How can we support you?
Joseph Chamberlain College is the only sixth form college in Birmingham and Solihull rated ‘Outstanding’ by OFSTED, with student achievement among the highest in England. We’re a highly inclusive and vibrant college, proud of the diversity that exists among our staff and students. We recognise that some of our students will act as young carers and appreciate that this inevitably brings extra responsibility as they will be maintaining the welfare of a parent, sibling, or extended family member. We are dedicated to helping these students balance their study and caring commitments by:
- Adhering to the college’s bespoke Young Carers Policy that supports the education and welfare of all young carers
- Achieving accreditation to the Quality Standard for Carer’s Federation Limited
- Affiliating with the Spurgeons Children’s Charity’s ‘Active Young Carer Aware’ programme
- Having a dedicated DSL who is responsible for the welfare and educational progress of all young carers
- Having a dedicated Personal Progress Tutor as the first point of contact to support young carers with any day to day issues
- Communicating with a young person’s feeder school for an initial handover in order to gather what support has been in place previously and see if we can emulate this in some ways
- Working alongside any external agencies that may be supporting the young person or their family
- Providing confidential advice and emotional support to help with their caring role through the college’s Nurse Team
- Hosting monthly drop-in sessions run by the college’s two dedicated contacts from two local Young Carer Associations (YMCA and HomeGroup)
- Compiling a Support Plan for teaching staff to help young carers manage their studies and balance extracurricular responsibilities.
- Issuing students with a Young Carers Card containing emergency contact details
- Helping make necessary referrals to any relevant support services, such as mental health and well-being services