8/13/2019 FYC Newsletter Issue 16
1/8
Multi-Agency Event a huge success
Fifes Young Carers Strategy Group hosted
a Multiagency awareness session for pro-
fessionals who work with children and young
people. The session took place at theAuchterderran Centre and was aimed at
improving the understanding of the issues
young carers face and the ways all profes-sionals can make a positive impact on their
lives.
The group delivered information on how toidentify a young carer, the range of support
that makes a difference to them and howFife is recording and sharing information
about young carers.
The highlight of the session (according to
the professionals who attended) was a Quiz
Newsletterfo
ryoung
carers
Inside this issue:
YC Festival
Its UR Shout
Blackpool
Interview with a
Champion
Schools Work
update
Natural Connec-
tions
Young Carers &
EMA
Support Group
News
Backpage News
Issue 16
Show delivered by members of Fife Young
Carers Focus Group. The group had scripted
the quiz to highlight the kind of support
young carers find helpful.
All attendees agreed that the session im-
proved their knowledge about young carers,
including identifying hidden young carers
and what support they could provide to
young carers they come in contact with.
Professionals from all services who have contact/work
with children and young people are invited to attend
the Young Carers Strategy Groups Twilight Awarenesssessions.
The sessions as above will look at how all professionals
can support young carers.
To make it easier for people to access the session thegroup are holding sessions in each of the seven local
areas. All sessions are from 45.30pm.
Levenmouth Area:
5th November at Buckhaven High School
North East Fife Area;
11th November at Bell Baxter High SchoolKirkcaldy Area:
4th February at Balwearie High School
Glenrothes Area:
5th February at Glenwood High SchoolCowdenbeath Area:
6th February at Beath High School
Dunfermline Area:
29th April at Woodmill High School
South West Fife Area:
30th April at Inverkeithing Primary School
For more information or to book a place contact
Margaret Gourlay on 08451 55 55 55 Ext 441977
or at
The Focus Group delivering
their Quiz Show
Local Area awareness events
2
2
3
4
4
5
5
6&7
8
8/13/2019 FYC Newsletter Issue 16
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As usual young carers from Fife were
the festival trendsetters, this year
sporting stripy onesies, which not only
kept them cosy but made them mucheasier for FYC workers to spot them in
a crowd!!
Sunday was the more serious day with
young carers getting the chance to talkto invited guests about the support
they need. It was great to see Cllr
Judy Hamilton from Fife there taking
part in the discussions.
They also took part in a variety of team building activities
which really brought them together as a group (and were alot of fun!)
They are now currently surveying the support groups to
find out what sort of
respite breaks young
carers would like to
take part in with a view
to the Focus Group
applying for funds to
allow a group of young
carers to get a break.
The Scottish Young Carers Festival is
an important highlight in the year, and
this years festival lived up to its bill-
ing.The Scottish Government funded the
event for 2 nights this year again and
the weekend was packed with brilliant
activities to keep young carers busy.
On the Friday there was the opportu-
nity to get up close to a variety of
creatures such as spiders and snakescourtesy of Cool Creatures, the
chance to decorate each other in the
tribal makeup workshop as well as
dance the night away at the disco.
Saturday was filled with activities
such as the giant inflatables, singing
and song writing workshops, cup cakedecorating and Blood and Gore Make up
workshop.
The highlight of Saturday was the visitby Times Red who previously had ap-
peared on the X Factor. There was lots
of screaming as the band performed!!!
Young Carers Festival
FYCPage2
Blood and Gore Workshop
Times Red who performed at this
years Festival
Its UR Shout Residential
The Focus Group
recently took part in
Personal Development
Training which was
funded by the National
Carers Organisation
Training Grant and
delivered by Youth 1st.
They spent a full day
building confidence,
looking at planning
events and whats in-
volved in running youth
groups.
Then over the course of a weekend away they looked at
representing others, achieving their goals and action plan-
ning.
Planning session
Feeding back findings
Which foot
did you say
we were
starting
on?...
8/13/2019 FYC Newsletter Issue 16
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FYCPage3
Blackpool Residential
This year there were no delays on the train, every-
thing ran to time with the young carers enjoyingsnack and chat in a very different environment.
One of the priorities when they arrived in Blackpoolwas to ensure the young carers drank plenty of wa-
ter, kept in the shade as much as possible and applied
sun cream it was hot hot hot!!!They arrived on the Monday and stayed at the Lu-
cina Hotel where they are always met with a warm
welcome. The young carers dumped their bags, then
it was straight to the Pleasure Beach. There wassomething for everyone there, with everyone having
to be patient waiting in the lines, Pepsi Max, Alice
in Wonderland, Derby Racer, Water Log Ride, Pepsi
Max to name but a few.Thankfully the beach was across the road, and after
all the energy used on the rides, chips, burgers and
drinks were bought and everyone headed over torelax. Sock, shoes and trousers rolled up feet were
cooled in sea puddles, castles built and freedom just
to be.
On Tuesday it was off to Blackpool Tower with al-
most everyone going up to the Tower Eye and walking
on the famous Glass Floor scary! Those who were
very brave took to the stairs and went to the topthat was outside even scarier! Whilst in the Tower
they also visited The Dungeons, 4D Cinema Experi-ence, Jungle Jims and Madame Tussauds!That night in the Tower Ballroom there was a Family
Entertainment Night where the young carers took
part in games and competitions that finished at9.30pm meaning they had spent almost 12 hours
there!
On Wednesday, it was time to spend money. Young
carers bought gifts, Blackpool Rock with staff en-
couraging them to buy something for themselves.There was just time to visit the Sealife Centre- by
then some young carers were asking can we not just
stay another night and I would like to live here.
Young Carers comments about the break:
What did you like best about your holiday?
Having fun, I liked the water ride the best. Eve-
rything ,it was FAB, Going to the Tower, The
Pleasure Beach.
Thanks to Carers Information Strategy Funding who
support this respite break for young carers.
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Q. What is your name?
A. Mrs Doran
Q. Where do you work?
A. Im a teacher at Woodmill High
School in Dunfermline
Q. What is a Young Carers Cham-
pion?
A. A named person within the school
who will promote what a young carer iswith pupils and staff, and try to ensure
that appropriate support is put in place
for young carers . This person will alsobe responsible for ensuring that any
school initiatives and documentation
considers young carers if appropriate.
Q. Why did you decide to become a
young carers champion in school?
A. To help support a group of people
who otherwise may go unnoticed, and
to try and support new young carers.Q. What services/support can you
offer young carers in school?
Someone to talk to
someone who will just listen if
that is what the young carer wants
someone who will ensure that all
subject teachers are aware that there
may be issues at times which are be-
yond the young person's control but
which have to be dealt with
someone who can put a young
carer in touch with other young carers
within school
someone who can refer a pupil
to Fife Young Carers
we have tried a couple of drop
ins but they were not well attended at
all.
a notice board describing whata young carer is and where support is
available (this has been ordered, look
out for itcoming soon!)
Q. How can young carers atWoodmill
get in touch with you?
A. I live in the guidance suite!!!
There are also self referral
slips by the door in Guidancewhich they can leave a message
for me if I am teaching (in G3).
Interview with a .. Young Carers Champion
FYCPage4
The Young Carers Strategy Group plan to have a Young carers
Champion in key services across Fife to try to ensure young carers
get the support they need.
Its been a busy few months for Dawn Murray, FYCs
Schools Worker, Shes been visiting loads of schools all
over Fife and working hard to establish support in
schools for young carers.
Shes found many pupils didnt know what a young carer
was, and had no idea of how some pupils lives could be so
different from their own. They were very interested in
the issues of young carers and they responded with em-pathy and came to understand how they could be a
better friend and classmate.
Dawn has now established a Young Carers Champion in
10 of our 19 high schools in Fife. These members ofstaff have chosen to become involved in helping young
carers in school. They understand the issues they face
and want to help. Over the next few months the
champions will be putting in place a variety of support
for young carers.
Some schools already have a young carers notice board
which shows what support is available and who the
Champion in that school is. A profile page can be filledin by young carers at school to explain to teachers
how caring affects them - giving teachers a better
understanding of the pressures they have.
Other support that may be offered are drop- in ses-
sions, homework support clubs and in some schools,
buddying and adult mentoring for pupils through exam
times. See our back page for details of the Championsand contact Dawn on 01592 223893 if youd like more
information.
FYC Schools Worker News
Mrs Doran, Young CarersChampion at Woodmill High
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The end of the summer holidays saw the start of an-
other bi-annual opportunity for 24 young carers to
participate in the Natural Connections initiative. Theprogramme consists of six different outdoor experi-ences, to help young people find out about themselves,
other people and the natural world, and leads to the
Natural Connections award.
Natural Connections is delivered for us by Outdoor
Education staff at Lochore Meadows Country Park andwe are delighted that the whole programme is again
sponsored by The Association of Fife Rotary Clubs.
This year we have split the programme into 3 sectionswith the first having been undertaken in the last week
of the school holidays. That week included team build-
ing and problem solving exercises which help towards
achieving the 'Working Together' element as well as
raft building, canoeing, rock wall climbing and the
study of the local woodlands.
We have also just completed our overnight journeywhich included a long walk followed by a canoe trip
to an island to camp! Very exciting but very wet on
the Sunday! In October we have a further week at
Lochore Meadows to complete the Natural Connec-
tions programme, followed by a chance in November
for young carers to show off what they have
achieved and to receive their Natural ConnectionsAward.
FYCPage5
Natural Connections
Getting Close to Nature!
Camping out on the Island!
Young Carers & Educational Maintenance Allowance
Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) can beclaimed by 16 year olds once they have reached their
school leaving age. To qualify for EMA a young persons
household taxable income has to be between 0 and20,351 (if one dependant child living there) and22,403 if 2 or more dependant children live in the
household.
If a young person qualifies then they get an award of30 per week. Payments are made for full weeks atten-
dance at school and paid fortnightly.
Many young carers miss school due to their caring re-
sponsibilities and are being further penalised by having
their EMA disallowed.
Payments of EMA are at the Local Authoritys discre-
tion which means in some circumstances they can decide
to make full payment even though a pupil has been
absent from school.
If a young carer has missed school due to their car-ing role they should either show their Young Carers
Authorisation Card (if they have one) or speak totheir Guidance Team to let them know that their
absence has been due to caring. Pupils have two
weeks from when their payment has been disallowed
to rectify any problems.
If you are having problems which your EMA talk to
your Guidance Teacher, Support Worker or contact
Nina Collins, Development Worker on 01592 223894.
8/13/2019 FYC Newsletter Issue 16
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In the Cupar & N E Fife area the July group night landed
on the same evening as the Olympic Torch Ceremony in
Dundee, so off they went over to Dundee to see Emile
Sande in concert for free. They were also entertained byTwist & Pulse from Britains Got Talent and a selection of
others. There were various stalls all over the Park giving
out a selection of freebies including Limited edition bottlesof Coca Cola, Bank of Scotland Ribbons for waving and a
Coca Cola Drum. They even managed to get their photo
taken with the Olympic Torch!!
The Cupar & N E Fife groups have also had a visit from
DAPL (Drug and Alcohol Project Ltd). They delivered an
introduction to Art Therapy as well as alcohol and drug
information sessions. It provided Young Carers with someadditional information about Drugs & Alcohol and the ser-
vice that DAPL can provide. Its great to know that DAPL
are available to work alongside us to support our Young
Carers if they need it.
All the groups have been busy learning First Aid which
covered the basics, including: Checking for Response,
How to get help, Open Airway, Check Breathing, Check
Circulation (visual search of body looking for majorblood loss), Head to toe examination, Recovery Position,
CPR, Choking, Epilepsy, Diabetes, Asthma, Major Bleed-
ing & Burns. This has proved to be a very busy 2 hoursession with each of the groups, but has been very use-
ful and informative for the young carers attending.
These sessions were funded by a National Carers Or-
ganisation Training Grant and delivered by Joe Hors-
burgh from Safety Training Courses.
Whats been happening at Support Groups?
Page6
Young Carers practicing the techniques they have
been shown.
Learning how to put someone in the recovery
position
8/13/2019 FYC Newsletter Issue 16
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The Special Day out for the other prize winning YoungCarer was tickets to Edinburgh Playhouse to see the mu-
sical Hairspray. The stars of which included WaterlooRoads Mark Benton, Eastenders Lucy Benjamin and X
Factors Marcus Collins. The seats were in the 5th row
too, so they got an amazing view!
Thanks to Youth 1st some of our young carers from
Levenmouth area took part in the Driving for Success
Programme. The programme covers all issues regardingowning a vehicle from road safety to basic maintenance
and included some hands on experience of driving a car
in a big car park in Glenrothes!! All the participants said
the course was fun and they learned loads!!
Whats been happening at Support Groups? (contd)
Page7
Some hands on experience on the course eyes on
the road now!!
Iain Anderson from the Fife Community Food Project and
Yvonne Wynia from the Improving Health Team visited
Cupar Intermediate Group to carry out some CookingSkills Sessions . Together they discussed lots of differ-ent, easy and healthy recipes that our Young Carers could
make at home, with very little effort and also by using up
lots of leftovers from around the house and therefore
not having to go out and spend much money. As part of
these sessions and in addition to learning how to make
and taste lots of different things, Iain gave all of our
Young Carers a copy of the recipe book to take home withthem so that they would be able to put all of their new
skills into practice.
For the 4thyear running the Rotary Club of St Andrewsdecided to support an award for a Young Carer of the
year. This year they chose to offer two awards, one for
Julie Ann Foster and one Young Carer who would rather
remain anonymous.
Julie Anns request for her special day was to do some-
thing with horses. Bruce & Sheila Alexander of the
Rotary Club of St Andrews arranged a day at
Barbarafield Riding School where Julie Ann was given the
opportunity to groom the horses and then spend the restof the day riding. Julie Ann had an amazing day, they
treated her like an absolute princess and she enjoyed
every second of it.
In addition to her day out, The Rotary Club provided
Julie Ann with 100 to spend which she did whilst on a
shopping spree in Edinburgh. Julie Ann brought along a
friend from the group for some company on the day and
to help her carry her shopping bags! A good day was had
by all!!
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Fife Young Carers SC028201
FifeYoun
gCarers
TheRoundh
ouse
PrioryCam
pus
Kirkcaldy
KY12QT
Tel015
92223893
www.fifeyoungcar
ers.
co.uk
Back Page News
Wanttoshareyourn
ews?
ContactNina:
nina@fifeyoungcarers
.co.uk
YoungCarersC
hampionsinschool
AuchmutyHigh
SchoolMrM
ichie
BalwearieHigh
School -Mr
Carter
BellBaxterHig
hSchool-Miss
Cowan
Buckhave
nHighScjool
MissSullivan
DunfermlineHig
hSchoolMsBarclay
GlenrothesHig
hSchoolMr
sCowie
GlenwoodHigh
SchoolMsM
cConville/MsW
att
InverkeithingH
ighSchoolM
rsBeswick
LochgellyHigh
SchoolMsF
orrest
StAndrewsRCHighSchoo
lMrWood
WoodmillHigh
SchoolMrsD
oran
ThorntonGolfClubraisedanamazing1730.96foryoungcar-
ersinFifeattheirfundraising
event.Thankstoeveryoneinvolvedforalltheirhar
dwork
andgenerosity.
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