The Carers Federation is delighted to announce that Bluecoat Primary Academy in Nottingham has achieved the Quality Standard in Carer Support for Schools Accreditation. This recognition reflects the school’s outstanding efforts in supporting young carers and highlights the structured and thoughtful approach taken to identify and assist pupils with caring responsibilities at home.

Bluecoat Primary is the first of 10 schools within the Archway Learning Trust to receive this prestigious accreditation. Archway Learning Trust is also the first multi-academy trust in the country to apply for trust-wide accreditation from the Carers Federation, demonstrating a pioneering commitment to supporting young carers across its network.

To achieve the accreditation, Bluecoat Primary developed a comprehensive Young Carers Development Plan to meet key criteria. This included appointing a designated Young Carers Champion, providing staff training to raise awareness, establishing robust referral systems, and strengthening partnerships with external organisations.

The accreditation process took place over seven months, during which Bluecoat Primary gathered and presented extensive evidence of its efforts. Their success underscores the school’s dedication to creating a supportive environment where young carers feel recognised and valued.

The remaining nine schools in the Archway Learning Trust are already well on the way to achieving accreditation this year, ensuring a consistent and supportive approach to young carers’ needs, especially during the transition from primary to secondary school.

Kathryn Brown, Designated Safeguarding Lead and Young Carers Champion at Bluecoat, said:

“We are incredibly proud to have received this accreditation, but for us, this is just the beginning. We recognise the immense challenges that young carers face, and we are committed to ensuring they feel seen, supported, and valued. Our goal is to create a nurturing environment where these children can thrive both academically and personally.”

Sian Hampton, CEO of Archway Learning Trust, praised the school’s dedication:

“Bluecoat Primary Academy has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to its young carers, and this accreditation is a testament to the incredible work being done. We firmly believe that no child should face these challenges alone, and this initiative ensures that our young carers receive the understanding and support they deserve.”

According to the 2021 ONS census, there are around 120,000 young carers aged 5 to 18 in England. The 2023 school census indicated that there are 39,000 known young carers in the country, according to the Children’s Society.

The Carers Federation is proud to work with Archway Learning Trust to recognise and support young carers. This initiative reinforces the importance of understanding the unique challenges faced by young carers and ensuring they receive the support they need to succeed.

The Carers Federation Quality Standard in Carer Support (QSCS) is an accreditation that helps organisations across employment, health services, schools, and higher education to identify, support, and remove barriers for carers, improving access to tailored support and promoting good practice in carer inclusion. For more information about the QSCS, please visit our dedicated page.

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We’re proud to present our annual report for 2023/24.

Click here to read/download the full report or view below.

Carers Federation is very proud to announce the award of a new Carers Contract in Gateshead. The new ”Caregivers Connected Gateshead” service will provide customised support to all caregivers living in Gateshead and will go live from early September.

The award of this contract builds on our already successful Carers Hub Service supporting carers across Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County

See Gateshead Council press release: Caregivers to benefit from a new provider of specialist services – Gateshead Council

The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 came into play earlier this year (April 2024.

It dictates that Carers are now entitled to statutory entitlement to carer’s leave. But what exactly does it all mean? We decided to put together a handy infographic to break down some commonly asked questions surrounding the Carers Leave Act.

Click here to view or download the infographic. If re-sharing, please be sure to credit us and tag us on any social media posts, or link back to this page.

There’s lots of information surrounding this so if there’s something we haven’t covered, Carers UK have plenty of information on this dedicated page: https://www.carersuk.org/…/our…/right-to-carers-leave

And of course, we’re more than happy to answer any questions you may have via our Carers Hub Service. Contact us via our website (we have many options for getting in touch) and one of our dedicated team will get back to you as soon as they can.

#carersupport#carersact2024#CarersACT

Give us your feedback on our Carers Hub Service by filling out our new digital feedback form here. We value your voice and your experience and will strive to improve the Carers Hub Service based on feedback from carers and those who are cared for.

We are delighted to publish our annual report for the year: 2022/23. It’s been another challenging year but we’re incredibly proud of all the staff and volunteers here at Carers Federation who have once again adapted to put our service users first.

You can download the report here.

It is with great sadness that Carers Federation will no longer be delivering the Action for Young Carers service, as from the 1st of October 2023.

There will, however, still be a young carers service through a new provider called TuVida. Should you wish to contact TuVida you can call them on 0115 8248824, or email youngcarers@tuvida.org

Carers Federation would like to thank all professionals and families for supporting us over the years and we wish all Young Carers and their family the best for the future.

Carers Federation offers a diverse range of expertly tailored services to individuals and the wider community.

As a Company Limited by Guarantee, we are reassuringly governed by a Board of Trustees who are themselves either carers, former carers or people who have been supported by similar services in the past. As you can imagine, this goes a long way in helping make sure we are offering the right services to those who need them most.

We believe that everyone’s individual circumstances are indeed unique and should not be compared to anyone else’s. That is why we are sensitive, as well as pertinent to the needs of individuals and communities.

If you or a carer you know have any specific information or communication needs and require information about our services in an alternative format, please let us know. Contact us on 0115 962 9310

Unhappy with our support?
Carers Federation is very proud of the support our services provide. If you are in any way unhappy with us, we want to know so we can correct mistakes and continually improve the support we offer. To help with this we have a clear complaints procedure.
Please click to download the relevant procedure:

June 2023

Carers Federation Ltd has been awarded the Advocacy Quality Performance Mark (QPM) from the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi). The QPM is the UK’s only independent quality performance mark for organisations offering independent advocacy; an essential service for people who need support to express their needs and have increased choice and control in their lives.

To gain the QPM, independent advocacy providers have to undergo a rigorous self-assessment process and policy review. This is followed by a structured site visit for NDTi assessors to meet advocates and the people they support. As well it being good practice for Local Authorities to provide advocacy to people at risk of exclusion, commissioners are required to provide statutory independent advocacy under the Mental Capacity Act, Mental Health Act, and more recently the Care Act. The Advocacy QPM provides them with a robust benchmark to measure independent advocacy services, ensuring they select the very best providers.

Philip Kerr Operations Manager responsible for Advocacy Services from Carers Federation Ltd said: “We are delighted to have once again been awarded the Quality Performance Mark for our advocacy service. This is a credit to all the staff involved who dedicate themselves to the delivery of vital support to people who use our service and demonstrates their professional abilities. The award also independently confirms standards to our wider Stakeholders and Commissioners.”

Gail Petty, QPM Manager and Lead for Advocacy and Rights at NDTi said: “The Advocacy Quality Performance Mark is only awarded to advocacy organisations who can demonstrate that they are providing excellent services to people often experiencing challenging situations in their lives. It indicates that they have the training and policies in place to ensure people’s rights are upheld and their preferences are heard and responded to.”

Originally developed by Action for Advocacy (A4A), the Department of Health funded NDTi to review and revise the QPM in 2014, working with providers, users and commissioners of advocacy services. The application process was streamlined to be as straightforward as possible, while retaining the rigour required to ensure that high standards are met. It is available to organisations providing independent advocacy in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Further information can be accessed and applications can be made via www.qualityadvocacy.org.uk.

It is with great sadness that Carers Federation intends to close its counselling service in the late spring / early summer of 2022. The service has been available free to carers since 1997 and provided practice opportunities to volunteers with counselling qualifications.

Since 2016 when local authority and CCG funding ended the service has been funded by Carers Federation Board of Trustees through its reserves. During those five years we have sought but been unsuccessful in securing alternative funding and the Board feel continued subsidy of the service is unsustainable.

We are all acutely aware that due to the pandemic, the need to support carers has never been more acute and we have witnessed an increase in referral numbers. This has therefore been a very difficult decision to make and we will honour our commitments to carers in counselling and to our volunteer counsellors.

We are ceasing to accept new referrals from this date and have notified the small number of carers on our waiting list