Professionals’ Awareness of Young Carers in Schools: Results from a French Survey

Abstract

Few studies have investigated professionals’ awareness of young carers (YCs). Therefore, the main aim of this study was to explore school professionals’ awareness of YCs. The secondary aim was to compare professionals’ responses according to their occupation. A total of 2658 professionals took part in this study by completing an online questionnaire. The results indicated that the mean for the perceived age for care beginning was 10.3 years old, with parents being perceived as the most frequent care recipient. The main caring activities reported were domestic chores, emotional support and sibling care, while care provided directly to the care recipient was perceived as less frequent. Many suggestions for improving the identification, referral and support of YCs were seen as relevant, but professionals were less supportive of suggestions for adjustments within schools. The key training needs centered around better identifying YCs and developing better knowledge of their difficulties. Differences were observed according to occupation, with administrative staff and teachers having less accurate perceptions than school counsellors as well as social and health professionals. This study shows that it can be difficult for school professionals to imagine a child providing care. Specific training, therefore, needs to be proposed according to school professionals’ occupations.