Click here for all the latest updates
EDUCATION
Implementing Carer Friendly Environments in Education
What does this mean? 
Education providers such as schools, colleges, and universities play a crucial role in building Carer friendly communities by recognising and supporting both Young Carers and Adult Carers within their learning environments.
​
By offering flexible learning options, clear support pathways, and trained staff who understand Carers’ diverse needs, these institutions can help Carers of all ages remain engaged in education and achieve their potential.
​
In doing so, education providers remove barriers to learning.
They also model inclusive practices that promote understanding, compassion, and long-term cultural change across the wider community.
Why is it important? 
-
Fewer than half of young carers (46%) leave secondary school with 5 GCSEs including English and Maths, compared with around 60–65% of their peers without caring responsibilities, showing a substantial attainment gap. [1]
-
Only 49% of young carers achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and Maths at the end of primary school, compared with roughly 61% of non-carers, indicating inequalities begin early. [2]
-
Young carers miss more school on average (eg around 23 days per year) than non-carers, contributing to lost learning time. [3]
-
Young adult carers are around 38% less likely to obtain a degree than their non-carer peers, and those caring for 35+ hours per week are even less likely to achieve this level of qualification. [4]
-
Young people with caring responsibilities have much higher rates of being not in education, employment or training (NEET) than non-carers. [5]
How?  
There are many ways in which education providers can make a difference to unpaid Carers of all ages – to support better outcomes for them and help ensure the education inequalities they face are reduced.
​
Schools, Colleges and Universities should: 
-
Sign up and support the Young Carers Covenant
-
Make Carers a priority group for careers advice and widening participation initiatives.
-
Ensure they have a Young Carer/Student Carer Lead or Champion with strategic responsibility for identifying and implementing support for Carers.
-
Commit to ensuring their staff receive Carer awareness training.
Resources  
-
Understand more about the educational and attainment inequalities that carers face.
-
Read Carers Trust's report here.
-
Find further Young Carers in Schools programme information here.
-
Find out more about the Young Carers Covenant.
REFERENCES
-
Carers Trust (2025) Caring and classes 2025 – Young Carers and attainment inequalities.
-
Ibid.
-
Ibid.
-
Baowen Xue, Rebecca E. Lacey, Giorgio Di Gessa, Anne McMunn (2023) Does providing informal care in young adulthood impact educational attainment and employment in the UK?
-
All-Party Parliamentary Group for Young Carers & Young Adult Carers (2023) Inquiry into the life opportunities of young carers and young adult carers.