Facts about student carers

Now you’ve met some of the student carers who have generously shared their stories. You’ll be meeting them again as you work through the course.

Here are some of the things you should know about carers:

  • Anyone, regardless of age, gender or socio-economic status that can become an unpaid carer at any time in their life, and their caring role can change over time.
  • Not all unpaid carers identify as such or recognise that they are a carer.
  • Being a carer can be for a short or long period of time.
  • A carer may provide care for more than one person.
  • Caring is not a Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. role.
  • Caring can impact carers in different ways. There is no such thing as a typical carer.
  • Carers are often a hidden and seldom heard group. Many are worried about disclosing their caring responsibilities.
  • Carers have a range of transferable skills and knowledge.
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Five facts about carers in Scotland (Carers UK, 2020)
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An image of an orange/pink box with the words ‘5 facts about carers’ in white font. There are four boxes below that are a lighter orange/pink colour.

The top left-hand box contains a picture of a flag that is white with a red heart in the middle. It reads in black writing below the picture: There are 759K Carers in Scotland.

The top right-hand box contains a picture of three people. It reads in black writing below the picture: There are 49K Young Carers in Scotland.

The middle left-hand box contains a picture of a hand being held out with a red heart over the top. It reads in black writing below the picture: There are 29K Carers under 16 years old.

The middle right-hand box contains a white picture of the dollar sign. It reads in black writing below the picture: 50% of Carers are struggling to make ends meet financially.

The last box at the bottom contains a picture of nine purple figures stacked in a pyramid on the left-hand side. The right-hand side of the box contains black writing that reads: By 2037 we will have 1M Carers in Scotland.

Five facts about carers in Scotland (Carers UK, 2020)

1.2  What do carers do?

1.3  Health and wellbeing