Created With Care: How young adult carers shaped Learning and Work Institute’s new toolkit for FE Colleges in Wales.

Across Wales, thousands of young people are balancing their education with a huge responsibility outside of college: caring for a parent, sibling, grandparent or someone else they love. This can have a significant impact on their ability to engage and succeed in Further Education.

To help overcome this, Learning and Work Institute’s new toolkit aims to provide practical, focused advice and ideas for FE colleges in Wales to improve their support for students with caring responsibilities.

But this isn’t like other toolkits. We set out to put young adult carers’ voices at the centre of this resource. We worked with 36 young adult carers across Wales, who shared their experiences, views and insights into what effective support looks like in FE.

They told us what makes the biggest difference to their time in college:

• staff who understand their situation
• flexible support that adapts to their caring role
• clear communication
• discreet ways to identify themselves
• and a culture that sees them as individuals, not problems to be solved

What Young Adult Carers Told Us Matters Most

1. Staff who “get it”

Time and again, young people told us that staff awareness is the foundation of good support. Training and regular reminders about who young adult carers are and the impact of caring on education is highlighted as key throughout the toolkit.

2. A trauma‑informed, empathetic approach

Young adult carers spoke about the difference it makes when staff ask questions before making assumptions. They want understanding, not pity; flexibility, not special treatment.

3. Clear, consistent communication

Many young adult carers told us they simply didn’t know what support was available — or only found out by accident. They suggested letters, texts, posters, Teams channels, and student‑friendly leaflets to raise awareness of the help they can access.

4. Flexible, personalised support

From EMA authorised absences to deadline extensions, young people stressed that support must reflect their individual circumstances. As one young adult carer put it: “Every situation is so different… it’s more useful to get to know what the issues are from each individual.”

5. Discreet ways to identify as a carer

Young people want to be able to share their caring role without having to explain it repeatedly or publicly. Ideas like digital ID cards, coloured lanyards, or a simple symbol on a student card came directly from them.

Turning insights into action: What the toolkit includes

Because young adult carers shaped the content, the toolkit is practical, grounded and ready to use. It includes:

• Templates for policies, support plans, and staff training
• Case studies from colleges across Wales
• Guidance on transitions, identification, wellbeing, financial support and progression
• Real quotes from young adult carers that bring their experiences to life

Every section reflects something young people told us they needed. Their contributions shaped the structure, the priorities and which elements of effective practice we highlighted throughout. This isn’t a toolkit written about young adult carers; it’s one written with them.

Learning and Work Institute would like to thank Medr for supporting the creation of this toolkit, and Carers Trust Wales, the young adult carers, young carers services and college staff who gave their time to help us develop the content of the toolkit.