Young Carers

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 fun day will be held in February half term on Tuesday 13^th. We are also planning to attend Westall House in December for a Christmas party, and the Panto in January, dates to be confirmed. To be notified directly when booking opens please complete the annual permission form here. This form only needs completing once until 31July 2024, so there is no need to fill in out again if you have already done so.

If you would like further information, contact kayleigh@burgesshill.gov.uk

Young carers events 2023

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.