Young carers – what would your super-power be?
For Young Carers Action Day (Wednesday 13th March), we asked young carers in Swindon to design a poster depicting their chosen super-power and we were thrilled with their creations!
Their artwork reflected the super-power they would like to have and how it could help them in their caring role.
The entries included “mind reading, so I know when my sister needs help” and “spring legs, so that I can run fast if someone needs help.”
The standard of entries from primary aged young carers (five to 10 years) were superb, making it very difficult to choose an overall winner. We decided to give each school who sent entries a voucher to spend on their Young Carers Groups.
Pictured above is a collage of 12 posters designed by young carers for our competition.
The super-power theme of the poster competition linked to the Superheroes film of young carers we produced last year in conjunction with Light-up Media, which you can view by clicking here.
When asked why they took part in the poster competition, a young carer from Oliver Tomkins School said: “I like art and art about young carers is even better.”
And a young carer from Southfield Junior School said: “It was nice to do something together in our lunch time Young Carers club, we all like drawing. I liked seeing the other ideas. Some of us thought of the same ideas which was nice (as we know they are not the only ones who feel that way).
Being a young carer
Asked what being a young carer means to them, a young carer from Oliver Tomkins School said: “I get to help my younger sister and feel good about it, I understand my sister and what she needs more.”
A young carer from Southfield Junior School said: “Helping at home, being patient and understanding sometimes things are different for us at home.”
On receiving support at school, a young carer from Oliver Tomkins School said: “School support us well, they keep us safe, we do fun stuff and get to talk to other young carers.”
A young carer at Southfield Junior School said: “We love being together, every Tuesday lunchtime and we are all different ages. We all like seeing each other, sometimes we talk about things at home and sometimes we don’t. It’s nice that we know we can talk to someone in school every week.”
Debbie Murphy-Myers, Head of Service Delivery for Young Carers and Parent Carers at Swindon Carers Centre, said: “We received many fantastic entries from young carers, aged five to ten years, all showcasing the super-power they would choose. Thank you to all the wonderful young carers who took part and schools for encouraging participation in this important national campaign.”
Young Carers Action Day is a national day to raise awareness of young carers in the UK.
National charity Carers Trust chose the theme of Fair Futures For Young Carers for the day. We asked young carers from secondary schools to submit a word to describe what a fair future for a young carer should be. The words received were ‘enjoyable’, ‘support’ and ‘encouragement.’
Thank you to everyone who took part and helping to raise awareness of young carers.