Transition Group
A story by PKAVS
The Transition Group supported young people aged 14 to 16, to move from Young Carers to Young Adult Carers Service. We provided fortnightly respite groups with 1 to 1 support and day trips.
What Transition Group did
We worked with the Perth and Kinross Voluntary Service, Young Carers Service to identify young carers who would benefit from extra support to successfully make the transition to the Young Adult Carers Service. We focused on higher need young people who were at risk of disengaging when they turned 16. We also developed a Transition Group Facebook page which we used to raise awareness and engage with young carers.
The Young Adult Carers worker led the Transition Group with support from Young Carers staff. A Young Carers volunteer helped with minibus driving and two social work students on placement helped with groups and 1-1's. The main Transition Group activity was a fortnightly after-school drop in. This was an opportunity for young people to come along to the Carers Den, meet each other and take part in informal activities. In addition to this we organised day trips during school holidays.
Due to repeated disruptive and disrespectful behaviour, we re-examined the format. From January 2016, we offered a fortnightly S3+ group with the Young Carers. This was a more structured approach to the service with organised activities alternating between being active and being creative. We also opened up Young Adult Carers activities, such as cooking groups and a personal development course, to the Transition Group. This provided the young carers with an opportunity to get to know the staff, other carers and what the Young Adult Carers project offers.
In April 2016 we lost funding for our Young Adult Carers worker and the service was distributed between the Young Carer and Adult Carer service. The Young Carers Service continued to run secondary groups, but the focus on transitions was reduced as the future of the service was in doubt. A new Young Adult Carers worker was appointed in August 2016 with a renewed focus on supporting 15 year old young carers to move into the Young Adult Carers project. The Young Adult Carers worker attends the Blairgowrie and Perth secondary groups once a month and a Crieff group is being developed.
During Rhona’s initial carers star assessment, it was identified that she was struggling at school. Rhona often handed in homework late, and felt that her teachers did not fully understand the responsibilities she was faced with. Within her ‘action plan’ it was agreed that a meeting would be set up between Rhona, Young Adult Carer Worker and guidance staff, allowing Rhona to discuss her feelings and vocalise how she would feel better supported at school.
Rhona also wanted someone to speak to about home life, and so Rhona received 1-1 Young Adult Carers support over the course of two months. She felt she could tell her keyworker “anything”. Rhona transitioned from Young Carers to Young Adult Carers at 16, and was nervous about doing so. To make Rhona feel more comfortable during this transition period, she joined one of our COOK IT groups which also included other former young carers who had transitioned. Rhona now fully associates herself to being a ‘Young Adult Carer!’
The meeting with school went ahead and was a great success. Rhona now has a flexible timetable, allowing her more time to complete homework. Rhona feels that her teachers are much more supportive. Rhona attended the recent Young Adult Carers showcase and she spoke of her caring experience and how Perth & Kinross Young Adult Carers Service helps her.
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Tara was involved in the Transition Group drop-ins and day trips. This provided her with the chance to get out of the house, make friends, go to new places and have fun. Tara received some 1-1 support from staff, but preferred to get involved in the informal activities.
Tara seemed to have difficulty maintaining friendships and fell out with some other young carers attending the groups. Staff helped her to work through this and to set small goals for interacting with others. Tara stopped attending groups as regularly, but has begun to build up a group of friends at school and another youth group. She continues to pop in to group sessions every couple of weeks and interacts well with staff when she needs support. She talks openly about her concerns and is working towards attending future residentials with the larger Young Adult Carers Group.
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Chloe herself experiences poor mental health. During Chloe’s initial carers star assessment, we discussed the prospect of Chloe additionally accessing our Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub. Accessing this support would allow Chloe to meet others, to work with staff who are specialised in mental health support and to work through stages of her recovery via arts and crafts, exercise, and personal development. Chloe has a keen interest in art, so we felt this was a good match.
In addition through our Young Adult Carers Service, Chloe would meet others in similar situations, and work on her social skills, something which she openly struggled with. Chloe wanted time away from the family home and wanted to make new friends. Via involvement with Young Adult Carers and our Mental Wellbeing Hub, she has done just that.
Chloe now gets out the house around 2-3 times a week. She accesses our Young Adult Carers groups, attends Young Adult Carers events, and receives 1-1 support. At our Mental Wellbeing Hub, Chloe is involved in a therapeutic art group, attends a weekly walk and talks through worries with staff. Chloe has grown in confidence, and is on route to making a new bunch of friends. Chloe’s Mum is also in the process of being signposted onto a support service herself, which will allow her to get out the house a little more and meet new people her own age.
Chloe feels very supported and lucky to have these support services in her life. Chloe has massively stepped out of her comfort zone, performing in a Young Adult Carers play and being interviewed by our local council. Chloe will now speak out in groups, and involve herself with other young adult carers.
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What PKAVS has learned
This was a really useful opportunity to trial a regular transitions group. We worked hard to find the best ways of meeting the needs of the carers.We have moved away from running a specific Transition Group. The Young Adult Carers worker now attends the secondary Young Carers groups in Perth and Blairgowrie on a monthly basis. This enables the Young Adult Carers worker and the young people to begin building up a working relationship in an environment where the young people are comfortable and which they find easy to access.
There were unexpected behavioural challenges during some Transition Group sessions so we feel that this is a more effective way of introducing transitions and a more efficient use of resources. We can also begin to deliver a more personalised service to the carers as the Young Adult Carers worker has the opportunity to find out what the carers are interested and suitable times for meeting.
Another consideration of a focused Transition Group is that it does not always enable the young people to have a chance to be themselves or to change and grow if they remain among their peers. We’re therefore trying to provide more opportunities for young carers to get involved with Young Adult Carers so they can get to know new people who have already had the experience of transitioning. We also think that this makes it more inclusive for new Young Adult Carers joining the service who had not previously been young carers.
We feel that putting a focus on the 14 to 16 age group has made a real difference to them continuing to engage with the service. Having a dedicated YAC service is more relevant and accessible to them than moving into the Adult Carers Service.