EAST AYRSHIRE YOUNG CARERS
30 YEARS OF LOCAL SUPPORT
Gill Sherry
This year, East Ayrshire Young Carers is celebrating 30 years as a charity. So, what better time to highlight the wonderful work they do to help hundreds of young carers every week?
I catch up with Fiona Robson, co-CEO, who begins by telling me what the charity is all about.
“Our young carers service is dedicated to supporting children and young adults who have a caring responsibility for a parent, sibling, friend, grandparent etc. We support young carers from the age of 5 to 18. Once they reach 19 to 25, that’s the young adult carers service.”
Fiona has been involved with the charity for 13 years and oversees Kilmarnock plus the Irvine Valley areas. Her co-CEO, Fiona Pirrie, oversees Cumnock and Dalmellington, although, there’s plenty of crossover involved.
“Every week we support over 300 young carers,” Fiona confirms. “We have 2,500 registered with our service, and there is still so much to do. Once we’ve identified a young carer, we’re really proud of our team and the service we offer. It is literally second to none. What keeps us awake is all of the other young carers that don’t know about it, or don’t even know that they are young carers. It’s really important that we identify those young carers.”
So, how do they go about that?
“Over the years we’ve built up really strong collaborative networks with social services and the local authority, mental health services, hospitals, GP surgeries and schools. We go into every school in East Ayrshire as part of our National Lottery funding. Our young carer teams go in and do school assemblies and class presentations. Our staff go to parents’ evenings, and we talk to classroom assistants. Because we have our adult carer service as well, when an adult comes in to register as an unpaid carer, we always ask if they are any children in the family.”
Once a young carer has registered with the charity, what kind of support do they receive?
“Building up those peer support networks is crucial. One of the biggest issues for carers of all ages is that sense of isolation and not being the same as others, not having the same opportunities to be able to socialise.
Some of our young carers have never had a friend over for tea. It’s such a basic thing, and it’s not because it’s not a loving family, it’s because it’s literally impossible. Building those friendships and those networks is really important.
“Also, we have staff who do youth counselling, so we try and support those young carers before it needs to go anywhere else. We try to put that low level mental health support in everything we do so the children feel more connected and less isolated. They can speak to our staff and it helps them to be really honest about the things that are worrying them.”
Presumably, there are social activities too?
“We have a really fabulous programme of respite which is very much dependant on age. For the younger children we have day trips in the summer holidays. We have children who will be going to Heads of Ayr Farm Park this summer.”
Fiona tells me how supportive the Farm Park is when it comes to the young carers’ visits and how much everyone enjoys the experience.
“We do residentials as well,” she continues. “One of the places that we use for residentials is the Treehouse Centre in Dean Castle Country Park. It’s very close to hand so children who may be a little bit reluctant to be away, know that if there’s an issue one of us will take them home if necessary.”
As with any charity, funding is vital. Fiona has already mentioned the National Lottery funding, and the local authority provides the core funding to support carers of all ages, but where else does the financial support come from?
“This is the first time we’ve had Children in Need funding,” she says, instantly bringing Pudsey Bear to mind.
The funding received from Children in Need is obviously hugely beneficial, but the charity was also grateful for the publicity from the BBC’s 2025 campaign. You may recall Eloise, the 17-year-old young carer from East Ayrshire who joined The One Show’s Challenge Squad and performed with the cast of Starlight Express.
“Eloise is extraordinary,” says Fiona, “as all of our young carers are, for what they do and the loving generosity that they have. What came across very strong with Eloise was, ‘If I can make a difference to another young carer, it’s worth me potentially falling on my backside on roller-skates!’”
The desire to inspire others is apparently very dominant in young carers, which is another way of potentially reaching those who are unaware of the support available or who simply do not think of themselves as carers. But the national coverage that comes with being a Children in Need beneficiary is invaluable.
“Because Children in Need is so visible, it really makes a huge difference. It’s not just the finance. It shines a light on charities and that’s really important.”
Returning to the subject of the services provided, Fiona tells me of some of the charity’s weekly groups.
“In Kilmarnock, Cumnock, New Cumnock and Dalmellington, we run weekly young carers groups which are two hours and age appropriate. On a Monday we have P1-P3s. They come every week during school time from 4-6pm and get a two-course dinner and lots of fun activities. It’s an opportunity to be with other children in very similar circumstances from all different schools. What’s really import to us is that they are building friendships which we know from having operated for 30 years, will last a lifetime.”
There are also groups for those of secondary school age and for young adults, details of which can be found on the website. But East Ayrshire Young Carers also has one eye on the future of those registered with the charity. Its Next Steps Programme has been running for 17 years and focuses on employability.
“The thought can be quite challenging for some young people. We wanted to do more to help. It’s getting them to see their own strengths and not just settling. What are the possibilities? What’s holding you back? We try and help them to be more aspirational.”
Building confidence is something that can be greatly beneficial, as the music groups have proved.
“We run a music group, and the children are all coming together for the next performance on 29th June. They’ll be doing their own show that they’ve written and devised. This is supported by Take a Bow in Kilmarnock. They’ve been really good supporters of our young carers. Martin Hay is just fabulous. It’s those lovely collaborations that do so much.”
Aside from raising awareness of the services provided by East Ayrshire Young Carers, Fiona has another request: “We are seeking new board members, particularly people who would be really interested in learning more about the young carer service. We do have a young person on our board, but if any young adults reading this would like to join us, that would be fantastic.”
For more information, visit
www.eastayrshirecarers.org.uk/youngcarers
