New Department for Education data reveals stark inequalities for young carers

• Fewer than half (45%) of young carers left secondary school with 5 GCSE passes including English and Maths. Young carers are 25% less likely than their peers without caring responsibilities to achieve this academic milestone.  
• Fewer than half of young carers (49%) left primary school this year with the expected standard of reading, writing and Maths. 
• Just half of young carers (51%) finished school with GCSE passes in English and Maths, compared with 65% for non-young carers.   

New attainment figures published by the Department for Education (DfE) during the last two months reveal damning evidence of the educational inequalities experienced by young carers, according to national carers charity Carers Trust.  
 
Carers Trust’s analysis of the data, which relates to 14,847 young carers who finished primary or secondary education in England in summer 2025, has identified a stark attainment gap between young carers and their peers at the crucial transition ages of 11 and 16.  
 
The DfE figures, which included young carers for the first time this year, show that fewer than half (45%) of young carers left secondary school with 5 GCSE passes, including English and Maths. This compares to 60% of those not identified as young carers. And only half of young carers (51%) achieved GCSE passes in English and Maths, compared with 65% for non-young carers.  
 
Just as concerning is the finding that these inequalities start in primary school. Fewer than half of young carers (49%) left primary school this year with the expected standard of reading, writing and Maths, compared to 61% of non-young carers – a 12% attainment gap. The data also highlights that, at Key Stage 2, young carers are half as likely as their peers to be meeting the higher standard in the three core areas of reading, writing and Maths (4% vs 8%).  
  
Carers Trust shares its analysis of the DfE data in a new report, ‘Caring and Classes 2025 – young carers and attainment inequalities’. In the same report, Carers Trust makes a series of recommendations for the Government, combined authorities and schools. These include calls for: 

• the Department for Education to require all schools to have a Young Carer Lead and a policy for young carers. 
• improvements in reporting and better monitoring of young carers’ attendance. 
• funding to improve identification and support for young carers in schools in England. 

The report is being launched at the second Young Carers Futures conference on 23 October 2025. Hosted by Carers Trust, this important event brings together young carers and young adult carers, senior policymakers and professionals to focus on improving outcomes for young carers. The keynote speaker this year is His Majesty’s Chief Inspector at Ofsted, Sir Martyn Oliver, and health, education and social care professionals will be attending.  Throughout the day, young adult carers will be sharing their experiences of the inequalities they face in education and at work and putting forward ideas on how to create brighter futures for all young carers.       
 
In response to the Carers Trust report, Jess Asato MP, Member of the Education Select Committee and co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Children, said: 
“This important new report clearly shows how much more collective work is needed to improve support for young carers in schools. The stark fact that fewer than half of young carers leave school with 5 GCSE passes including English and Maths is why young carers have to be included when we are looking to improve outcomes for pupils facing the greatest barriers to learning.” 
 
Alison Bennett MP, Vice Chair of the APPG for Young Carers and Young Adult Carers and Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Care and Carers, said: 
“These shocking new findings should ring alarm bells for all of us. Too many young carers are missing out on the support they need to have the same chances in school as their peers. This has to change. The Government must now act on these findings and set out a plan to improve identification and support for young carers in schools.  
 
“Requiring all schools to have a Young Carers Lead, to coordinate awareness and support for young carers across the school community, would help to close the attainment gap and make sure all young carers can thrive at school.” 
 
This new data adds to the growing weight of evidence about the significant challenges faced by young carers. Last month, Carers Trust published the results of a survey of 350 young carers aged 8-17 from across the UK, carried out by Opinium Research. It revealed that as many as three in five (59%) young carers spend at least three hours a day caring, limiting time for homework, seeing friends or hobbies. While a third (36%) of young carers said that caring had left them feeling tired or worn out at school and 29% that it meant they didn’t get enough sleep.  
 
Andy McGowan, Policy and Practice Manager at Carers Trust said: 
“Young carers deserve better. At Carers Trust, we will continue to shout about these stark educational inequalities in our fight for a fair future for every young carer. If the Government is really committed to removing the barriers to education, employment and training, then young carers need to be at the heart of its thinking and its action."