I was spending £2.20 a day just to get to school and the EMA would have helped.”ĭylan is part of Barnardo’s Newport Young Carers, a group which took their campaign for more support to the Senedd this week. There should be more leniency around the EMA. I was stressed and sleep deprived and ended up not going to school for two months. When I got to sixth form I would be in for about two weeks and then miss a day because I wasn’t getting enough sleep or I had to look after my dad. “I help look after my dad and things got worse when I was about 13. I never claimed the EMA because I knew I wouldn’t be able to meet the attendance demands and I found the application so complicated.”ĭescribing life at home, Dylan said it got worse just before he had to start seriously working towards vital exams. Being a young carer can be very hard when you are trying to get to school, college or a job. “There are lots of young carers with caring responsibilities but so few teachers really understand how difficult it can be for us just getting to school every day. I ended up losing out on two months of lessons and I’m lucky I still managed to get two A-levels. Describing his time at school in Newport, Dylan said: “Only one or two teachers understood, others didn’t care if I went missing. ![]() ![]() One problem is having to have high attendance to get the Education Maintenance Allowance to help with costs as young carers often have to miss classes to look after relatives, sometimes at short notice. Young carer Dylan Thomas, 18, from Newport (left) with John Griffiths MS and young carers Miles Smith and Tom Oanes at the Senedd.
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