Celebrating Young Carers
Saturday 22 February 2025 was a great day for South Ayrshire’s Young Carers. The first ever cAyrFest was held to celebrate the contribution they, and adult carers, make to South Ayrshire’s communities.
OUR YOUNG CARERS ARE SUPERHEROES AND WE HAVE BEEN CELEBRATING!
A carer is someone who supports, or helps support, someone who is ill, disabled, elderly, has trouble communicating, has mental health issues, is neurodivergent, or has issues with drugs or alcohol. Carers can be any age. In South Ayrshire, we have identified 840 carers between the ages of 3 and 18. Teeny Carers are under the age of 5; Wee Carers are primary school children and the Young Carers are secondary aged pupils and other young people up to age 18. To us at SAHSCP, they are all superheroes!
Carers have responsibilities across a wide range of activities including shopping, cleaning, providing emotional support, dispensing medication or managing household finances. These responsibilities can substantially impact on the individuals, for example, they may be anxious about school, arriving late or being unable to complete homework on time; they may feel isolated or lonely; and they are often unable to engage in after-school or other social activities. Many young carers do not speak openly about their caring responsibilities, so they are at risk of being misunderstood and, perhaps, punished by teachers or bullied by peers.
SAHSCP works to raise awareness of the role of young carers and the impact this has on their lives; to empower young carers to speak out for themselves and be proud of what they do; and to help them engage with other young people in similar situations as themselves. Recent initiatives include cAyrFest, A Wee Night at the Oscars and Young Carers Action Day.
cAyrFest celebrated the incredible contribution that unpaid carers make to our community, raised awareness of their caring responsibilities, and challenged the stigma associated with caring.
Events were held at venues across Ayr, including the Town Hall, The Grain Exchange, The Cutty Sark, Grammar Primary School, and The Place. Live music, refreshments, entertainment, and much more were there to be enjoyed! Many local organisations had stalls providing information and fun activities. There was something for everyone, and everyone – not just those with caring responsibilities – was welcome.
A major highlight of the day was an Art Competition, open to all South Ayrshire unpaid carers. Entries were displayed in the Grain Exchange and visitors voted for their favourite artwork. The prize for the winner was having their portrait painted onto the Alloway Tunnel Mural. Ellie, aged 14, won the competition with her amazing painting of a swan.
The Alloway Railway Tunnel Project had a stall where visitors could paint their own designs on stones which, once varnished, will be put along the path through the Tunnel.
The day was a huge success, over 2,000 visitors attended and feedback has been very positive – “Have more events like this”; “It was such a success!”;
“Loved every minute”; “A wide range of activities for all ages so everyone could enjoy it!”
South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership (SAHSCP) and Voluntary Action South Ayrshire (VASA) were joint organisers of this day-long, fun-filled event.
A Wee Night at the Oscars was held in Ayr Town Hall to launch the premiere of our new awareness-raising film “Take Care of You”.
This fictional film, based on the real-life experiences of our young carers, tells the story of three children and how their caring roles impact them in different ways. It was developed, written and filmed by primary-aged young carers, working in partnership with the local film-making social enterprise, The Iris Ayr. The event also premiered our new documentary which showcases the number and breadth of services and organisations in South Ayrshire providing support and opportunities for young carers. The event was a huge success, and I am incredibly proud of what our young careers achieved.
The film has now been shared with primary schools across South Ayrshire. The benefits to pupils and staff are already apparent. It has resonated with many pupils who have had the courage to come forward and talk about their caring responsibilities; with staff, in terms of raising their awareness of the impact of caring on young lives; and pupils are also gaining an understanding of what their friends may be going through. Overall, it provides a lasting legacy and is a useful training resource for staff.
“Give me a Break” was the theme for this year’s Young Carers Action Day, a worldwide initiative to celebrate the contribution young carers make to others’ lives and ensure that they are seen, heard and valued. Our two main activities were a visit to the Scottish Parliament and an Open day at Honeypot House.
A group of staff and young carers from SAHSCP went to the Scottish Parliament and had a face-to-face meeting with Kate Forbes, Deputy First Minister. They lobbied her on the issue of extending the eligibility for 2-year old nursery places to include young carers, and for ring-fenced funding for young carers. The meeting was very positive and SAHSCP are optimistic that these issues will be raised in parliamentary business in the near future.
Here in South Ayrshire, we partner with Honeypot Children’s Charity who provides facilities for wee and teeny carers (4-12 year olds) to have a break away from their caring responsibilities, whether it is going on an outing to Edinburgh Zoo, having fun at a Halloween or Christmas Party, or spending a few days at Honeypot House on a residential with other young carers.
We collaborated with Honeypot on an open day event for young carers, their families, and staff working with young people at Honeypot House at Dalleagles. This event provided an opportunity to showcase the wonderful facilities at Honeypot House and meet the staff.
SAHSCP has long-standing links with the Alloway Railway Tunnel Project. Working with The Iris, a group of our young carers spent a day at Ayr Racecourse making a heritage film about the Racecourse which will be linked to the Mural via a scannable QR code. And, as mentioned above, the ART Project was actively involved in cAyrFest.
Also, a group of our young carers participated in one of the mural workshops held at the Cutty Sark. The workshop gave them an opportunity to have fun, meet people, make new friends, develop new skills, engage in a useful creative activity – and have a break from their caring role. Our young carers loved their experience at the Workshop.
I think the ART Project is absolutely wonderful. It is transforming a dingy, dark place into something beautiful. The mural tells amazing stories about our local people, places and industries and I am so proud of all our young superheroes who contributed to it.
Claire Flanagan
Young Carers Lead Officer
South Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership
