FYC Newsletter Issue 16

8/13/2019 FYC Newsletter Issue 16

1/8

Multi-Agency Event a huge success

Fifes Young Carers Strategy Group hosted

a Multiagency awareness session for pro-

fessionals who work with children and young

people. The session took place at theAuchterderran Centre and was aimed at

improving the understanding of the issues

young carers face and the ways all profes-sionals can make a positive impact on their

lives.

The group delivered information on how toidentify a young carer, the range of support

that makes a difference to them and howFife is recording and sharing information

about young carers.

The highlight of the session (according to

the professionals who attended) was a Quiz

Newsletterfo

ryoung

carers

Inside this issue:

YC Festival

Its UR Shout

Blackpool

Interview with a

Champion

Schools Work

update

Natural Connec-

tions

Young Carers &

EMA

Support Group

News

Backpage News

Issue 16

Show delivered by members of Fife Young

Carers Focus Group. The group had scripted

the quiz to highlight the kind of support

young carers find helpful.

All attendees agreed that the session im-

proved their knowledge about young carers,

including identifying hidden young carers

and what support they could provide to

young carers they come in contact with.

Professionals from all services who have contact/work

with children and young people are invited to attend

the Young Carers Strategy Groups Twilight Awarenesssessions.

The sessions as above will look at how all professionals

can support young carers.

To make it easier for people to access the session thegroup are holding sessions in each of the seven local

areas. All sessions are from 45.30pm.

Levenmouth Area:

5th November at Buckhaven High School

North East Fife Area;

11th November at Bell Baxter High SchoolKirkcaldy Area:

4th February at Balwearie High School

Glenrothes Area:

5th February at Glenwood High SchoolCowdenbeath Area:

6th February at Beath High School

Dunfermline Area:

29th April at Woodmill High School

South West Fife Area:

30th April at Inverkeithing Primary School

For more information or to book a place contact

Margaret Gourlay on 08451 55 55 55 Ext 441977

or at

[email protected]

The Focus Group delivering

their Quiz Show

Local Area awareness events

2

2

3

4

4

5

5

6&7

8


2/8

As usual young carers from Fife were

the festival trendsetters, this year

sporting stripy onesies, which not only

kept them cosy but made them mucheasier for FYC workers to spot them in

a crowd!!

Sunday was the more serious day with

young carers getting the chance to talkto invited guests about the support

they need. It was great to see Cllr

Judy Hamilton from Fife there taking

part in the discussions.

They also took part in a variety of team building activities

which really brought them together as a group (and were alot of fun!)

They are now currently surveying the support groups to

find out what sort of

respite breaks young

carers would like to

take part in with a view

to the Focus Group

applying for funds to

allow a group of young

carers to get a break.

The Scottish Young Carers Festival is

an important highlight in the year, and

this years festival lived up to its bill-

ing.The Scottish Government funded the

event for 2 nights this year again and

the weekend was packed with brilliant

activities to keep young carers busy.

On the Friday there was the opportu-

nity to get up close to a variety of

creatures such as spiders and snakescourtesy of Cool Creatures, the

chance to decorate each other in the

tribal makeup workshop as well as

dance the night away at the disco.

Saturday was filled with activities

such as the giant inflatables, singing

and song writing workshops, cup cakedecorating and Blood and Gore Make up

workshop.

The highlight of Saturday was the visitby Times Red who previously had ap-

peared on the X Factor. There was lots

of screaming as the band performed!!!

Young Carers Festival

FYCPage2

Blood and Gore Workshop

Times Red who performed at this

years Festival

Its UR Shout Residential

The Focus Group

recently took part in

Personal Development

Training which was

funded by the National

Carers Organisation

Training Grant and

delivered by Youth 1st.

They spent a full day

building confidence,

looking at planning

events and whats in-

volved in running youth

groups.

Then over the course of a weekend away they looked at

representing others, achieving their goals and action plan-

ning.

Planning session

Feeding back findings

Which foot

did you say

we were

starting

on?...


3/8

FYCPage3

Blackpool Residential

This year there were no delays on the train, every-

thing ran to time with the young carers enjoyingsnack and chat in a very different environment.

One of the priorities when they arrived in Blackpoolwas to ensure the young carers drank plenty of wa-

ter, kept in the shade as much as possible and applied

sun cream it was hot hot hot!!!They arrived on the Monday and stayed at the Lu-

cina Hotel where they are always met with a warm

welcome. The young carers dumped their bags, then

it was straight to the Pleasure Beach. There wassomething for everyone there, with everyone having

to be patient waiting in the lines, Pepsi Max, Alice

in Wonderland, Derby Racer, Water Log Ride, Pepsi

Max to name but a few.Thankfully the beach was across the road, and after

all the energy used on the rides, chips, burgers and

drinks were bought and everyone headed over torelax. Sock, shoes and trousers rolled up feet were

cooled in sea puddles, castles built and freedom just

to be.

On Tuesday it was off to Blackpool Tower with al-

most everyone going up to the Tower Eye and walking

on the famous Glass Floor scary! Those who were

very brave took to the stairs and went to the topthat was outside even scarier! Whilst in the Tower

they also visited The Dungeons, 4D Cinema Experi-ence, Jungle Jims and Madame Tussauds!That night in the Tower Ballroom there was a Family

Entertainment Night where the young carers took

part in games and competitions that finished at9.30pm meaning they had spent almost 12 hours

there!

On Wednesday, it was time to spend money. Young

carers bought gifts, Blackpool Rock with staff en-

couraging them to buy something for themselves.There was just time to visit the Sealife Centre- by

then some young carers were asking can we not just

stay another night and I would like to live here.

Young Carers comments about the break:

What did you like best about your holiday?

Having fun, I liked the water ride the best. Eve-

rything ,it was FAB, Going to the Tower, The

Pleasure Beach.

Thanks to Carers Information Strategy Funding who

support this respite break for young carers.


4/8

Q. What is your name?

A. Mrs Doran

Q. Where do you work?

A. Im a teacher at Woodmill High

School in Dunfermline

Q. What is a Young Carers Cham-

pion?

A. A named person within the school

who will promote what a young carer iswith pupils and staff, and try to ensure

that appropriate support is put in place

for young carers . This person will alsobe responsible for ensuring that any

school initiatives and documentation

considers young carers if appropriate.

Q. Why did you decide to become a

young carers champion in school?

A. To help support a group of people

who otherwise may go unnoticed, and

to try and support new young carers.Q. What services/support can you

offer young carers in school?

Someone to talk to

someone who will just listen if

that is what the young carer wants

someone who will ensure that all

subject teachers are aware that there

may be issues at times which are be-

yond the young person's control but

which have to be dealt with

someone who can put a young

carer in touch with other young carers

within school

someone who can refer a pupil

to Fife Young Carers

we have tried a couple of drop

ins but they were not well attended at

all.

a notice board describing whata young carer is and where support is

available (this has been ordered, look

out for itcoming soon!)

Q. How can young carers atWoodmill

get in touch with you?

A. I live in the guidance suite!!!

There are also self referral

slips by the door in Guidancewhich they can leave a message

for me if I am teaching (in G3).

Interview with a .. Young Carers Champion

FYCPage4

The Young Carers Strategy Group plan to have a Young carers

Champion in key services across Fife to try to ensure young carers

get the support they need.

Its been a busy few months for Dawn Murray, FYCs

Schools Worker, Shes been visiting loads of schools all

over Fife and working hard to establish support in

schools for young carers.

Shes found many pupils didnt know what a young carer

was, and had no idea of how some pupils lives could be so

different from their own. They were very interested in

the issues of young carers and they responded with em-pathy and came to understand how they could be a

better friend and classmate.

Dawn has now established a Young Carers Champion in

10 of our 19 high schools in Fife. These members ofstaff have chosen to become involved in helping young

carers in school. They understand the issues they face

and want to help. Over the next few months the

champions will be putting in place a variety of support

for young carers.

Some schools already have a young carers notice board

which shows what support is available and who the

Champion in that school is. A profile page can be filledin by young carers at school to explain to teachers

how caring affects them - giving teachers a better

understanding of the pressures they have.

Other support that may be offered are drop- in ses-

sions, homework support clubs and in some schools,

buddying and adult mentoring for pupils through exam

times. See our back page for details of the Championsand contact Dawn on 01592 223893 if youd like more

information.

FYC Schools Worker News

Mrs Doran, Young CarersChampion at Woodmill High


5/8

The end of the summer holidays saw the start of an-

other bi-annual opportunity for 24 young carers to

participate in the Natural Connections initiative. Theprogramme consists of six different outdoor experi-ences, to help young people find out about themselves,

other people and the natural world, and leads to the

Natural Connections award.

Natural Connections is delivered for us by Outdoor

Education staff at Lochore Meadows Country Park andwe are delighted that the whole programme is again

sponsored by The Association of Fife Rotary Clubs.

This year we have split the programme into 3 sectionswith the first having been undertaken in the last week

of the school holidays. That week included team build-

ing and problem solving exercises which help towards

achieving the 'Working Together' element as well as

raft building, canoeing, rock wall climbing and the

study of the local woodlands.

We have also just completed our overnight journeywhich included a long walk followed by a canoe trip

to an island to camp! Very exciting but very wet on

the Sunday! In October we have a further week at

Lochore Meadows to complete the Natural Connec-

tions programme, followed by a chance in November

for young carers to show off what they have

achieved and to receive their Natural ConnectionsAward.

FYCPage5

Natural Connections

Getting Close to Nature!

Camping out on the Island!

Young Carers & Educational Maintenance Allowance

Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) can beclaimed by 16 year olds once they have reached their

school leaving age. To qualify for EMA a young persons

household taxable income has to be between 0 and20,351 (if one dependant child living there) and22,403 if 2 or more dependant children live in the

household.

If a young person qualifies then they get an award of30 per week. Payments are made for full weeks atten-

dance at school and paid fortnightly.

Many young carers miss school due to their caring re-

sponsibilities and are being further penalised by having

their EMA disallowed.

Payments of EMA are at the Local Authoritys discre-

tion which means in some circumstances they can decide

to make full payment even though a pupil has been

absent from school.

If a young carer has missed school due to their car-ing role they should either show their Young Carers

Authorisation Card (if they have one) or speak totheir Guidance Team to let them know that their

absence has been due to caring. Pupils have two

weeks from when their payment has been disallowed

to rectify any problems.

If you are having problems which your EMA talk to

your Guidance Teacher, Support Worker or contact

Nina Collins, Development Worker on 01592 223894.


6/8

In the Cupar & N E Fife area the July group night landed

on the same evening as the Olympic Torch Ceremony in

Dundee, so off they went over to Dundee to see Emile

Sande in concert for free. They were also entertained byTwist & Pulse from Britains Got Talent and a selection of

others. There were various stalls all over the Park giving

out a selection of freebies including Limited edition bottlesof Coca Cola, Bank of Scotland Ribbons for waving and a

Coca Cola Drum. They even managed to get their photo

taken with the Olympic Torch!!

The Cupar & N E Fife groups have also had a visit from

DAPL (Drug and Alcohol Project Ltd). They delivered an

introduction to Art Therapy as well as alcohol and drug

information sessions. It provided Young Carers with someadditional information about Drugs & Alcohol and the ser-

vice that DAPL can provide. Its great to know that DAPL

are available to work alongside us to support our Young

Carers if they need it.

All the groups have been busy learning First Aid which

covered the basics, including: Checking for Response,

How to get help, Open Airway, Check Breathing, Check

Circulation (visual search of body looking for majorblood loss), Head to toe examination, Recovery Position,

CPR, Choking, Epilepsy, Diabetes, Asthma, Major Bleed-

ing & Burns. This has proved to be a very busy 2 hoursession with each of the groups, but has been very use-

ful and informative for the young carers attending.

These sessions were funded by a National Carers Or-

ganisation Training Grant and delivered by Joe Hors-

burgh from Safety Training Courses.

Whats been happening at Support Groups?

Page6

Young Carers practicing the techniques they have

been shown.

Learning how to put someone in the recovery

position


7/8

The Special Day out for the other prize winning YoungCarer was tickets to Edinburgh Playhouse to see the mu-

sical Hairspray. The stars of which included WaterlooRoads Mark Benton, Eastenders Lucy Benjamin and X

Factors Marcus Collins. The seats were in the 5th row

too, so they got an amazing view!

Thanks to Youth 1st some of our young carers from

Levenmouth area took part in the Driving for Success

Programme. The programme covers all issues regardingowning a vehicle from road safety to basic maintenance

and included some hands on experience of driving a car

in a big car park in Glenrothes!! All the participants said

the course was fun and they learned loads!!

Whats been happening at Support Groups? (contd)

Page7

Some hands on experience on the course eyes on

the road now!!

Iain Anderson from the Fife Community Food Project and

Yvonne Wynia from the Improving Health Team visited

Cupar Intermediate Group to carry out some CookingSkills Sessions . Together they discussed lots of differ-ent, easy and healthy recipes that our Young Carers could

make at home, with very little effort and also by using up

lots of leftovers from around the house and therefore

not having to go out and spend much money. As part of

these sessions and in addition to learning how to make

and taste lots of different things, Iain gave all of our

Young Carers a copy of the recipe book to take home withthem so that they would be able to put all of their new

skills into practice.

For the 4thyear running the Rotary Club of St Andrewsdecided to support an award for a Young Carer of the

year. This year they chose to offer two awards, one for

Julie Ann Foster and one Young Carer who would rather

remain anonymous.

Julie Anns request for her special day was to do some-

thing with horses. Bruce & Sheila Alexander of the

Rotary Club of St Andrews arranged a day at

Barbarafield Riding School where Julie Ann was given the

opportunity to groom the horses and then spend the restof the day riding. Julie Ann had an amazing day, they

treated her like an absolute princess and she enjoyed

every second of it.

In addition to her day out, The Rotary Club provided

Julie Ann with 100 to spend which she did whilst on a

shopping spree in Edinburgh. Julie Ann brought along a

friend from the group for some company on the day and

to help her carry her shopping bags! A good day was had

by all!!


8/8

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KY12QT

Tel015

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www.fifeyoungcar

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Back Page News

Wanttoshareyourn

ews?

ContactNina:

nina@fifeyoungcarers

.co.uk

YoungCarersC

hampionsinschool

AuchmutyHigh

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BalwearieHigh

School -Mr

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WoodmillHigh

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ThorntonGolfClubraisedanamazing1730.96foryoungcar-

ersinFifeattheirfundraising

event.Thankstoeveryoneinvolvedforalltheirhar

dwork

andgenerosity.

FYC Newsletter Issue 16

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Transcript of FYC Newsletter Issue 16