Part 1 - Introduction

Transcription

1 MAY 2016

2 Part 1 - Introduction This report was commissioned by Northumberland County Council NCC as a follow up to the report Our Voice published in May We wanted to look specifically at the health and well-being of young carers in Northumberland. Being a young carer can often have a severe and longlasting impact on a young persons health and wellbeing (Carers Trust, 2014). VoiCeS in collaboration with Active Northumberland undertook a series of fun and interactive events for young carers between February and April 2016, at which two short questionnaires were completed by the young persons. This report is designed for a wide audience of key stakeholders, including commissioners, funders and decision makers. It is also for young people and their families. It is an opportunity to hear the voices of young people. There is no one agreed definition of a young carer, however NCC uses the following - A young carer is anyone under the age of 18, whose life is in some way restricted because of the need to take responsibility for the care of someone, usually in their family. Many young carers assume significant levels of responsibility normally associated with an adult. It should not be assumed that all children whose parents are ill or disabled are automatically young carers. However, an increasing number of disabled and ill adults are forced to rely on their children for their survival and well-being, resulting in their children becoming young carers. (Northumberland Joint Carers Strategy ). Although this definition relates to under 18s, there are a number of young adult carers aged years of age, for whom this definition is also relevant. Young carers may support a parent, or other family member. They might help or care in the following ways: emotional support personal care cooking, housework and shopping budgeting and paying bills looking after younger siblings Page2

3 When a young person is identified as a young carer, the needs of everyone in the family must be considered. This should trigger action from both children and adults services assessing why a child is caring, what needs to change and what would help the family to prevent children from taking on inappropriate levels of care. In Northumberland, when an agency identifies a child or young person in a household who they feel may have caring responsibilities, a referral will be made to the Early Help hub (EH hub) to discuss which agency is best placed to complete an Early Help Assessment (EHA). There are four EH hubs in Northumberland West, Central, North and South East. Part of the EHA process is the forming of Team Around the Family (TAF) and identification of a Lead Professional. Their role is to coordinate the plan and to ensure the family are kept central to the service delivery. According to the 2011 census in Northumberland, approximately 6% of young people provide unpaid care. However, Recognised, Valued and Supported: Next steps for the Carers Strategy, (Department of Health (2010) acknowledged that many young carers remain hidden from health, social care and education services. This is partly because these services need to do more to identify them; but also because families fear that the children will be taken into care. Sometimes young people themselves are concerned about stigmatisation from others and bullying by their peers (Social Care Institute for Excellence [SCIE] 2005). As a consequence, the actual figure of young carers in Northumberland is likely to be considerably higher. In a recent report Young People in Northumberland (NCC, 2015), of 3,500 young people surveyed, 6% said that they were a young carer, and 6% said they were not sure if they were a carer.

4 VoiCeS Northumberland is a Voluntary and Community Sector Organisation (VCS). We are the only Northumberland based VCS organisation dedicated to supporting VCS organisations that work with children, young people and families. We work across a range of areas including; safeguarding and protecting children and young people, tackling poverty and social exclusion, speaking up for children s and young people s voices to be heard and promoting ways of working that effectively support children, young people and their families so they receive help at the earliest point. We feel passionate about young carers issues and have contributed for several years to the Young Carers Action Planning Group and, more recently, to the Carers Reference Group. We continue to work alongside our Partners to provide a VCS perspective and route to connect with the Sector in strategic places like the Health and Wellbeing Board and Northumberland Safeguarding Children Board (NSCB). We held four different sessions with two groups of carers, age range 8 to 17 years, and asked them during the sessions to complete a short survey one about their general health and well-being, and another specifically about food and healthy eating. Figures in brackets are the number of carers who completed the surveys. One group session with Cramlington young carers (17) was held to complete the health and well-being survey and another with the same group at a Clip n Climb session held at Concordia leisure centre in Cramlington in March 2016 (20), at which the food survey was completed. Further sessions were held with Berwick young carers. The food survey was completed at a horse riding and equine care session held at Swinhoe Riding Stables, March 2016 (9) and the Health and Well Being survey at a crafts, mime and dressing up activity held at Berwick Childrens Centre in April 2016 (7). Consent from the young carers and their parents or guardians was obtained prior to the activities. Page 4

5 Part 2 - What did the Young Carers tell us? This section is about what the young people told us. Their responses have been split into two groups young carers under 13 (YC) and teenage carers, 13 and over (TC). Were fruit and vegetables easy to buy? All the YC said yes. Most of the TC said yes, one said no and another said they were too expensive. The supermarket was the most common place to buy fruit and vegetables. Page 5

6 The most popular fruit and vegetables were: One YC and four TC said they had no fruit and vegetables in their diet.

7 Favourite Meals The most popular meals for both groups were pasta, takeaways, chicken nuggets and curries. PASTA TAKEAWAYS CHICKEN NUGGETS CURRIES We asked if they had plenty to eat home and school All the YC said they had enough to eat at home and at school 5 of the TC s answered no or somewhat to having enough to eat at home 4 of the TC S answered no to having plenty to eat at school often the young people miss meals as they feel stressed about their lives and feel too emotional to eat (Support worker) We have found during sessions that many of the young carers are hungry. We try and provide something for them to eat. (TC) Most YC had school dinners and most said they liked the food 5 TC regularly ate nothing at school at all, 1 had takeaways. Most had school dinners half enjoyed them and half did not I don t like eating at school the queues are too long (TC) I don t like people watching me eating (TC) Most of the YC had three meals per day, and all had breakfast 9 of the TC had no breakfast, 3 had no set meals, and 2 said they snacked throughout the day

8 Healthy Eating Almost all the YC and the TC knew which foods were unhealthy chocolate, sweets, takeaways, crisps. Most knew the risks to health diabetes, heart problems, malnutrition Most of the young people seemed less clear about what was healthy except for fruit and vegetables Nearly every young carer said that they sometimes ate unhealthy food We asked how young people could be encouraged to eat more healthily? Grow more healthy foods Have a food festival Lower prices for healthy foods Have a vegetable garden Design some posters Advertise healthy foods more Have some nice alternatives to unhealthy foods Young carers are keen to cook, so they can share their food (Support Worker)

9 Food Banks A third of YC had heard of foodbanks, but no-one knew anyone that had used one Almost all TC had heard of foodbanks, half of them knew where the foodbanks were located Half knew someone who had used a foodbank FOOD S N O I T A N O D FOOD S N O I T A N O D

10 Worrying More than half of the young people worried most days The biggest worries for TC s were exams, the way they looked, someone else s health, school The biggest worries for YC s were exams, school But more than a third of carers also worried about family rows, being talked about, money and the future I worry if I m told off, and then I find it hard to sleep (YC) I worry about getting bullied when I go up to High School Bullying More than half of the carers had experienced some form of bullying, at or on the way to school, or outside of school. Only 1 YC had experienced cyber bullying compared to a third of TC s. However, most of the young carers knew where to access help, had done so and said the situation had been resolved The young carers have playground buddies to go to if they are having problems They are confident in talking to their families, school teachers, drop ins at youth projects and support workers at the Young Carer group (Support Worker) Feelings Almost half of both groups reported feeling nervous in new situation and half often felt restless or distracted Two thirds of the TC were often on their own or preferred to be on their own. Nearly half of the YC were often on their own Half of both groups said they were often accused of lying or cheating More than half of both groups often felt angry: sometimes I lash out I m kinda weird Two thirds of TC got on with adults better than their peers, and half of YC did too Most carers sometimes felt unhappy or fearful some of the time Most carers in both groups had one or more good friends but the TC were more anxious that they might not be liked by their peers. Most carers said they tried to be nice, that they volunteered to help and that they were kind to younger children Page 10

11 General Health Most of the carers who had any health condition said it did not limit what they could do Almost half at both groups reported regular headaches The most common health complaint in the YC group was eczema. In the TC group, 3 carers said they had ADHD, 2 said they had depression and anxiety, 2 said they had mental health problems, 1 with learning dificulties, 4 with Asthma I care about others well-being before my own (TC) What made the young carers feel good? Spending time with friends was the most important thing to TC s, followed by parents, after school clubs and sports. One young carer said the only thing that made them feel good was their computer. What makes me feel good is time to myself (TC) Every YC said their parents and sports made them feel good. All but one said their computer made them feel good, and friends, siblings and school were ranked highly Exercise Only 2 young people did no exercise outside of school. YC tended to do more team sports, and TC did more individual exercise, mainly going to the gym 3 YC said lack of transport prevented them from doing exercise outside of school, or because it was too expensive. Two thirds of TC s said having no-one to go with was the main reason for not exercising outside of school, more than a third said they did not have enough time, or it was too expensive, and a third said lack of transport or embarrassment were the main reasons Favourite Sports and Exercise Both groups said they enjoyed horse riding Make sure the report says that we want to go horse riding again! (YC) Rugby, Tennis, hockey, gym, dance, We would like to try bubble football (TC)

12 The young carers who took part in the activity sessions were keen to share their views and ideas through the surveys. Many carers reported spending quite a lot of time alone sometimes by choice, and sometimes not. Many described getting on better with adults rather than with their peer group. While carrying out the focus groups we were struck by a large amount of support offered by the young carers workers and excellent peer support which was evident within the groups. This support is valued by young carers. More than half of both groups struggled with negative emotions including worry, anger, nervousness, restlessness, unhappiness, fearfulness and distraction. We feel with the huge demand on mental health services for children and young people in Northumberland it is important to increase the resources of existing young carers groups in the county and the number and spread of young carers specific support to offer more one to one support seeking to support young carers emotional wellbeing. Half of the children had experienced some form of bullying, mainly at, or on the way to school. It could be suggested that bullying strategies appear to be working as most young people reported that the situation had been resolved and all the young people said they felt confident talking to someone about it, whether at school, drop in sessions, home or at the young carer support groups. Half of both groups had been accused of lying or cheating we thought this was an interesting finding. Further research would be useful to ascertain if there are differences between young carers and non-carers. We suggest collecting further data using a control group of non-caring young people, to facilitate this. It would be good to offer more information to young people about which foods are healthy. Almost all the young carers in both groups had a very good understanding of what foods and drinks were unhealthy. They were less confident in describing a healthy diet, apart from fruit and vegetables. Schools and youth project could consider implementing some of the young people s excellent ideas to promote healthy eating, and growing and cooking their own food was a popular option. Most reported general good health, and most were physically active, participating in a range of individual and team sports. However, about half in both groups reported regular headaches. In the teenage carers there were higher numbers reporting mental health problems. Friends and family, school clubs and sports were things which made young carers feel good.

13 There were many similarities in responses from the two groups, but some key differences between the younger and older carers: The teenagers were much more likely to report skipping breakfast, not eating at school and to snacking throughout the day. The teenagers were also more worried about how they looked and some embarrassed to participate in sports. All of the younger carers reported having enough to eat. A quarter of the teenagers agreed with the statement that they did not always have enough to eat at home, one support worker of the older group agreed that some of the carers were hungry when they came to the sessions for young carers. Half of the teenagers who responded knew someone who had accessed a foodbank, whilst no-one in the younger group did. Thank you for listening to the voice of young carers in Northumberland. We are hopeful that as we work together, we can maintain and improve appropriate support for young people who have additional caring responsibilities.

14 Thanks to all the young carers who took part in the sessions, their support workers at Cramlington and Berwick and Active Northumberland. Carers Trust, (2010) My Care Report, available on-line here - accessed on: 24/4/16. Carers UK, (2011) In Sickness and Health, available on-line here - accessed on: 24/4/16. Carers UK, (2013) Nutrition and Caring, available on-line here - accessed on:29/4/16. Department of Health (2010), Recognised, Valued and Supported: Next steps for the Carers Strategy, available on-line here - accessed on: 29/4/16. Department of Health, (2011) Supporting the Health and Well-Being of Young Carers, available on-line here accessed on: 23/4/16. Guardian, (2016) Child Mental Health Worse Than Suspected, available on-line here - accessed on: 29/4/16. Independent, (2016) Malnutrition and Other Victorian Diseases, Soaring in England, available on-line here - accessed on 24/4/16. NCC, (2015), Young People in Northumberland, available on-line here NCC, ( ) Joint Carers Strategy, available on-line here - accessed on:29/4/16 Oxfam, (2015) Poverty in the UK, available on-line here - accessed on 29/04/16 Social Care Institute for Excellence [SCIE] (2005) Research Briefing 11: The Health and Well-Being of Young Carers), available on-line here - accessed on: 29/4/16 Trussell Trust (2016) Latest Statistics, available on-line here - accessed on:29/4/16. Page 14