Across England, a large and often invisible group of children are balancing school with helping a parent, sibling or grandparent who is ill, disabled or struggling with mental health or addiction. They are young carers — and despite years of warnings about the pressures they face, education policy still treats them as peripheral.
New nationally representative evidence, using linked data from Understanding Society and the National Pupil Database, provides the clearest picture yet of the educational toll of caring responsibilities. The message is stark: young carers experience early, persistent and preventable disadvantages in both attainment and attendance, and current policy is nowhere near sufficient to address them.
This study was conducted in collaboration with Alejandra Letelier (Anglia Ruskin University), Anne McMunn (University College London), as well as Andy McGowan (Carers Trust) and Krista Cartlidge (MYTIME Young carers), and funded by the Nuffield Foundation.
It is the first study in the UK to combine self-reported caring status, crucial for capturing the ‘hidden’ majority missed in school data, with national records of attainment and absences at Key Stage 2 (age 10/11) and Key Stage 4 (age 15/16). It adjusts for socioeconomic position, household composition, school type and special educational needs (SEND), providing rigorous, nationally relevant findings.
Young carers made up 12.8% of the KS2 sample and 10.6% at KS4 – this equates to around three young carers in every class. Young carers were more likely to live in deprived neighbourhoods, in low-income or single-parent households, qualify for Free School Meals, and (by KS4) have Special Education Needs or Disability (SEND). In other words: caring responsibilities and structural disadvantage frequently go hand in hand — but crucially, caring itself exerts an independent effect on education.
Early gaps that widen over time
Attainment
By KS2, young carers were already less likely to meet expected standards in reading, writing and maths. After adjusting for socioeconomic factors, most of this early gap is explained, except for writing, which remained borderline significant. This may reflect the extra time required for independent writing practice — time that many young carers simply do not have.
By KS4, the picture is much more concerning. Young carers:
- achieved fewer GCSEs overall
- were 60% less likely to achieve top grades (A*/A, 8-9)
- were less likely to hit benchmarks like five good GCSEs (A*-C, 4-9) or the EBacc
- had significant disadvantages in English EBacc, even after adjustment
Even when accounting for household income, SEND and parental occupation, young carers still achieved substantially fewer and lower-grade GCSEs. Caring responsibilities, in other words, are dragging attainment down in ways that are not explained by the household environment alone.
Attendance — a silent warning sign
Attendance data shows a similar pattern. Young carers:
- missed 29% more days per year at KS2
- missed 30% more days at KS4
- had over twice as many unauthorised absences
- were significantly more likely to be persistently absent
These disparities remained strong even after adjusting for socioeconomic disadvantage, showing how caring contributes independently to absence.
Persistent absence is a high-risk marker for low attainment; nationally, only 40.2% of persistently absent pupils reach expected standards, compared with 65% overall. Given their overrepresentation among persistently absent pupils, young carers are being funnelled into long-term educational disadvantage.
Recent figures suggest the situation may be worsening. In 2023/24, young carers missed 29 days on average per year, compared to 17 days for their peers.
An equity issue hiding in plain sight
Some inequalities appear strongest among young carers from more advantaged backgrounds, such as those without SEND, in two-parent households, or living in the least deprived areas. These results should be interpreted cautiously due to small numbers, but they highlight an important point: caring cuts across socioeconomic categories, and young carers in “high performing” groups may be especially overlooked.
Current policy frameworks — which primarily target deprivation, SEND or school-level factors — are simply not designed to detect or respond to these needs.
Why young carers struggle
Time pressure, exhaustion, emotional stress and lack of academic support all play a role. Prior research shows:
- 45% of young carers struggle with exams
- 29% struggle to complete homework
- 37% feel they are not reaching their potential
- Half report mental health difficulties
- Many report feeling teachers do not understand their situation
These patterns reflect how these gaps arise from structural constraints rather than individual shortcomings.
What needs to change
The study shows that young carers face early gaps in attendance and attainment that widen by secondary school. Because these challenges are only partly explained by socioeconomic disadvantage, policy must focus on early identification, tailored support in schools, and better coordination across services.
1) Identify and support young carers early
Schools should be able to recognise young carers in primary years, monitor attendance, and offer targeted help before gaps widen.
2) Embed young carers in education policy
Young carers must be explicitly included in national guidance on vulnerable pupils so support is consistent, not optional.
3) Provide tailored school-based support
Schools should adjust learning expectations and offer pastoral support that helps pupils balance caring with education.
4) Address wider family and structural barriers
Stronger social care, disability support, and mental health provision are essential to reduce the pressure placed on children. At present, some local authorities or young carer services have a lower age limit on the young carers they support – this is not based on any legal framework and needs to ensure that younger young carers get the support they need.
5) Coordinate action across sectors
Education, health and social care must work together so young carers receive joined‑up, timely support.
A fairer deal is possible
Young carers hold families together — often at real personal cost. This study shows the disadvantage they face is persistent and preventable. Early identification, supportive attendance policies, targeted funding and joined‑up services would transform their educational prospects.
If we are serious about tackling attainment gaps and promoting health equity, young carers must move from the margins of policy to the centre of it.
About the author
Dr Becca Lacey is a Reader in Social and Lifecourse Epidemiology at City St George’s, University of London. She leads a programme of research on the longer-term effects of being a young carer in the UK, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. More details on this project can be found here: The long-term effects of being a young carer – Nuffield Foundation. Becca is also Deputy Director of Equalise: ESRC Centre for Lifecourse Health Equity and leading the learning theme investigating how to reduce children’s health and educational inequities.