Monday, 16 February 2026
A young adult carer from the University of Nottingham has had his contributions to the carers’ community recognised by King Charles, after being invited to attend the King’s Carer’s Reception at Windsor Castle.
Danny Donnelly, a Young Adult Carer and Dean’s Health Sciences Intern at the university, where he is Project Lead and Co-Chair of the Student Carer Working Group, attended the King’s Carers Reception at Windsor Castle on 11 February. During the event Danny spoke with King Charles about how around one in 10 young people are carers, yet 72% of schools report having none identified in their cohorts, prompting a thoughtful discussion about the hidden nature of caring and why early recognition matters.
The invitation recognised his lived experience as a carer, alongside his advocacy and contribution to wider conversations about unpaid carers across education, health, and community contexts.
Danny was Co-Chair of the most recent All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) inquiry into Removing Barriers to Higher Education, Employment and Training for young carers and young adult carers, which brought together evidence from young carers, researchers, charities and public bodies across the UK.
The inquiry highlighted the significant educational impact of caring responsibilities. Evidence showed that young carers miss, on average, around 23-27 days of school per year, contributing to lower attainment outcomes, with fewer than half leaving school with five GCSE passes. Longer-term impacts were also clear, with around half of young carers reporting that caring had limited their access to education, training, or employment opportunities.
Further evidence demonstrated a clear link between caring intensity and higher education outcomes. Those providing as little as four hours of care per week were found to be 47% less likely to obtain a degree, rising to up to 86% less likely for those providing 35 hours or more per week.
This invitation reflects the growing recognition of unpaid carers and the reality that supporting carers is everyone’s business. Caring touches every part of society - around three in five adults will care at some point in their lives, and around one in ten young people are carers. We also know that early recognition and preventative support can make a significant difference - not only to carers’ wellbeing, but to their ability to stay engaged in education, work, and community life, and to maintain their independence.
“At the University of Nottingham, we’re in the early stages of work to better recognise and support students with caring responsibilities, working closely with students and external partners to build strong foundations and help shape what future support could look like. It’s an area of work I’m really excited and honoured to be part of.”
The University of Nottingham has established a Student Carer Working Group, focused on unpaid student carers across undergraduate and postgraduate study.
The Group is co-chaired with the Director of Student Experience and is currently in an early, foundation-building phase. Its focus is on improving visibility of student carers, learning from student experience, and strengthening signposting and partnership working, to help inform and shape future approaches to support.
As part of this initial phase, the University has recently contacted 184 students who entered the University this academic year and disclosed caring responsibilities via UCAS, signposting them to existing internal and external support and inviting optional feedback to help inform future work, including participation in focus groups.
Sally Olohan, MBE, Director of Student Experience, said: “The university is determined to improve access and support for all students who may be balancing their studies alongside caring responsibilities. We are delighted that Danny’s work with young adult carers is being recognised at the highest level. Through Danny’s insights and his work during his internship year, we hope to raise awareness of resources and assistance that will help our student carers at the University of Nottingham to succeed.”
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More information is available from Danny Donnelly from the School of Health Sciences at danny.donnelly@nottingham.ac.uk
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About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 97 in the world and 17th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the third most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2024 report by High Fliers Research. Alongside Nottingham Trent University, we lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home. More news…