s confidence, self-esteem and social skills.

One to One support

(Taken from Signpost Young Carers website)

Signpost Young Carers Service has 2 family workers, Jude Cumbes and Jeanette Faulkner. At Signpost we strongly believe in working with families as a whole as this is the most effective way to support young carers and their families. The family service aims to reduce the young person’s caring role by ensuring the cared for has appropriate support and by working with agencies from both adult and children’s services.

Many families find it difficult to ask for support and access agencies, this can be through fear or not knowing how to get help. Families where there is a disability or illness can face many challenges and Jude and Jeanette can be an important source of support. Type of support the family team can offer;

• Full assessment of the whole family, including support needs of the person cared for and those of the young carer.
• Refer to adult services for assessment and support, to ensure that the disabled parents care needs are being met.
• Help parents to attend appointments or meetings which support their own health needs.
• Support families to access benefits and housing advice.
• Work in a multi-agency way to ensure that young carers and their family’s needs are recognised and met. For example completion of CAF’s (Common Assessment Framework) and support through the Team Around the Child process.
• Work with schools around any young carers issues and support parents to attend meetings to discuss their child’s progress.

Referrals can be made either by the family of the young carer or by school.

If you would like any additional information about services offered you can either contact myself, or visit the Signpost Young Carers website.

http://www.signpostforcarers.org.uk