This course takes a strength-based approach: young carers often manage their responsibilities with real skill and maturity, and sessions aim to build on that rather than frame caring as purely a deficit. It reflects DfE's inclusion of young carers in the statutory school census since 2023 and the Young Carers in Schools programme, and supports Ofsted's Personal Development and Inclusion focus, which expects schools to identify and support pupils whose circumstances outside school affect engagement and attainment.
Objective: Pupil can describe the pupil's caring responsibilities in the pupil's own words and feel heard without judgement.
Check-in: Simple, warm opening: 'Tell me a bit about your week at home, if you'd like to.' No pressure to share more than feels comfortable.
Input: Explain what a 'young carer' means in plain terms, any young person who helps look after a family member with an illness, disability, mental health condition or addiction, and that it's a recognised, valued role, not a secret to be ashamed of.
Activity: Pupil completes a simple 'a day in my life' timeline, marking where caring tasks fit alongside school and free time, at whatever level of detail feels comfortable.
Reflect: What's one thing about your role you're proud of? Agree nothing formal yet, Week 1 is about being heard.
Watch for: Some pupils don't identify as a 'young carer' even when they clearly are, avoid pushing the label if it doesn't fit how the pupil sees the pupil's own situation yet.
Parent/carer take-home: No specific task this week, simply be aware that home routines may be more complex than usual, and keep communication with school open if anything changes.
Objective: Pupil can identify where caring responsibilities and school demands compete, and name one area of tension.
Check-in: Review the timeline from Week 1, anything the pupil noticed since then?
Input: Introduce the idea of a 'time balance', caring, school, and personal time all matter, and it's common for one to squeeze out the others without anyone planning it that way.
Activity: Pupil sorts a set of weekly activities (homework, chores, caring tasks, seeing friends, rest) into a simple three-column balance chart and discusses where the biggest pressure points are.
Reflect: Which area feels most squeezed right now? Agree to notice one moment this week where time felt tight.
Watch for: Homework and coursework deadlines are often the first thing to slip for young carers, flag this gently as something the school can help adjust, not something to feel guilty about.
Parent/carer take-home: If it feels appropriate, ask the pupil what part of the week feels busiest, this is for understanding, not to add anything extra to the pupil's plate.
Objective: Pupil can name at least two coping strategies or moments of rest that work for the pupil.
Check-in: Check in on the tight moment noticed last week, what happened, and how did the pupil manage it?
Input: Introduce the idea that even short moments of rest or connection count as self-care, it doesn't need to be a big block of free time to make a difference.
Activity: Pupil builds a personal 'what helps' list, people, activities, or small moments that make things feel more manageable, and picks one to try more deliberately this week.
Reflect: What's the smallest thing that actually helps? Agree to try it once, even for five minutes.
Watch for: Some young carers find it genuinely hard to imagine time 'just for them', if the list is short, that's useful information, not a failure to fix in one session.
Parent/carer take-home: If the pupil mentions wanting a small moment of downtime, support this where you can, even five minutes protected and uninterrupted can matter.
Objective: Pupil can name at least one person or service, beyond the mentor, the pupil could go to for support.
Check-in: Review how the chosen 'what helps' strategy went this week.
Input: Introduce local young carers services and school-based support (pastoral lead, young carers lead if the school has one) as places built specifically to help, not as a sign that something has gone wrong.
Activity: Pupil maps the pupil's existing support network (family, friends, school staff, services) and identifies any gaps. Discuss what a young carers group or service might offer, in plain, low-pressure terms.
Reflect: Who's one person you'd feel comfortable going to if things got harder? Agree this doesn't need to be used yet, just known.
Watch for: Some pupils worry that accessing support means their family will be seen as failing, or that they'll be taken away from caring duties they value, reassure that support is about helping the whole family, not removing the pupil's role.
Parent/carer take-home: If comfortable, let the pupil know the pupil's school has staff who understand caring roles and are there if things ever feel like too much, this reassurance matters more coming from home too.
Objective: Pupil has a personalised plan and knows how to flag it if the pupil's caring responsibilities change.
Check-in: Review the five weeks together, what feels different from Week 1's timeline?
Input: Summarise what's been covered: understanding the role, balancing time, coping strategies, and support available.
Activity: Co-create a one-page plan: a named point of contact at school, one coping strategy that works, and a simple way to flag it if home circumstances change (e.g. a caring role increasing suddenly).
Reflect: What's one thing you feel more confident about now? What would help most going forward?
Watch for: Caring responsibilities can change quickly (a family member's health worsening, for example), agree a light-touch review point rather than closing support entirely.
Parent/carer take-home: Keep a copy of the plan somewhere accessible, and know that reaching out to the named school contact is welcome any time circumstances at home change.