Youth Engagement at Three Circles
Giving children and young people a voice, opportunities and somewhere to belong.
Our Youth Engagement Team works directly with children and young people across Three Circles.
Sometimes that means sitting down over a drink and finding out how life is going. Sometimes it means paddleboarding, designing something on a 3D printer, joining a youth group, completing an AQA award, helping us make an important agency decision – or simply having a trusted adult to talk to.
Our aim is simple: children and young people should be heard, included and given opportunities to thrive.
Explore what we do!
Hello!Meet the Team
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Paul
Youth Worker and Connect Lead
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Seb
Director and Engagement Lead
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Charlotte
Engagement Manager
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Sian
Engagement Lead - Yorkshire
What we do
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💬 Wishes and feelings
Child-centred annual consultation, including bespoke approaches and non-instructed advocacy for younger children or those with additional needs.
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🤝 1:1 support work
Time-limited, individually planned sessions built around need and interests — from creative projects and cookery to sport, confidence and walk-and-talks.
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🚀 Connect
Monthly secondary-age groups in the North West and Yorkshire combining fun, friendships, skills, development and AQA Unit Award opportunities.
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🌍 Catalyst
Our digital Children in Care Council. Young people are paid for their time and directly influence how Three Circles develops. We meet every 6 weeks.
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🎉 Events and adventures
Family activities throughout the year, plus larger opportunities such as outdoor adventures and our Connect residential retreat.
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🌱 Welcome and inclusion
Age-specific welcome packs, translated resources, cultural celebrations, Black hair and skincare resources and LGBT+ inclusion.
Every child deserves the opportunity to be heard.
Our team gathers the wishes and feelings of children and young people as part of our foster carers' annual reviews.
But there is no one-size-fits-all consultation.
We adapt the way we work to the individual child or young person.
That might mean:
meeting face-to-face
talking over the telephone
communicating through WhatsApp
using creative activities
completing a bespoke consultation built around their interests
Our priority is to make the process as child-centred and comfortable as possible.
🤝 ONE-TO-ONE SUPPORT WORK
Support built around the young person – not a programme.
Every member of our Youth Engagement Team currently carries a caseload of one-to-one support work.
Support work is normally time-limited and based on an identified individual need, with referrals made through the child's social work team.
We begin by getting to know the young person.
What do they enjoy?
What are they good at?
What matters to them?
What would they like some help with?
From there, we build a support plan around them.
There is no standard support-work session.
We have supported young people through activities including. The activity is often simply the way into the conversation.
The relationship, the child's voice and the outcomes we are working towards remain at the centre of the support.
Looking for something different?
Connect is our youth programme for secondary-school-age young people.
Groups run monthly in both the North West and Yorkshire, giving young people opportunities to meet others, try something new, take on a challenge and have some fun.
Connect isn't about sitting around a table being taught.
We use activities and experiences to explore subjects that matter during adolescence.
Sessions can support development in areas including:
independence
confidence and self-esteem
friendships and relationships
teamwork
communication
wellbeing
safety
crime and exploitation
problem solving
life skills
Previous Connect activities have included:
T-shirt printing • paddleboarding • laser tag • hiking • first aid • creative challenges • outdoor activities • team games • residential retreat!
The activity might be the thing that gets somebody through the door.
The relationships, confidence and skills that develop around it are what make Connect important.
🌱 CATALYST
Young people's voices should lead to change.
Catalyst is our digital Children in Care Council.
It meets approximately once every six weeks and gives young people the opportunity to influence the decisions being made within Three Circles.
And we don't just ask young people for their opinions.
We expect their views to make a difference.
Catalyst members have already helped to:
shape the agency's development planning
co-produce resources
influence the development of our Young People's Zone
contribute to the development of an app for young people
redesign our wishes and feelings consultation
influence how Three Circles communicates with children and young people
contribute to wider decisions about how the agency develops
Young people's lived experience has value.
That's why Catalyst members receive £10 for attending each meeting.
After attending four or more Catalyst sessions, young people can also receive a Catalyst hoodie, co-produced and co-designed by members of the group.
Catalyst participation can also contribute towards AQA Unit Award Scheme certificates.
The group is built around principles including fair pay, respect, equality, friendship and meaningful participation.
It isn't consultation for the sake of consultation.
It's a space where young people can genuinely help shape what happens next.
61%
Of our secondary-school-age young people were actively engaged
Through Connect, Catalyst, one-to-one support work or a combination of opportunities at our most recent analysis. A strong relationship with the team often starts simply by finding the thing that interests them.
Previous events and activities have included:
Aqua Parks
paddleboarding
family festivals
climbing
trampolining
farm visits
forest and autumn activities
outdoor adventures
Christmas celebrations
Our programme changes and develops all the time.
We actively ask children, young people and families what they would like us to organise next and use their feedback to shape future events.
🎉 EVENTS, ACTIVITIES & ADVENTURES
Being part of Three Circles should feel like being part of a community.
Alongside our targeted work, we run a programme of events and activities for children, young people and fostering families.
Family events generally take place every other month across our regions.
IDENTITY MATTERS
Welcome, inclusion & belonging
We want children to feel seen from the moment they join Three Circles. Our engagement work includes age-specific welcome packs, culturally responsive resources and initiatives co-produced with young people.
Black hair & skincare pack
Birthday cards
Children who foster inclusion
LGBT Youth In Care
Ramadan & Eid
Lunar New Year
Translated resources
UASC welcome packs
Sensory packs
NOT SURE WHERE TO START?
Help your young person find their thing.
It might be Connect, Catalyst, an event, support work — or something we haven't thought of yet. Speak to the Youth Engagement Team and we'll help you explore what's available.