SOLIHULL Sixth Form College has been given the Quality Standard Carer Support for its work providing care and support for Young Adult Carers.
The journey to achieving this award was started in the 2019/2020 academic year by additional learning support manager Caroline Sweeney and student development officer Julie Maitland.
They considered how the college could best identify and support its young adult carers and build on what was already there.
As part of the Quality Standard award, the college identified areas of improvement helped by current students.
This led to a new policy, governor support and the appointment of academic coach Amy Flower as the college’s young adult carer support officer.
After compiling all the evidence, staff central to this work met with the Carers Federation for a three hour interview and presentation.
Assistant principal Sonia Wood said: “I am delighted to see that the hard work of our support staff has been rewarded.
“The work they do to support students who are juggling their studies with significant responsibilities at home cannot be underestimated.
“It can be the difference between staying in education or not and that in turn impacts young adult carers’ life chances.”