A report of the experiences of young carers in Bexley Borough

This report presents the findings of a small snapshot study into the experiences and views of 27 young carers in Bexley aged 8-16 years of age. The report is not an evaluation of the services provided by Bexley Young Carers, a service run by IMAGO, but of the experiences of a small number of young carers (YC’s).

Healthwatch Bexley (Healthwatch) held three engagements with YC’s who attend the Bexley Young Carers, Chill Club (CC) a service run by IMAGO. These were in the form of an initial focus group (n14) which was followed by two fun evenings, each attended by 13 YC’s, where the YC’s were able to play, tell us about their experiences and take part in different games and activities. A representative from the MIND carers group joined Healthwatch on the final visit to chat about taking time out and feelings.

As part of the Bexley Young Carers service provided by IMAGO, all YC’s are assessed. Those who are at a high to medium risk of inappropriate or excessive caring are supported through1:1 sessions and attend CC, depending on their individual needs. However, CC is only a small part of the support offered to YC’s by Bexley Young Carers. An over view of the Bexley Young Carers service run by IMAGO can be found in Appendix 1.

To explore the experiences of the harder to reach YC’s, a member of the Bexley Young Carers team kindly team took a short questionnaire to 6 of the YC’s they visited in the school setting.

Healthwatch also met with representatives from Bexley Moorings who run a young person’s befriending service, they were kindly able to provide us with 3 anonymous case studies of YC’s who choose to access their services. A further 5 anonymous case studies have kindly been provided by Bexley Young Carers to demonstrate the range of support they provide to YC’s.

The key findings included for many of the YC’s that Healthwatch engaged with, attending CC was the only activity outside of school that they were able to take part in. They said it was easier to talk to other YC’s at the group as they had a shared understanding of being a young carer. 83% of YC’s told Healthwatch they provided or sometimes provided care during the night and believed that caring did not affect their school life. However, 69% told Healthwatch they were late or sometimes late for school with 62% never or only sometimes being able to complete their homework on time.