Bishops Children and Youth Council (BCYC)

There has been some form of Youth Council in the Diocese of Leicester for more than 15 years. During that time, it has evolved, changing members and focus for changing times. The Youth Council has met with Archbishops, organised events, attended General Synod and visited link dioceses. The one constant has been representing young voices.

“We have tried to revolutionise the way we listen to children and young people in the Diocese. It’s been a good learning exercise for me, going beyond just listening out-of-interest, but listening to the point of saying, how is this going to directly affect what I’m doing” – Bishop Martyn.

In Spring 2023, we launched a new look Children and Youth Council based on a distributed dialogue approach to engagement. We no longer have a ‘central group’. Our ‘council’ is made up of all children and young people who participate in a termly listening process.

Agenda Setting
In Spring Term 2023 & Autumn Term 2025, we asked children and young people what themes they would like to talk about.

Resource Design
Youth Engagement Officer (YEO) works with a group of young people in a local context (school or church) to come up with listening activities and prompts.

Participation
Listening resource created & published on diocesan website. Promoted via diocesan comms channels, Board of Education mail outs and CYP worker newsletter.

Sense-making
Responses from listening groups are collated centrally and raw data presented by YEO to a group of young people in their context, for their analysis.

Reporting
Young people identify key stats, questions and comments they would like to highlight to diocesan leaders. These form the basis of a report created by YEO.

Response
Report is sent to Bishop’s Leadership Team and Bishop Martyn responds via video. Report and video are published on diocesan website and shared with participants.

Could you facilitate a listening group?

We want to hear more young voices from across the diocese!
Could you facilitate a listening group with children or young people in your context?

Our listening exercise for Summer 2026 is on 'Friendship'.
Download the facilitators guide.

Contact Matt Long, Intergenerational Communities Enabler to find out more: Matt.Long@LeicesterCofE.org

What do listening groups look like?

Listening groups come in all shapes and sizes. We encourage facilitators to integrate listening groups into existing provision, in a way that works best in and for their context. In school, this may be during lunch break, at an after-school club or as part of a school council meeting. In church, this could be part of your Sunday activities, at a mid-week gathering or club.

Listening groups are facilitated spaces, where children and/or young people are asked to share their thoughts and ideas, in response to a series of conversation prompts and interactive activities. Facilitators are asked to download and deliver an ‘off-the-shelf’ session and, record and share unfiltered feedback.