Coleg Cambria among top institutions in the UK for work with young adult carers

Coleg Cambria has cemented its place among the top institutions in the country for its work with young adult carers.

Cambria received QSCS (Quality Standard in Carer Support) reaccreditation from The Carers Federation, having been one of the first 10 colleges in the UK to receive the inaugural award in 2020.

Examples of good practice included multiple opportunities for student engagement and feedback; proactive and continuous review and consideration of how to develop and improve further, and cross-college working and communication to embed a cohesive approach to young adult carer support.

According to the Welsh Government, there are more than 22,500 young carers and young adult carers in Wales – almost two carers in every classroom – and national data revealed they are three times more likely to be NEET (not in education, employment or training) as other young people, and five times more likely to drop out of college.

Bethan Charles, Head of Learner Services at Coleg Cambria, paid tribute to staff who worked hard to secure the accolade.

“A lot of credit must go to our Student Support team for their hard work, notably Greg Otto and Becky Preece,” said Bethan.

“As a college we demonstrated an improvement in our provision for young carers, how we have identified them and their needs, formed focus groups, increased representation on community organisations and forged new partnerships.

“Our young carers also have input into the policies we have introduced and sit on interview panels for staff in this area, which is important and gives them a say on the issues facing them and how together we can put effective strategies in place so they can achieve their education goals.”

Bethan Charles

She added: “We are pleased to achieve the reaccreditation and have more plans and ideas for support of young adult carers this year onwards. As a team we will continue to work hard to ensure their voice is heard and remove barriers to success.”

The Carers Federation said the college had “continued to provide and develop support for young adult carers”, adding: “There are effective communication pathways between different staff teams, and ongoing monitoring of both individual young adult carers and the whole cohort to ensure student carers receive the support they need.

“There is clear evidence of strategic commitment to carers, and strong team working within Student Services. It was highlighted that supporting staff with professional development, wellbeing, and workload has a positive impact on the service provided to students.

“The college has multiple pathways to encourage student engagement and feedback across the whole college population, as well as targeted carer feedback, and it was evident throughout the assessment that student involvement was valued in informing developments and improvements.

“Coleg Cambria clearly evidenced its ongoing commitment to supporting young adult carers to be active participants in the college community and achieve positive outcomes.”