On 18th March Susan Wright, our Partnerships & Participation Development worker visited Deer Park to present a plaque acknowledging achievement of the Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning (GHLL) Young Carers Accreditation.
The school achieved the accreditation back in May 2020, but restriction on non-essential visits to school during the pandemic meant the award presentation had to be postponed and they were delighted to finally receive their plaque, as we were to finally deliver it!
To achieve the award from GYC, schools must demonstrate good practice across key areas including leadership & management, awareness-raising, and support. They also need to show they are monitoring the progress of young carers to ensure they achieve their potential. Young carers at the school also feedback directly to GYC how well they feel they have been understood and supported.
Mrs. Hannis is the Young Carers Lead at Deer Park and a vocal advocate for the young people who have a caring role in their lives. She gained solid experience of working with young carers and their families in her previous role as a Locality worker at GYC. She describes how “Whilst caring leads to development of valuable skills like resilience, responsibility, time-management, kindness and empathy, caring can be isolating, worrying and stressful. For young carers this can negatively impact on their education and aspirations. At Deer Park we work hard to support all our young people but recognise that some, due to circumstances beyond their control, should get the additional recognition, help and support they deserve for their lives now and for their futures.”
Hana Gill, Development Manager (Education &Participation) relates how “Achieving this award clearly displays how hard Mrs. Hannis and the other staff at the school work to ensure that young carers are identified, understood and supported.”
If you want to find out more about the Accreditation or best practice in schools, contact hana@glosyoungcarers.org.uk or call 01452 733060 to speak to the team.
May 4, 2021
