At the young carers service, we recognise everyday should be about young carers, so annually when Young Carers Action day (YCAD) rolls around we want to make sure our young carers feel listened to and heard.

This year was all about protecting young carers futures, so throughout the month of March we planned different virtual activities ranging from a fun charades night, a scavenger hunt, just dance...to some more mindfulness sessions such as diamond painting and rainbow memory jars. To ensure our young carers know essential life-saving skills when caring, we also hosted a first aid session.

The young carers that attended each of those sessions said they were amazing, fabulous, tricky, therapeutic, stress-relieving, relaxing, good and fun.

We also asked young carers to think about their futures and some of the skills they have learnt through caring. They told us they have learnt to be more caring, communicate better, maturity, patience, better reflexes, self-care, supporting each other and making new friends through the young carers service, and learning other ways to help look after a loved one safely.

Although they have a caring role, that does not stop young carers from having aspirations; they would like to attend university and get a degree - but understand things may change or become difficult due to having a caring role, so recognise they need to have other options too. Some other young carers told us they would like to become a chef, pro-tennis player, gymnastics coach, and another said writer!

We also delivered a virtual professionals drop-in event on the 16 March to find out what some schools and other community partners were doing to mark the day. It was fantastic to discuss the theme for YCAD, talk about best practice and different ways we can support young carers across Coventry.

Some ideas discussed around protecting young carers futures were to ensure they are identified and able to access relevant support, let young carers know it is okay to be a carer and to celebrate the skills they learn - which in turn will normalise their roles, ensure children are confident to talk about their caring role, recognise themselves as carers and in turn are able to speak to the right people for support. 

We’d love to hear if you were aware of YCAD and if so, what you did to mark the day? Send us a short line at youngcarers@carerstrusthofe.org.uk to let us know or if you would like information for any future events for professionals.

If you would like to find out more information about our service, please head over to www.youngcarerscoventry.com

We’re delighted to say that the monthly Carers peer support group for those of you in Coventry who are supporting people living with dementia is re-starting in virtual on 6 April. Hopefully it won’t be too long until it is safe for the group to meet in person, but in the meantime Corinne and Nikki are looking forward to welcoming former and new members to this opportunity to share experiences, gain information and share tips and mutual support.

If you are interested, please email with your name and contact details and a member of the team will contact you shortly.

If you need dementia related information, guidance or support, please do not hesitate to contact Dementia Connect on 0333 150 3456 to speak to a Dementia Adviser.

Virtual day centre

Read on to learn more about our virtual day centre offer, don’t be put off by the word “virtual”! This service can help you return to some of your favourite activities from the safety of your home and enable you to connect with others safely. We can meet you virtually or face-to-face. Once we get to know you, we will design a personal activity plan together and help you take part in activities you enjoy. If you would like to, we can help you use technology on loan from Carers Trust Heart of England to join virtual groups or connect with family and friends using facetime or Zoom calls. The virtual day centre sessions take place Monday to Friday, between 10am-12noon and 2pm–4pm and activities include puzzling, quizzes, virtual walks around places of interest, adult colouring, and crafting activities, we can even take you for a walk or wheel around your local community if this is your choice, the service is very flexible.

To enquire about joining the service or learn more please call Tyhler Varney on 07936 363000.

Virtual gardening workshops

For the each gardening session, we have exact dates and topics: Please see the details and dates below for each session, followed by the zoom meeting link:

7 April - Container gardening - Gardening without a garden

13 April - Plant and care for a tree - A plant for life 

Carers Week - June (Exact date TBC) - Plant propagation

Join Zoom Meeting using Meeting ID: 851 6732 5584 Passcode: 168252

Principles of Pilates foundation course – starting 13 April 2021

Carers Trust Heart of England are pleased to announce we are offering more FREE Pilates sessions via Zoom starting on Tuesday 13 April 2021 and running for five weeks. 

The class starts at 9.30am and Pre-booking is essential. The deadline for registration will be 24 hours before the course starts by 9.30am on Monday 12 April 2021. Bookings after this deadline will not be accepted.

Sessions will run on:

• Tuesday 13 April

• Tuesday 20 April

• Tuesday 27 April

• Tuesday 4 May

• Tuesday 11 May

Register now. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact Emma, the course organiser via email or by phone: 0754 5480 326

National Autism awareness week aims to help people's understanding of Autism and what they can do to make life easier for those affected by it.  

For more information and resources please refer to the National Autistic Society and Autism West Midlands. 

Looking for something to do with your little ones until libraries reopen fully, then check out our online Rhymetime, Stories and Craft videos.

Libraries are offering telephone support with your Census return until Tuesday 4 May 2021

Census Day is Sunday 21 March. You can fill yours in online as soon as you get your access code in the post.

By taking part, you can help inform decisions about services that shape your community.

If you need help, you can speak to a member of staff on 024 7697 5492

For more information visit the website. 

Date/Time: Thursday 22 April 2021 at

10am – 12.30pm

Venue: Webinar - link will be sent on booking. 

Course outline: 

If you would like to book a place on the course, please email Erin York. 

Date and times:

Wednesday 21 April 10am – 12noon and 1pm – 3pm

Tuesday 27 April 10am – 12noon and 1pm – 3pm

Sessions will take place via Zoom.

Here is an outline of what the session will cover:

• Who is eligible for a health check?
• Common health needs in the learning disability population
• Why we do learning disability health checks
• Health inequalities for people with learning disabilities/barriers to healthcare
• Local uptake and data
• What is a learning disabilities annual health check and what to expect during the appointment
• How to support someone to prepare for a health check, including reasonable adjustments
• Health action plans and hospital passport
• What you can do to support someone following their health check
• Resources and local LD services and support

The content for the four sessions is the same, please book only one slot!

If you would like to book a place on the course, please email Erin York.

Coventry City Council are proud to be working with NHS in Coventry and Rugby to soon commission a free, safe, and anonymous online mental health and wellbeing service, Kooth.

Kooth will help support children and young people in the city, aged 11 to 25 from next month. To find out more, head to the website. 

Care Companion is an online resource intended to provide personalised support to anyone with a caring role in Coventry and Warwickshire. It provides access to a range of informative resources and support tools, all completely free.  Please visit their website to find out more. 

You will be able to create your own profile to ensure resources are relevant to your needs and those of the person you care for.

The team at Warwick Medical School are currently evaluating Care Companion via a research study funded by the NHS. The study aims to evaluate the impact of Care Companion on carers to help improve its design and content. If you are interested in hearing more about the study and potentially participating you can find out more on the website without any obligation.

We welcome carers views and look forward to hearing from carers and people who have disseminated information about Care Companion. Any questions please contact Theresa Day.

Coventry City Council are fully funding external wall insulation to help you keep your house warmer and save money. In order to qualify, households must have an income below £30,000 and an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E, F or G. If your property does not have an EPC don’t worry as this can be arranged. There are also grants for broken or replacement boilers. If you would like to find out if you are eligible please contact Act on Energy on 0800 988 2881.