Carers Week 2026

Unpaid Carers from across Stirling came together in early June to mark National Carers Week, with a busy programme of events organised by Stirling Carers Centre.

More than 150 local Carers, aged from seven to over 90, took part in activities designed to support wellbeing, share information and reduce isolation. Events included wellbeing workshops, group activities, information sessions and days out, all recognising the vital role unpaid Carers play in their families and communities.

Four older women wearing colourful hats smile and pose together in a sunny outdoor garden.

Elderly and middle-aged people stand together and sing in a brightly lit room.

A group of people interact at a stand featuring leaflets and a colourful tablecloth inside an event or fair setting.

People chatting and smiling in a room with red chairs, with two girls standing next to two women.

A key event during the week was an information day at Bannockburn and Eastern Villages Community Hub, where Stirling Carers Centre welcomed Professor Aisha Holloway, Chief Nursing Officer for Scotland. Professor Holloway met directly with local Carers to hear about their experiences and priorities, and spoke with a wide range of partner organisations offering support to Carers across the area.

The event also provided an opportunity for Carers to find out more about support available, with organisations including Action in Mind, Reachout with Arts in Mind, Town Break Dementia Support, Self Directed Support Forth Valley, Alzheimer Scotland, Reengage, and Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health and Social Care Partnership in attendance.

Three people stand and talk at an information stand displaying banners for mental health and money advice services in the background.

Elderly man and woman wearing straw hats smile together at an outdoor event featuring an Alice in Wonderland themed backdrop.

Three adults sit and talk at an indoor gathering; one holds a mug while Julia holds yellow folders.

Several people sit at a table in a well-lit room with artwork on the walls, smiling and holding small bottles.

Community spirit was on full display at a special Carers Week session of the Stirling Sunshine Singers. Lord Provost Rosemary Fraser joined more than 40 participants, including Young Carers from Fallin, Cambusbarron and Braehead primary schools, Stirling Council staff and members of other local singing groups. The weekly dementia-inclusive singing group in partnership with Stirling Albert Halls brings together people of all ages for uplifting sessions filled with smiles and laughter, demonstrating the power of shared music in supporting wellbeing and inclusion.

Carers Week provides a vital opportunity each year to recognise the invaluable role unpaid Carers play in supporting family members, friends and neighbours. This year’s Carers Week theme, Building Carer Friendly Communities, highlighted the role that local organisations, workplaces and community spaces can play in making life easier for unpaid Carers.

Three adults smile indoors as a man in a red jacket stands between two women, one of whom is wearing a ceremonial chain.

Five women smile whilst standing in a room with banners for Stirling Carers Centre and Stirling Young Carers in the background.

Pensioners perform music for an audience inside a community hall decorated with green curtains.

Keri Moore, Chief Executive of Stirling Carers Centre, said:
“It was fantastic to see so many Carers and partner organisations taking part in Carers Week. We were especially grateful to Professor Aisha Holloway and Lord Provost Rosemary Fraser for taking the time to meet with local Carers and listen to their experiences.

“With almost 11,000 people in the Stirling area identifying as unpaid Carers in the 2022 Census, small changes by local organisations and communities could make a real difference to people’s wellbeing.”