Young carers in Edinburgh have experienced the life-changing benefits of sport thanks to Meggetland Community Sport Hub (CSH) and Edinburgh Schools Kayak Club.
Cynthia Berry is Chair for Meggetland CSH, President of Edinburgh Schools Kayak Club and also teaches at St Thomas of Aquin’s High and Sciennes Primary in the city. Cynthia had a stark realisation one day at school after asking a pupil a mundane question.
She explained: “One afternoon in school I said to one of my pupils ‘what have you got for your lunch?’ they said, ‘I’ve not got any lunch I have to go home to look after my mum’.
“It was a realisation that many young people are missing out on opportunities because they need to look after a family member.
"I thought let’s try to do something for these young people.”
After some investigating it was found that these young people were not able to do any after school clubs or have the same school life as their peers. Cynthia decided to do something about it.
Through the hub she wanted to deliver a block of paddleboarding sessions along the Union Canal. National Lottery funded, community sport hubs is one of sportscotland's key programmes to support local sport. The community sport hub approach is to support and empower local people to improve sport and physical activity in communities across Scotland. There are over 190 hubs all across Scotland from Kirkcudbright in the south to Unst in the north. Each hub is unique and starts with understanding the needs within a community and then collaborating to deliver activities.
The City of Edinburgh Lifelong Learning Team connected Cynthia and the hub to Edinburgh Young Carers (EYC), who provide respite and support to young people aged 5-25, by the City of Edinburgh Lifelong Learning Team. A relationship was established and EYC were able to help identify other young people who would benefit from the sessions.
Each of these young people have a significant caring responsibility at home. This could be looking after a parent or guardian; they could be impacted by their siblings who have long term illness or disability or impacted by parents’ substance misuse.
With the help of a grant from the City of Edinburgh Council Physical Activity and Sports award fund, the project got off the ground. The number of young people who took up the opportunity in the summer of 2021 stunned Cynthia, and the benefit to them was immediate.
Cynthia said: “I thought we’d maybe get 10 young carers along and we got 100.
“Some would turn up absolutely petrified, some have anxiety and confidence issues. The opportunity to meet other young carers in the same situation as them was really important.
“Often they would start the day with really introverted body language and being really quiet. By the end of the day, they were jumping off paddleboards, laughing and getting involved.
“It was incredible to see the transformation in them. They are so absorbed in the activity that they forget about everything else they have going on, they are so focused on being in the moment.
“It’s such a unique thing for them to do. There’s a lot of activities you could take the kids to. But I think being on the water challenges them in a different way, there’s so much for them to think about.”
The sessions received rave reviews from young carers and their families.
One parent/guardian commented: “I can’t believe how amazing this activity was for my child. I never thought he would have the confidence to try it and yet he came home grinning from ear to ear.
“He even made a new friend and he’s just so happy. Thank you for making his summer holidays – he will never forget it.”
Another parent added: “This was my child’s first experience of any kind of water sport.
"He can’t swim and has always been really nervous around water. The team were so amazing at encouraging him to give it a try and you should have seen his smile when he came home.
“He is so proud of himself, did the big canoe and even stood up on a paddleboard. I can’t believe it’s the same boy.”
Gary Shaw, EYC Development Officer, said: “This has been an unforgettable experience for our young carers. Many of them have not had an opportunity to do water sports before and the whole team made them feel so safe and supported. There was laughter throughout the day and seeing the difference in the kids confidence over just a couple of hours was magical.”
The success of the sessions means they returned in the summer of 2022. As the project progresses more is being done to identify more young carers to take part with Active Schools also now involved.
The young people have been integrated more into Edinburgh Schools Kayak Club and various other activities going on at Meggetland CSH.
