News

Almost 80 per cent of teachers believe families with young carers have not identified themselves to social services for fear of an adverse response, a Barnardo’s report published today finds.

A poll of 1,000 teachers also found half thought the system in schools designed to identify young carers were not effective enough.

The report, Hidden Lives, also includes a survey of 83 young carers, which found they waited four years for any support and did 17 hours of caring a week, on average.

To coincide with the report, the charity has launched a publicity campaign to raise awareness of the problems facing the estimated 175,000 young carers.