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Young Carers

Young carers are children and young people who help look after a member of the family who is sick, disabled or has mental health problems, or is misusing drugs or alcohol. They may be someone who has direct caring responsibilities or they may be someone whose life is affected as a result of living with someone who has these conditions.

Burgess Hill Town Council supports Burgess Hill Youth to put on events for Young Carers throughout the year. The Town Council provides all administrative support and is the initial point of contact for Young Carer enquiries. Burgess Hill Youth lead the events on the day with support from Town Council staff.

A young carer is someone who cares for another member of their household, who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability (including SEND), a mental health problem or addiction. The care may include cooking, cleaning or providing emotional support. We also believe it is a young person whose life is impacted due to the needs of another member of the household and although they may not actively partake in the general care of that person, they may miss out on thing their peers would normally be doing.

Please contact Kayleigh at Burgess Hill Town Council on Kayleigh@burgesshill.gov.uk if you require further information.

Upcoming event

Our next Young Carers Fun Day will be Tuesday 29 October, 10am-230pm at Fairfield Community Centre. Lunch will be included. If you would like to register your young carers attendance, please can you complete the google form here by 9am on Friday 25 October.

If you haven’t done so already, please also complete the annual permission form here – this form only needs completing once until 31st July 2025.

Young carers events 2024

July 2024
The young carers were joined by the Lost Woods of the Low Weald and Downs team on Thursday 25th July. Where they explored the nearby copse; hunting for bugs, swinging in hammocks and playing games. The children also did whittling and made things from clay, among other activities!

A tasty lunch was provided by Mustard Seed Café

May 2024
The young carers attending the session on Tuesday 28 May created beautiful creatures to be carried as part of the Summer Fayre parade on 23 June. There were parrots, owls and even a shark!
Mustard Seed Café provided a lovely lunch for all the children and staff.

April 2024
On Tuesday 9th April, Lost Woods of the Low Weald and Downs team brought woodland themed activities to Fairfield Community Centre. The children got thoroughly involved with whittling, flower stamping and nest making, among other things! Mustard Seed Café provided lunch for all the children and staff, including some very yummy cupcakes!

After lunch the children made Easter nests, with Jackie, to take home. Two Young leaders from Burgess Hill Youth were also on hand all day to help the young carers with the activities.

Then on Thursday 11th the young carers were invited to attend Westall House – Dementia Care Home in Horsted Keynes, where magician Marco put on a great show, it was enjoyed by children and residents alike! The show was followed by a tasty tea and all the young carers were gifted a goody bag and Easter egg to take home. Burgess Hill Girls kindly supplied a minibus for the journey.

February 2024
On Tuesday 13 February the young carers worked with Tom to create name boards using paint pens. The children displayed amazing creativity and produced some wonderful work! They then headed to the Mustard Seed Cafe for a tasty lunch, which was kindly funded by Co-op Kings Weald & Hurstpierpoint stores. After lunch the young carers went back to the club for fun and games.

January 2024
The young carers attended the Burgess Hill Theatre Club production of Aladdin, at Burgess Hill Academy in January. The young carers thoroughly enjoyed the trip, which was kindly funded by Burgess Hill District Lions, and Burgess Hill and District Rotary. They also all received a chocolate selection box thanks to Burgess Hill Youth.

Young carers events 2023

December 2023

On Wednesday 20th December the Young Carers visited Westall House for some Christmas fun! The children, and residents alike, had a lovely time doing crafts, playing games, and even had a sing along. A yummy tea was provided with a gift bag for every child. Burgess Hill Youth gifted each young carers with a chocolate selection box too!

Our thanks go to Westall House for inviting us, Burgess Hill Girls for the use of their minibus, and to Fred our driver who got thoroughly involved with the activities too!

October 2023

On Tuesday 24 October the young carers enjoyed Halloween themed activities including decorating cakes, biscuits and marshmallow cakes. There were some fantastic creepy creations and the children took their treats home to share with their families. The young carer also enjoyed a short walk to The Mustard Seed Café for lunch, which was kindly made free of charge by the team there.

September 2023

The older young carers and their friends spent a fabulous weekend at PGL Windmill Hill, organised by Burgess Hill Youth. The group tried a variety of activities, from raft building to problem solving and had a great time learning new skills. Ian MacDonald assisted Jackie Cooper in accompanying the group and transport was kindly supplied by Mr Rowlands at Woodlands Meed.

August 2023

The young carers were invited to Westhall House, in Horsted Keynes, on Monday to spend some time participating in activities with the residents there. They were treated to a science workshop where they made slime and sherbet, as well as a bag of science themed goodies to take home!

Transport was kindly supplied by Burgess Hill Girls, who granted Burgess Hill Youth with the use of a minibus and volunteer driver for the afternoon.

The children thoroughly enjoyed the visit and we look forwards to returning in the future!

Our thanks goes to Lynn at Westhall House, Paul our driver and to Burgess Hill Girls.

July 2023
The Young Carers joined the Action in Rural Sussex team in West Park Reserve for the fun day on 25 July, as part of their Lost Woods Project. The young carers got involved with den building, woodland crafts and bug hunting, amongst other woodland activities. Then they headed for lunch, kindly made free of charge by the team at the Mustard Seed Café, and some more games in the church grounds. A great day was had by all and thankfully there was only a little of sprinkling of rain!

May 2023
The young carers made willow ‘lantern’ flowers at the fun day on Tuesday 30 May, which will be part of the Summer Fayre parade in Burgess Hill on 25 June. Some of the children also made fabric bags with Kim, who brought her sewing machine along for the children to use. The young carers also enjoyed lunch at the Mustard Seed Café which was kindly supplied free of charge.

February 2023
The Town Council supported Burgess Hill Youth with their young carers day on Tuesday 14 February. The children decorated biscuits and cupcake, as well as joined in with stone painting and crafts. Some of the young leaders from Burgess Hill Youth attended and ran sports in the MUGA, including tennis and football. The team at the Mustard Seed Café kindly supplied the young carers and staff with a tasty lunch.

January 2023
The young carers were invited to attend the panto by Burgess Hill Theatre Club at Burgess Hill Academy in January. The young carers thoroughly enjoyed the performance of Jack and the Beanstalk! The trip was funded by Burgess Hill and District Lions, and Burgess Hill and District Rotary. They also all received a chocolate selection box thanks to Burgess Hill District Lions Club, Burgess Hill & District Rotary Club, Central Sussex Rotary and Mid Sussex Round Table.

Young Carers Events 2022

October 2022

George from Yellow Brick Lab ran a brilliant Lego robotics workshop for the young carers. They took great delight in building and programming their robot, making them dance and adding silly sound effects! The children also enjoyed a short walk to The Mustard Seed Café for lunch, which was kindly made free of charge by the team there.

July 2022

Burgess Hill Youth and the Town Council welcomed Kate and Lee of Poi Passion to lead the young carers in a circus skills workshop on Tuesday 26 July. It was thoroughly enjoyed by the young carers with smiles all around! The Mustard Seed café benevolently supplied everyone a tasty and well-earned lunch!

April 2022

The Town Council supported Burgess Hill Youth on Thursday 21 April at Fairfield Community Centre in running the young carers event. The Lost Woods Project team from Action in Rural Sussex ran a woodland session in West Park Reserve, with lunch kindly supplied by the Mustard Seed café at St Edwards Church.

February 2022

Burgess Hill Youth and the Town Council ran a young carers event on Thursday 24 February at Fairfield Community Centre. Young carers took part in lots of activities, including making insect hotels, and bird burgers. The event was supported by the Lost Woods Project team from Action in Rural Sussex and lunch was generously provided by the Mustard Seed café at St Edwards Church.

Young Carers Events 2021

August 2021

Burgess Hill Youth led a young carers adventure in the woods on 12 August with lots of fun activities with the support from Karen, Michelle and Fran from the Lost Woods project at Action in rural Sussex. The young carers enjoyed lots of fun activities making memories at Bedelands Nature Reserve.

June 2021

And we are back! We were so pleased to hold the first young carers event since February 2019. The event was led by Karen Lavers, Village Agent at Action in Rural Sussex with Jackie Cooper, chair of Burgess Hill Youth and supported by the Town Council. The event activities included den building, leaf bashing, hammock fun, nature wildlife inspections and much more. Everyone had a great afternoon and we look forward to more social events soon.

Lost Woods of the Low Weald and Downs Project

Action in rural Sussex have created a video which showcases the work they did in relation to the Lost Woods of the Low Weald and Downs Project – turning lost woods into loved woods. The video is narrated by team member Karen and some of the footage was filmed at the Young Carers fun day in April 2022. Watch the video on our Facebook by clicking here.