6 top tips for young carers on how to stay on top of your schoolwork

Despite the recent warm weather, summer is drawing to a close. And if you’re a young carer, you may find yourself under a lot of pressure trying to balance a successful school life with your caring role now that you’ve gone back to school. As an A-level leaver I have balanced these aspects of my life myself, so I thought it would be valuable to share some advice. 

1. The most important tip is to ask for help. I think it is particularly important to ask for help from your teacher. That’s because you really need to explain your caring role to them. This allows them to understand your situation and be more understanding when you find it hard to keep up with things like homework. It is also important that you ask for their help when you do not understand something you have been taught. Asking for help during the lesson and asking for time with them outside of the lesson will improve your understanding of your subjects. It will also signal to your teachers that you are dedicated to your learning, placing you in a favourable position. It is also important that you reach out to your local carers centre to make the caring process easier for you as you return to school. 
2. Once you have asked for support you can make a schedule for yourself. This will allow you to better plan when to complete your responsibilities. Time management is a skill many of us young carers already have, but creating an easily understandable schedule will help keep you organised and remind you of what you have to do. 
3. Study with your friends. This tip is not suitable for focused studying as you may distract one another but it is great for active recall and coming up with answers. Ask your friends a question as a group and let everyone answer in their own words. This will not only help you to remember answers, but also liven up your revision, giving you time to also have fun. 
4. Cleaning your workspace allows you to have a more enjoyable studying experience as things won’t be as hard to find and you won’t feel claustrophobic. It is important to remember that you don’t need a desk to study, as long as you are not in a distracting space or one you use for relaxing.. To make it a perfect workplace you should get a snack and some water to keep you alert and energised, whilst also preventing you from getting hungry/thirsty whilst you work.  
5. You should also turn off your phone to remove distractions. If you need music download Spotify on a device without social media apps like your computer, or turn on your radio, in both cases avoid playing music with lyrics, especially lyrics you are familiar with as it’s easy to go from studying hard to singing along. 
6. To better remember your topics you should group them together. This way you give your topics meaning, making them easier to recall. You can also teach someone else – what you’ll find is that you have to explain what you’re talking about in plain English so they understand. This way you also increase your understanding. The things you do not understand will be difficult to explain to others, and those are the topics you should study. 

It is important to remember that the world is much bigger than the grades on your report card. As long as you know you’ve worked hard, you should be proud of what you achieve in school. These tips are here for you to do that more easily. I hope this helps you.  
 
Good luck! 

Teni Adeloye