Need support as a young carer?
The FISH website is a great place to find the right support.
CARING FOR SOMEONE
Young carers
"I'd like some extra help with things like schoolwork while I am caring for my relative."
Support plan
A support plan can help you think about the things that matter to you, such as having more time for your school work, or taking part in activities with other young carers. It will help make sure you get to do them alongside your caring duties.
Once your young carer's assessment has been completed, we’ll help you to put together a plan of how we will support you.
What your support plan could include
Meeting your goals
There are a range of ways we can help you to achieve your goals, including:
- providing details of local community services or online resources than can help
- someone to support you 1 to 1, for example while you are at school
- access to organised activities and sessions with other young carers
- training to help you understand the condition of the person you care for and what you can do to help meet their specific needs.
Emergency plans
At times, it’s not easy being a young carer, but it can be extra hard when something unexpected happens to you or the person you care for.
We’ll discuss what you would do in emergency situations, such as if:
- you're unable to carry out your caring role, for example if you're unwell or delayed coming home from school
- someone else should be providing care, but they are ill or do not arrive and you are left alone to care
- the person you care for needs to go to hospital and you are at home on your own
- there is a home emergency, such as a gas leak or you get locked out of the house.
It should also have names of family or friends who can help care for you, or the person you care for, in an emergency situation.
Who receives a copy of the plan
You and your family will receive a copy of the plan. It can also be shared with your teachers and anyone else who is mentioned in the plan.
Updates to your support plan
We know that things change over time, and you may develop different needs or change your mind about your future goals. To keep your support plan up to date, you’ll need to tell us if anything changes. We’ll also carry out regular reviews to make sure your plan is working for you.
How to tell us if something changes
If you need to update any of the details on your support plan before your review, such as your address or details of emergency contacts, please contact us to let us know.
To contact the carer support service:
Regular reviews
Once your support plan has been created, we'll invite you to regular reviews so we can check that the plan is working ok for you. The first review will be between 3 and 6 months after it is first created.
If anything needs to change, we’ll:
- update your support plan
- check that you and your family are happy with the changes
- ask you to sign the updated plan.
You’ll then be invited to review your support plan again every 3 to 6 months.