Skip to content

2026: School and college staff - help us understand how young carers can be better supported

This survey is to help Carers Trust understand and improve the current state of support for young carers and young adult carers in Scottish education. Your response is anonymous.

A young carer is someone aged 18 or under, who cares for a friend or family member who due to illness, disability, mental health problems or an addiction, cannot cope without their support. From the ages of 16 – 25, they are also known as young adult carers. In this survey, we're interested in both.

This survey is run by Upstream, a research company, and their privacy notice can be found here.
1.Which local authority do you work in? If you work in more than one, choose the one you spend most time in.(Required.)
2.Which school or college do you work in? This question is optional.
3.What is your role? Tick all that apply.(Required.)
4.What ages do you work with? Tick all that apply.
5.Do you know how many young carers/young adult carers there are at your school or college?
6.Do you know how many young carers/young adult carers there are in the groups within the school or college you are responsible for, eg individual classes, year groups, or houses?
7.Thinking about yourself, do you agree with the following statements?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
I don't know
I have the skills and knowledge to be an advocate for young carers/young adult carer at my school or college
I have the skills and knowledge to identify a young carer/young adult carer at my school or college
I know where to find resources and guidance on how to work with young carers/young adult carers
I know how to contact other support services for carers, such as local carer centres
I use trauma-informed approaches in my day-to-day work
8.What do you think is the biggest barrier to you being able to help young carers and young adult carers more?
9.What do you think are the main barriers to young carers and young adult carers’ attainment?
10.As far as you know, does your school or college have any of the following for young carers/young adult carers? Tick all that you think apply:
11.Can you think of any new policies, approaches or practice launched/introduced in the past year in your school or local authority, that have helped young carers? If so, please tell us what.
12.Thinking about your school or college in general, do you agree with the following statements?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
I don't know
Young carers/young adult carers at my school or college get the support they need to achieve the best attainment possible
Staff at my school or college know about the challenges facing young carers/young adult carers
My school or college has strong support for trauma-informed practice
My school or college wants to do more, but doesn’t have the resources to support young carers/young adult carers
My school or college doesn’t do enough to support young carers/young adult carers
My school or college is motivated to support young carers/young adult carers
Young carers/young adult carers are important, but my school or college doesn’t see them as different to other groups with additional support needs
Young carers/young adult carers are important, but my school or college has more pressing priority groups such as care-experienced young people
13.Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about how your school or college supports young carers and young adult carers?
14.If you would like to help us with further research such as taking part in focus groups or interviews, please leave your email. This is optional.
Thank you for completing the survey - your responses will help us improve services for young carers across Scotland.
1 / 1
100%