Learning and Work Institute is working in partnership with The Carers Federation to improve the support that young adult carers receive in further education.
Starting in late 2019, this three-year project, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, involves L&W working with 60 further education colleges, across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Colleges will receive tailored one-to-one support to review their provision for young adult carers and implement actions that will enable them to achieve better outcomes.
National data shows that young adult carers are three times more likely to be NEET (not in education, employment or training) as other young people and five times more likely to drop out of college. By understanding young adult carers’ needs and putting effective support in place and developing effective partnership working with local services, this project will give young adult carers good opportunities to benefit from learning and fulfil their potential.
Approximately 20 colleges across England and Wales benefited from this tailored support in the first year of the project.
The project builds on the positive outcomes for six colleges involved in a pilot in 2018. Colleges reported a range of benefits of taking part including:
You will need to secure commitment from a member of your senior management team to participate in and fulfil the requirements of the free consultancy offer. This includes:
The support will also include:
Colleges interested in taking up this opportunity should complete the application form below and submit to Jackie Woodhouse.
Carers services are welcome to share this opportunity with any colleges that could benefit from this tailored support.
Solihull College worked with Carers Trust Solihull to improve their support for young adult carers in the college. Find out more in these short films