Cheshire Young Carers Summer 2022 Programme Review

20 22 SUMMER PROJECT REVIEW 5614 Hours of

activities for young carers

Total of

1073 engagements

64 Events over

the summer holidays

www.cheshireyoungcarers.com | info@cheshireyoungcarers.org | 0151 356 3176 | Get in touch

SUMMER PROGRAMME PROJECT REVIEW 2022

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ..................................... 02 FUNDERS AND SUPPORTERS ......... 03 CHESHIRE YOUNG CARERS

............ 04

CYC SUMMER 2022 Week 1: Prehistoric .............................

Week 2: The Future ............................

Week 3: The Romans ..........................

Week 4: The Tudors ............................

Week 5: The 1960s ............................

Week 6: The Victorians ......................

TEAM YAC

..........................................

07 11 15 19 23 27 31

YAC SUMMER 2022 .......................... 30 THANK YOU .......................................... 36

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INTRODUCTION SUMMER REVIEW 2022 Summer 2022 marks an important milestone for Cheshire Young Carers as we moved from a blended approach to respite provision with online and face to face activities as a result of Covid to our more normal delivery model of mainly face to face activities. It also provided the challenge of reduced funding with increased demand and the concerns of young carers and families around mixing with each other, another hang over from Covid.

As ever the inspired team at Cheshire Young Carers rose to the challenge to build confidence with funders about our delivery model, with young carers who were still reluctant to mix with large groups, with young carers who desperately wanted to socialise with young carer friendship groups and families challenged to provide summer activities for their children. The activities you can read about in this review document detail the activities young carers engaged with, it shows some of their achievements and it shows lots of smiling faces.

This summer programme is only possible with the generous support of our funders, both small & large who should be proud of the support they offer and be aware of the positive impact on the lives of young carers that their support has. Thank you.

It is also only possible to deliver this activity programme with the support, enthusiasm and sheer will to succeed from the staff team and volunteers. Thank you As you read the reports on how young carers have engaged with the activity programme and look at the smiling faces you can be in doubt of how valuable this whole respite programme in supporting children who are young carers really is. Those taking part embraced the opportunities on offer, sometimes faced their fears and generally supported each other to simply have a good time together.

Graham Phillips Graham Phillips Managing Director Cheshire Young Carers

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FUNDERS & SUPPORTERS

Without the support of our generous donors, this programme would not have been possible. We want to thank them for their support, donations and encouragement.

Cheshire East Council Cheshire West & Chester Council Edsential Innospec Mr John Yates The Community Shop (Ellesmere Port) Merck Cheshire Freemasons Carers Break Sanctuary Housing Ross Care (Ellesmere Port) The Crimes Family Bank of America Carden Park The Hedley Foundation Mr Dave Nesbitt The Lions

(Ellesmere Port, Alsager, Wirral, and Congleton)

Steve Morgan Foundation

THE PROGRAMME WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF DONORS! THANK YOU! www.cheshireyoungcarers.org | info@cheshireyoungcarers.com | 0151 356 3176 | Get in touch

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WHAT WE DO CHESHIRE YOUNG CARERS

C

heshire Young Carers provide a range of support : 1. Fortnightly activity groups 2. School holiday respite programmes 3. Support in school or college

Our activity groups give young carers the opportunity to socialise with other children who have caring roles at home. We provide a safe space for them to talk about their worries or concerns, but most importantly we create an environment for them to have FUN! We run bi-weekly sessions in Ellesmere Port, Chester, Neston, Winsford, Crewe and Macclesfield, as well as after school clubs. They are designed to offer young carers engaging activities that are fun and to crucially help break down isolation amongst young carers.

GIVE US TIME TO CATCH UP WITH FRIENDS

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“

“ MONTHLY SESSIONS ARE SO HELPFUL, THEY

Cheshire Young Carers - Summer 2022

SCHOOL HOLIDAY RESPITE PROGRAMMES Our school holiday respite programmes have been designed to overcome a key period of stress for young carers when they can be expected to provide 24/7 support. Our focus on this area is a direct result of feedback from young carers. We now offer activity programmes during every school holiday period with a variety of activities based around Cheshire and on many occasions provide meals. Some of our favourite places to visit during the holidays: Chester Zoo Alton Towers Boulder Hut Freedome Trampolining TeamSport Go Karting Ninja Warrior Adventure Safety Central Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre Blackpool Pleasure Beach Delamere Forest Ranger Centre White Peak Alpacas Manley Mere Positive Ponies Substation Blists Hill Victorian Village Cadbury World Odeon / Cineworld Tenpin Bowl Go Ape Wildshore Delamere Gullivers World Liverpool World Museum BeWILDerwood

….AND SO MUCH MORE! www.cheshireyoungcarers.com | info@cheshireyoungcarers.org | 0151 356 3176 | Get in touch

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you ‘Thank h to c u m o s the , m a e CYC t had e v a h s kid ime t t a e r ag !’ r e m m over su

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Cheshire Young Carers - Summer 2022

WEEK1

PREHISTORIC

F

or our first themed week, we thought we’d start at the very beginning, time travelling right back to the prehistoric era! The pre historic period, or when there was human life before records documented human activity, roughly dates from 2.5 million years ago to 1,200 BC. And for 160 million of these years, dinosaurs ruled the Earth, so we thought we’d begin by looking at these prehistoric creatures in some more detail.

Our young carers began by completing some dinosaur themed activities including crosswords, colouring sheets, and word searches. These were often challenging as dinosaur names can be difficult to spell (think the silent ‘p’ in Pterodactyl!).

One of the more popular dinosaur activities with our young carers was building their very own wooden dinosaur!

We challenged our young carers to come up with a creative name for their dinosaur, paint them using different brushes and colours (and be patient enough to let them dry properly!) then carefully assemble them to finish off. We saw some fantastic creations and a lot of our young carers enjoyed bringing them to life using their own voices as sound effects!

We also had a go at some dinosaur scratch art, which required a steady hand and an eye for detail! Using the stylus, the young carers neatly scratched away the matte coating on the card to reveal a dinosaur or dinosaur scene. There were some roar-some pictures!

Some of our young carers also took a walk into the local area and role played as archaeologists! Our budding Indiana Joneses explored their surroundings, attempted to dig up their own fossils and talked about the different remains and artifacts they might find from prehistoric times!

www.cheshireyoungcarers.com | info@cheshireyoungcarers.org | 0151 356 3176 | Get in touch

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AUDLEY

CLIMBING CENTRE

A

udley Climbing Centre is a fantastic indoor centre, packed with routes and challenges for climbers of all ages and abilities. They also boast the most top rope routes in all North Staffordshire. Our young carers were excited to get started: for some it was their first time climbing!

We had a safety talk about how to climb and abseil safely, paying close attention as there were lots of rules to take into consideration! Our young carers then took it in turns

to have a go on the climbing wall whilst encouraging each other to reach the top! We then split into smaller groups.

Whilst one group continued to practice their newly learnt climbing skills, the other had a go at bouldering, a form of free climbing on an artificial rock wall without the use of ropes or harnesses! A few of our young carers were apprehensive about trying this but they all gave it their best shot before the groups swapped over, so everyone got chance to experience everything the centre had to offer.

‘Thank you! The girls had a blast climbing!’

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Cheshire Young Carers - Summer 2022

DELAMERE FOREST

Our young carers had such a fun day at Delamere Forest.

In the morning we followed the Superworm Trail, a 1.5-mile trail that led us through the forest finding out interesting insect facts. We had to find stations along the way and at each station took part in brass rubbing and fact finding. Our young carers were amazed to find out that toads can live up to ten years and that bees have four wings! We loved taking turns to read out the information cards to each other at each station and enjoyed working as a team to complete the trail.

On our way around we were photographers as well as explorers and took lots of pictures of the beautiful plant life, trees, and each other!

Once we completed the trail all the groups met for lunch then took part in den building. We used sticks and ferns to create our own shelters within the forest. After this we played hide and seek within the ferns. The young carers loved playing in the forest and hiding in the ferns. Although we did not see any animals (except for dogs!) we did find lots of bugs and found evidence of different animal habitats and poop!

Magic Moment!

“It was my first big trip today and I was a little bit nervous

because I didnt know anybody but I had lots of fun!

My favourite bit was den

building in the forest and I

“

made a new friend Jack, Age 9

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Cheshire Young Carers - Summer 2022

WEEK2

THE FUTURE

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4, 3, 2, 1...Blast Off! This week we donned our astronaut gear and headed to space for lots of ‘out of this world’ activities! Our young carers had plenty to talk about, particularly topics they had learnt at school: the planets, the stars, asteroids, black holes, galaxies and much more! We began by completing some space themed activities including various colouring sheets, word searches and puzzles.

Our young carers also made a solar system mobile! We talked about the different planets and various rhymes we had learnt at school to remember them (our staff even reminded the young carers that when they were at school, Pluto was considered a planet!). Our young carers then made sure we had all the planets in the correct order, trying to remember which is the smallest, which has rings etc. and then gave them a couple of coats of paint, ready to be displayed once dry.

We even managed to make our lunch ‘space’ themed…creating fruit rockets for dessert using strawberries, grapes, and blueberries. There were some amazing designs, almost too good to eat!

One of the more popular activities was space themed ‘shrink’ keyrings. Our young carers used the kits to make astronaut keyrings, rockets, planets etc. Each keyring was made from special material which made it easier to decorate but then shrunk to a more practical size once put in the oven! Our young carers were amazed to watch their personalised designs shrink before their eyes!

‘The boys have loved the centre days and made so many new friends!’ www.cheshireyoungcarers.com | info@cheshireyoungcarers.org | 0151 356 3176 | Get in touch

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CHAMBOREE SCOUT CAMP

Y

oung carers had an amazing time at Chamboree, Cheshire’s International Camp for Scouts and Guides aged 10-17 years. The young carers joined over 4000 Scouts and Guides at their space themed camp where they packed in as many activities as possible.

Visiting the Mars Zone they enjoyed archery, catapults, axe throwing, riffle shooting and riding on hovercrafts.

Visiting Earth Zone the young carers had a great time exploring the global development village, learning African drumming and completing activities using VR headsets.

After a fabulous lunch they visited the Saturn activity zone where they all went to the Circus and tried out some circus skills for themselves.

Thanks to Chamboree for hosting the young carers once again for a truly out of this world experience!

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Cheshire Young Carers - Summer 2022

GROSVENOR PARK

We had beautiful sunshine for our day in Grosvenor Park in Chester. When we first arrived, we saw the adventure play park was quiet, so we headed straight there for some fun.

The play park had some great equipment including slides, swings, roundabouts and climbing frames. The young carers enjoyed seeing how many of them could fit on the roundabout and stay on whilst spinning! We then headed for the miniature railway and had a ride on the railway around the park. We learnt that the railway was built in 1996 to commemorate the centenary of the Duke of Westminster’s railway at nearby Eaton Hall and that the trains operate on steam and diesel.

After lunch we had a ride on a Victorian carousel. Our young carers were surprised to discover that the carousel not only had horses to ride on but chickens too! In the afternoon we took a walk along the Roman walls to the cathedral. In the cathedral we had a look around and, in keeping with the theme of miniature railways, saw a display of Pete Waterman’s model railway! It was a great display with lots of trains and scenery and our young carers were challenged to spot items such as ducks and a postman!

To end the day we walked back along the Roman walls and stopped to have an ice cream next to the famous Eastgate clock: there were twenty flavours to choose from! It was then back to the park for a quick game of football and some tree climbing before it was time to head home.

Magic Moment! “.My favourtie bit was the

Merry-go-round, and playing

in the park. I have never made it to the top of the climbing frame but I did today!

“

Sarah, Age 7 www.cheshireyoungcarers.com | info@cheshireyoungcarers.org | 0151 356 3176 | Get in touch

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Cheshire Young Carers - Summer 2022

WEEK3

THE ROMANS

T

his week we travelled back to Ancient Rome to discover how the Romans might have lived, what they did for work and the sorts of tasks and activities they would have taken part in.

We started with some Roman themed activity sheets and then made some Roman boats. Roman boats would have had a heavy spike usually made of bronze that was used to pierce the hulls or break the oars of enemy ships. They used both wind and human power and had a square sail and a large number of oars on each side. Our young carers tried to recreate one of these boats using varying materials on which they painted varying designs and patterns.

Our biggest task during Roman week was to produce a mosaic coaster. Our young carers had seen lots of different Roman mosaics at the Deva Discovery Centre so were keen to have a go at making their own!

Our young carers found this task to be quite fiddly and it was important to have a steady hand when placing the tiles down. They wanted to make them as neat as possible, and it was crucial to leave enough space for grout so we could make them look authentic. Some young carers followed a design sheet and others decided to come up with an original design!

‘Emily has loved every activity she’s done. And it’s been a real help to us to o!

Thank you so much’ www.cheshireyoungcarers.com | info@cheshireyoungcarers.org | 0151 356 3176 | Get in touch

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SICK TO DEATH MUSEUM

G

roups from Macclesfield, Crewe, Chester and Winsford had a fantastic day in Chester exploring Sick to Death, a brand-new history of medicine attraction and the Deva Roman Discovery Centre where 2000-year-old history comes to life in a hands-on, interactive museum!

At Sick to Death, our young carers were met by a traditional monk and led through to Diagnosis Alley, a mock-Tudor street, complete with washing lines, cobbles, and fake rats! The entire museum was inside an old church, which our young carers thought was pretty cool! Along the street, our young carers discovered lots of different words; illnesses written in UV paint and even splatters all over the walls to represent germs! Yuck! One brave young carer even took the UV torch and helped us spot everything!

The tour took us through the history of medicine, from the Greek Hippocrates right up to bionic arms and more recent vaccinations. It was very interesting, but a bit gory at times! Some young carers saw leeches, had a go at sitting in an old-fashioned surgeon’s chair and even created Medieval poultices out of herbs and flowers!

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Cheshire Young Carers - Summer 2022

DEVA ROMAN DISCOVERY CENTRE At the Deva Roman Discovery Centre, we were greeted by a Roman Centurion and taken on a tour of a Roman military camp, or ‘Deva,’ that was once in the heart of Chester. The young carers had fun looking at the Roman living quarters, learning about the kinds of food served at a banquet, sitting in an amphitheatre, and even looking at some of the real Roman bricks that had been preserved under the museum.

They also dressed up in traditional clothes, learnt all about gladiators and explored a bathhouse. It was such a new and interesting way to look at the city of Chester!

After leaving the museum, we decided to go and have a look at the actual Roman amphitheatre. The young carers particularly enjoyed standing on what would have been the stage! This was once Britain’s biggest amphitheatre, and it was great to be able to visit after having talked about it at the museum!

Magic Moment! “.Today was lots of fun, I liked playing dress up and building a fort but the swords were really heavy!

I also learnt lots about the

“

Romans and that they ate eels William, Age 7

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Cheshire Young Carers - Summer 2022

WEEK4 THE 1960S

O

ur time machine took us back to the sixties this week! Some of our young carers had learnt about the 1960s at school, and some from their grandparents or great grandparents!

This week, we went ‘hippy’ and got into a ‘flower power’ state of mind by creating dream catchers.

First, the young carers had to wrap their chosen hoop with lace and produce a web by weaving string along the frame of the hoop. Finally, they used different accessories including feathers and beads to decorate.

Our young carers also had a go at making windchimes. They all enjoyed personalising them with assorted colours and patterns reminiscent of the flower power era.

One of the most popular activities this week was tie dying, which became a sensation in the late sixties and has made a bit of a come back in recent years! Our young carers loved mixing the dye, folding and tying their tote bags and applying the dye. The most challenging part was being patient enough to let the tote bag sit in the dye in order for it to effectively soak in.

‘Today, was Lily’s first session and she is made up to have made new friends, can she bo ok onto more sessions?’ www.cheshireyoungcarers.com | info@cheshireyoungcarers.org | 0151 356 3176 | Get in touch

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UA

TRAMPOLINE PARK

W

e were bouncing off the walls (quite literally!) at UA Trampoline Park in Winsford. Our young carers loved this huge adventure play ground which was packed with fifty interconnected trampolines, incorporating runways and tumble tracks where our young carers could jump, vault and somersault! There were also banked walls, so our young carers looked as if they were ‘flying’ through the air, and a whole lot more!

When we arrived at the trampoline park, we were given a safety briefing, so we knew the rules and we watched a safety video. Our young carers had to wear special trampoline grip socks, not only for hygiene purposes but so

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they could use the equipment in the safest way possible.

Our young carers then had chance to enjoy a whole hour of bouncing before lunch. We all tucked into pizza and hot dogs followed by ice cream. It was a good job lunch came after bouncing!

‘Thank you so much for today Joey had a great time!’

Cheshire Young Carers - Summer 2022

FREEDOME TRAMPOLINE PARK Young carers from Chester and Ellesmere Port visited Freedome, Trampoline Park over the summer and there is nothing they love more than being able to run around and go wild with their friends, so going to the trampoline park was the perfect place to do so!

We had a packed afternoon of jumping and trampoline games such as ‘bounce the egg’, when one young carer would curl up in ball and the others would bounce until the egg broke position.

Many of the young carers conquered the ladder challenge before practing flips in to the sponge pit To finish off the day we stopped for quick breather and some tasty party food!

These trips provide an opportunity for the young carers to be ‘children’ and hang out with their friends in a fun and carefree environment.

Magic Moment!

“Today was so go od I managed

to complete the ladder challenge and did a backflip into the

sponge pit. When can we do this trip again?

“

Joey, Age 10 www.cheshireyoungcarers.com | info@cheshireyoungcarers.org | 0151 356 3176 | Get in touch

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Cheshire Young Carers - Summer 2022

WEEK5

THE TUDORS

T

his week we travelled back over five hundred years, to the reign of the Tudors. Our young carers warmed up by completing some Tudor themed word searches, puzzles, and colouring sheets.

Firstly, each young carer made a Tudor book. They painted their books neatly and whilst they dried, everyone coloured in their old-style letters ready to glue on to the front cover.

There were some fantastic designs and the young carers tried hard to make them look authentic.

Our young carers also had a go at making their own Tudor roses. The Tudor rose is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the House of Tudor. It consists of five white inner petals, representing the House of York, and five red outer petals to represent the House of Lancaster. Making the Tudor rose was quite intricate work, and took a lot of time and patience to complete.

‘ Massive thankyou for all your support and fab days out! Matt has had the best summer and met some lovely friends.

You have all helped my little boys confidence grow. Thankyou! ’ www.cheshireyoungcarers.com | info@cheshireyoungcarers.org | 0151 356 3176 | Get in touch

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LITTLE MORETON HALL

L

ittle Moreton Hall is a National Trust property just outside Congleton, originally built for prosperous landowner William Moreton in about 1504-8.

Our young carers thoroughly enjoyed stepping back in time and exploring this higgledy-piggledy house, discovering what Tudor life would have been like and what it can tell us about the way we live today. There was a cobbled courtyard, extremely low doorways, spiral staircases, and uneven floors! And all of this was surrounded by a moat where our young carers loved spotting ducks and swans.

Once we had had a look around the house itself, we had chance to view the manicured garden and learn about the herbs and vegetables that the Tudors would have used, not only in their cooking but also as medicine!

Our young carers also got creative and sat down to draw parts of the house and gardens. Some of them even used watercolour paints to bring their pictures to life.

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Cheshire Young Carers - Summer 2022

ERDDIG HALL For this trip we teamed up with young carers from North Wales to visit Erddig, a beautiful National Trust site in Wrexham. Erddig comprises a country house built during the 18th century surrounded by a 1,900-acre estate, which includes a landscaped pleasure park and the earthworks of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle!

On arrival we were met by Erddig staff who handed everyone a map and explained the different things we could see and do throughout the day. We decided to explore the gardens to begin with, our young carers were really impressed by the number of juicy apples they could spot growing.

There were hundreds of beautiful plants and flowers of varying size and colours, and we talked about how the gardeners must have to work extremely hard to keep the gardens looking as fantastic as they do all year!

After lunch, the house opened so we explored inside, including the servants’ halls. Our self-guided tour began with a talk about what used to be the dairy. Staff told us all about how they used to fetch and carry the milk and churn the butter, our young carers asked lots of brilliant questions about what life would have been like there.

Our young carers had a wonderful time at Erddig, and it was wonderful to see friendships form between young carers from Cheshire and North Wales!

Magic Moment! “ Today was fun, I really liked

lo oking around the garden and learning about some of the plants because me and my

grandad have started to plant flowers at home.

“

Ceri, Age 10 www.cheshireyoungcarers.com | info@cheshireyoungcarers.org | 0151 356 3176 | Get in touch

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Cheshire Young Carers - Summer 2022

WEEK6

THE VICTORIANS

F

or the final week of our summer programme we went back to the reign of Queen Victoria for Victorian week.

We started by making morse code bracelets, using dots, dashes, and other shaped beads to create an original design. Our young carers came up with some fantastic ideas. Most decided to design their bracelets with their names on, attempting to learn their names in morse code by heart! Some young carers also played a traditional Victorian game of ‘pick up sticks’, pouring out the wooden sticks on to the table and attempting to pick up one at a time without disturbing any of the others! This was a tricky game which required a steady hand and lots of patience!

After lunch we explored the outside area and gathered leaves to make leaf silhouettes. The young carers placed their chosen leaves onto the sun paper and left them in direct sunlight for about fifteen minutes. They then poured water over the sun paper to reveal the beautiful leaf silhouettes. Amazing!

‘Thank you all for a fantastic day.

Ethan hasn’t stopped talking about it and cant wait for tomorrow!’ www.cheshireyoungcarers.com | info@cheshireyoungcarers.org | 0151 356 3176 | Get in touch

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BLISTS HILL

VICTORIAN TOWN

F

or our final trip of the summer, we took a journey back in time to the reign of Queen Victoria and walked Victorian streets, visited Victorian shops and, and tasted authentic Victorian sweets!

Our first stop was the bank where we exchanged our tokens for Victorian coinage and learnt all about pounds, shillings, and pence and how it compares to modern money. Most of our young carers enjoyed spending their money in the sweet shop: purchasing lollipops, jellybeans, and chocolate raisins whereas some bought authentic Victorian games and puzzles in the Grocers.

At lunchtime we visited the Victorian Fish and Chip shop where we bought chips to go with our lunches and sat along the river to enjoy them.

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One of the highlights of the trip for many of our young carers was the Madeley Wood Company Outdoor Adventure which featured elevated walks above the woodland floor, a log-style basket swing, seesaw, lookout tower with a coal chute slide and zip-line!

Our young carers also loved riding the carousel and swing chairs at the fairground, taking part in a traditional Victorian lesson at Stirchley Board School, learning about the weird and wonderful remedies at the Pharmacy and spelling out their names in morse code on the telegraph machine at the Post Office!

Our young carers had a wonderful time at Blists Hill, and it was a fantastic way to complete our summer programme!

Cheshire Young Carers - Summer 2022

Magic Moment! “.Even though I had to get up

really early for the coach, I had a great day!

It was co ol to learn about

life in Victorian time and use the old money in the shops.

My favourite bit of the day

was watching the Blacksmiths in the Forge casting the iron or when I won a prize on the fair ground stall.

This summer has been lots of fun, I have enjoyed all the

trips, especially today and the trampolining one.

I have made lots of new

friends on the trips and met

people going to my new scho ol, so I am excited to see them again in September.

“

Sam, Age 11 www.cheshireyoungcarers.com | info@cheshireyoungcarers.org | 0151 356 3176 | Get in touch

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TEAM YAC

T

eenage Young Carers face additional challenges in life as they move towards adulthood, as they consider exam options, think about moving to further education, apprenticeships or straight into work – and of course this is all with the peer pressure that comes from being a teenager.

Our YAC programme is designed to provide the young adult carers with information, confidence and new skills as well as helping them to develop friendship groups that will help them through their challenging teenage years. The YACs are encouraged to plan and decide what activities and trips will be included in the programmes.

The YAC programmes we deliver to the 14-18 year age group, including the holiday respite programmes, have a number of clear objectives:

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AMBITION Some young carers struggle to reach their full potential through mainstream education, often resulting in limited ambition for their adult lives. Hardly any young adult carers receive advice on transferable skills they have gained as a result of caring for family members. An important aspect of the programme is to recognise and develop these skills and encourage more ambition.

INDEPENDENCE Our aim is to encourage independence, so the young adult carers have confidence when joining in social activities and generally taking control of their own lives

Cheshire Young Carers - Summer 2022

IN TO WORK PROGRAMME This aspect of the work we undertake offers young adult carers the opportunity to go explore a wide range of job opportunities, methods of entry into these workplaces and is generally designed to inspire more challenging aspirations.

SKILLS FOR LIFE All the activities we provide for young adult carers are designed to try and use the various skills they have, usually enhanced skills because of their caring role, to illustrate how these can be used as skills for life, irrespective of their choice at the age of 18 with regards to continuing in further education or moving into employment.

FRIENDSHIP GROUPS It is well known that young carers often find it difficult to create friendship groups in which they are confident to discuss and explain the challenges in their lives or at least have friends who appreciate the challenges they have. It is often difficult to take part in friendship group activities which can lead to friction and the breakdown of friendships. From experience we have learnt that by linking young adult carers together they often form strong friendship groups based on a common understanding, often without the need to discuss their specific challenges but with a general attitude of accepting people as they are.

www.cheshireyoungcarers.com | info@cheshireyoungcarers.org | 0151 356 3176 | Get in touch

341

TEAM YAC SUMMER

WILDSHORE DELAMERE

On one of the hottest days of the summer, YACs from Cheshire East and West travelled by public transport to Wildshore Delamere for some wet and wild fun. After changing into wet suits, everyone soon discovered the best way to cool off was to take part in the water activities.

The first challenge was the Aqua Park where they had to complete some Ninja Warrior-style features including Tire Run, Ninja-Jump and Eagles Nest along with an epic 3.8m inflatable tower, Mount Rainier. Next was Aqua Chimp, a floating ropes course packed full of fun and challenging elements including obstacles, rope swings and ziplines. The final challenge was Ringo where the YACs split into groups of three to take turns in tearing up and down the lake on giant inflatables, feeling every bump and splash along the way!

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Cheshire Young Carers - Summer 2022

CHESHIRE OAKS Young Adult Carers took over Cheshire Oaks for the day.

Some young carers decided on bowling, some rushed off to the cinema and others settled on the indoor trampoline park. It was great to see the young people supporting those who were new to the YAC trips by encouraging them to join in and helping them throughout the day. At the trampoline park, the young people enjoyed jumping into the foam pits, bouncing against the walls, and clambering over the ladders.

Other groups challenged each other at Ten Pin Bowling and one group enjoyed watching the Minions Movie at Vue Cinema. After lunch, the young carers were free to explore the shops for a few hours. We met back at the cinema entrance, and quite a variety of items had been purchased!

MODEL UN Our YACs unleashed their inner politicians at our Model United Nations Day! Polly, one of our summer interns, arranged the session based on her own experiences at the University of Birmingham as a graduate of Political Science and International Relations. The agenda of the day was passing a resolution to address the crisis in Ukraine - hardly a small feat. The young carers threw themselves into their country roles, with countries such as the UK, the USA, Russia, Ukraine, and North Korea represented on the Cheshire Young Carers Security Council. We witnessed some intense debate from all sides of the conflict, along with some incredible moments of cooperation to get aid packages to Ukraine passed. We have definitely got some future leaders and diplomats in our midst!

WATERWORLD YACs in Cheshire East enjoyed a day out at Waterworld, Stoke-On-Trent. Some YACs chilled out in the bubble pools and enjoyed the river rapids, and wave pool, while others braved the waterslides, from the flume to the black hole. Everyone had an exciting time! For those who dared, the most exhilarating ride was Thunderbolt - the UK’s first ever trap door water flume, where they were dropped into a 25mph flume! After lunch at the Water’s Edge Restaurant, it was time to see who would be crowned champion at the tiki themed mini golf. www.cheshireyoungcarers.com | info@cheshireyoungcarers.org | 0151 356 3176 | Get in touch

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CREATIVE WRITING

This workshop was organised by Anna, one of our summer interns, who is currently studying English Literature. Anna gave the group some hints and tips on different ways to complete their own creative writing. What better way to tell you more about this day than with a creative writing piece completed by one of the YACs themselves?!

‘Our day started off a little after 10am. We were all fuelled up with coffee and a train ride, prepared to go hunting for ghosts, which we sadly did not find. However, we all had a great time walking the streets of Chester, as well as the walls, visiting the river and the cathedral. We even found time for an ice cream and coffee break, with the young carers choosing flavours from salted caramel to chocolate brownie! More fuel was needed though for an afternoon of creative writing, so Domino’s was ordered to the activity centre. After that, we were ready to go and with the help of one of the summer interns, we had a productive afternoon of ghost story writing, art, and Top Trumps. For me at least, it was tons of fun and I felt very welcomed, especially as it was my first trip with the young carers.’

BANK OF AMERICA

Our day began with a talk from the Global Technology & Operations team at Bank of America. The team discussed their roles and took questions from the YACs about their jobs and the company. Following this the YACs took part in a ‘murder mystery’ style activity, each were given scripts and a role to play within the bank; their task was to discover who had ‘hacked’ the computer system! The staff were really impressed with how each YAC involved themselves in the game and how they contributed to the task, successfully finding the ‘hacker’.

After lunch, the YACs had a tour of the Bank of America buildings and took part in an employability workshop run by Ceri from The Pledge with help from volunteers from across different departments at Bank of America. This workshop included C.V writing skills and interview techniques, culminating in each YAC taking part in a 1:1 mock interview with a volunteer. What a fantastic opportunity!

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Cheshire Young Carers - Summer 2022

GO KARTING

Our young adult carers from Cheshire teamed up with the YACs from North Wales to enjoy a day of go-karting in Liverpool. We travelled by train to TeamSport; a fast, furious, and fun indoor go-karting track with banked corners, ramps and fast straights making for an adrenalin fuelled experience! On arrival, our YACs got suited and booted with a special race suit, protective headgear and gloves.

They were given a de-brief so they knew exactly how to control the go-karts, how to race around the track in the best and safest way possible. They also learned what to do if they saw certain flags or lights throughout their race.

The YACs really enjoyed getting some laps under their belts, and for some it was their first experience of go-karting. They all gave it a good shot - some going much faster than others of course! The YACs headed out onto the track from the pits in two groups. They attempted to set their fastest lap time in two 15-minute sessions. Each YAC tried to set new personal bests each time whilst allowing for a bit of healthy competition with their friends! Each session was followed by a break where all drivers received their personalised lap times on the big screen (as well as a much-needed juice!). They all enjoyed comparing their times and seeing how many laps they were able to complete in the 15-minute time slot! After racing, it was time for some much-needed lunch: pizza all round, then back on the train into the city to enjoy some time exploring and shopping in Liverpool.

NARROWBOAT TRIPS

Thanks to Wirral Community Narrowboat Trust, we were able to take two groups on narrowboat trips from Christleton to Wharton Locks, then returning back to Christleton.

Throughout the day, the WCNT volunteers showed the YACs how to steer the narrowboat until they were confident enough to steer themselves under the watchful eye of the skipper. The YACs were fascinated to experience the narrowboat travelling through Wharton Lock and were keen to watch some of the wildlife on the canal. The trips were very relaxed; enjoying taking time out to watercolour paint, brush up on photography skills and play numerous card games. There was even time for some extremely competitive Cluedo and Monopoly games! www.cheshireyoungcarers.com | info@cheshireyoungcarers.org | 0151 356 3176 | Get in touch

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THANK YOU!

W

e would like to say a special thank you to Jacqueline Freeman who kindly gifted Cheshire Young Carers a family ticket to CarFest North, and also to Tatton Park Pop Up Festival who donated multiple tickets to a range of events across their summer schedule.

To decide our winners every young carer who booked onto the summer programme was automatically entered into a draw and names pulled from a hat.

Some of our lucky winners included Jake who went to CarFest with his Dad and sister -‘He had such a fantastic time, thank you so much!’

And also Tony who went to see The Incredible Family Show - ‘It was a fantastic day, the children loved it, my husband managed to get time off work so we were able to go as a family! We are so grateful for the opportunity to have seen this show, thank you!’

If you would like to donate a prize for future programmes please contact the office via email.

events@cheshireyoungcarers.com

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SUMMER PROGRAMME 2022 PROJECT REVIEW

Cheshire Young Carers Northern Lights Business Park, Rossfield Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 3AW Tel: 0151 356 3176 info@cheshireyoungcarers.com www.cheshireyoungcarers.org Registered Charity no. 1151399