UCL invites young carers to give their views on new research ahead of Young Carers Action Day 

Young Carers Action Day is an annual event organised by Carers Trust to raise awareness of the pressures placed on the many young people who have caring responsibilities. This year’s theme is Fair Futures for Young Carers, highlighting how young carers are less likely to undertake higher education or enter employment than their peers without caring responsibilities. 

‘EUROCARE: Inequalities in informal caregiving over the adult life course in Europe’ is a pan-European consortium of colleagues from the UK, including researchers from UCL, Germany, Spain, and Norway investigating the inequalities facing carers at different stages of the life course. The Young Adult research focuses on the impact of providing care in early adulthood on key life course transitions to employment and family life, educational attainment and health. 

The workshop which was run by UCL’s Access and Widening Participation team, including some of the EUROCARE team, along with the Carers Trust, forms part of a broader body of work exploring how young adult carers can be best supported and the findings will be used to help shape policy around this. As part of the workshop, the audience of young carers took part in a ‘road map’ activity, where they mapped out their lives, highlighting the key turning points and moments, as well as their hopes and aspirations for the future. 

The attendees were taken on a tour of the UCL campus and also participated in a short workshop on supporting their transition to higher education – the topics covered included the UCAS application and contextual admissions, highlighting that young carers may be eligible for the Access UCL scheme. 

Jalal Pour, UCL Senior Widening Participation Officer (Priority Groups), said: 

“It was great to help host this event and hear from UCL academic colleagues about the work they are doing to understand the impact that caregiving can have on areas such as health, education and work. One of the findings that really stood out from this research was that young adult carers were no less likely than their peers to complete their A-levels or equivalent qualifications, but were 38% less likely to obtain a university degree. 

This highlights the need for all universities to consider how they can support young carers in accessing and succeeding in higher education.” 

UCL recognises that having caring responsibilities can have adverse effects on life and study plans and we are committed to increasing our intake of students from this group. You can read more about the work UCL does with students with caring responsibilities, including the support available via Access UCL, by checking our dedicated webpage. 

Further Links 

• Young Carers Action Day (13 March 2024) 
• Support for students with caring responsibilities 
• UCL Access Scheme 
• Young Carers less likely to graduate from university 
• UCL Access and Widening Participation Priority Groups 
• News: Office for Students adds Young Carers to its Risk Register 
• EUROCARE web portal 
• Carers Trust