One sad constant that has reared its ugly head during our encounters with individual young carers over the past three months has been bullying.

Though the four young carers who have been profiled in our pages each told moving tales of friends who have shown them understanding, these have often been outweighed by more depressing stories of misunderstanding.

In 1999, the Princess Royal Trust - the body which runs Sutton Carers Centre - produced a report which contained the startling proposition that, of 700 carers polled from around the country, 71 per cent had been bullied at school.

And it was the primary carers - those with most responsibilities - who were more likely to be bullied, with 80 per cent subject to ridicule and abuse.

And one-fifth of those surveyed said they had missed school as a direct result of being bullied.

Ben, 13, who looks after his mother, said: "I was bullied loads. Nearly every day, boys from school waited outside to jump me."

Shelley, who is also 13 and looks after her mother, said: "I got kicked in the ribs once and I've been called names. I changed school several times, but it still happened."

The report, titled Too Much To Take On, concluded the combination of responsibility at home and stigma, name-calling and worse at school, reaped a high emotional price.

Many were forced to turn inwards, hiding their caring role from peers and teachers alike, leaving them profoundly isolated the deep blue sea to the devil of bullying.

Of those polled by the trust, almost three in 10 hid their caring roles from their schoolmates, and half of these said they did this to avoid ridicule.

Every school is required to have a bullying policy, but a third of young carers were unaware of teachers taking action to stamp out the scourge.

The trust recommended schools, LEAs and teachers become more active in tackling young carer issues.

It said bullying policies should make reference to the needs of pupils who care and proposed closer links between schools and organisations like the Young Carers Project.

November 30, 2001 11:00