In 2005 and 2006, as part of my degree in drama community Theatre and Media, I worked for a year with young carers from Winchester and Andover. What started off as a community drama eventually evolved into a documentary film project. The film was called Hidden because that was exactly what we found the young carer community to be, particularly where their schools are concerned. The process of making the film and then showing it to a targeted audience of teachers and education professionals was owned by the young carers themselves with my group working as facilitators in support.
The reason young carers hide from school authorities is because they believe it is in their best interest to do so. There are around 200,000 young carers in the UK and 42% have problems in school, either with attendance or completion of homework. Because their caring role is hidden, their teachers handle them in the same way as those who play truant and can’t be bothered to work. This exacerbates the problem and many young carers leave school without fulfilling their potential. The film sought to explain this and offer solutions. The documentary was powerful because it was both compelling and credible, and also because it was very targeted in terms of its audience. If you would like to watch the film please follow the link.
Watch the film >>If you are more interested in the process of making a drama documentary in this community you might be interested in a critique I wrote, which describes my experiences as a student facilitator.
Read more (PDF) >>If you are interested in the subject of young carers (or don’t know what one is and are afraid to ask) then please visit http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ss/centres/YCRG/