This is particularly an issue for young carers, who are often intensely private people and shy of talking about their home life.

Carers Trust Cambridgeshire identified this as a key barrier to their work and 20Twenty Productions stepped in with an idea for an ‘app’ that could break the ice and open up fruitful conversations, particularly with primary school children. The Evelyn Trust agreed last year to fund the app’s development, plus the purchase of a couple of ipads to enable support workers to use it out and about in schools or homes.

Tim Nightingale, Digital Director of 20Twenty Productions, a local community interest company, explains the idea behind the app ‘Who Cares’,

“As ‘Who Cares’ is intended to be fun for younger children, we devised it as a memory game, matching pairs of cards on screen that represent activities at home – both those of the average child, such as watching TV - and tasks that young carers are more likely to do, such as shopping or cooking. The support worker will start to play the game with the child and this will help them to begin a conversation about home life and time spent on caring, trying all the time to identify young carers so they can then lighten their load by offering help and advice.”

Typically children are referred to Carers Trust by their school because teachers may have concerns and the charity will then arrange a meeting at school to find out more. This is when the app will become such a useful tool. The app has been in development this year and is now in testing, with a launch date of July 2018.

“We are very excited by the potential of the app: if it works in Cambridgeshire, then it can be rolled out to any community. The plan is to make it available in the App Store so it can be downloaded by support workers – we hope it can ultimately help thousands of young carers across the UK to find the support they need.”

20Twenty Productions use the arts and culture to support and develop children, young people and adults. Carers Trust Cambridgeshire is a charity providing long term support to young carers in Fenland. For more information on the work of 20Twenty Productions and Carers Trust Cambridgeshire visit www.20twentyproductions.co.uk and www.carerstrustcambridgeshire.org