Inspire what is possible!

The Big Questions survey has been a great way to hear from young people over the last three years. This spring, we wanted to bring young people into the design process and co-create the survey with our team too.  We collaborated with two of our talented young consultants, Yaz and Morgan-Lea, to review our existing questions and develop some new ones to ensure young people’s voices are being heard on the things that matter to them most. Their invaluable insights into language and question phrasing enhanced our understanding of the experiences and aspirations of young people in Foyers.

Young people’s natural Advantaged Thinking ability shone through in their recommendations and ideas. Yaz and Morgan wanted to ensure we gave space to reflect on the strengths of staff – not just the things that could be better. They came up with the idea of adding in an opportunity for young people to highlight a moment a staff member has inspired them or gone the extra mile. We can’t wait to celebrate those highlights and staff members through our platforms this year! What an amazing way to celebrate the success of staff in our network – and a great example of how young people’s insights can improve our work.

"My experience helping rearrange and adapt the survey was really fun. I enjoyed organising, shortening and expanding on what already existed as its like a puzzle." - Yaz, Young Consultant

Discussing survey engagement, Yaz and Morgan emphasised the need for us to be clear with young people about how answering the survey influences decisions and impacts their peers. To help ensure this message reaches young people, we've developed a poster pack you can download below to encourage young people to express their views. Moving forward, we’re committed to illustrating the tangible outcomes of young people’s participation in all our future communications about Big Questions, including how the views and ideas young people shared with us were used to create real change for them, their Foyer and beyond. 

A key learning? Embrace involving young people in decision-making processes – it not only generates better outcomes but also makes the process 1000% more enjoyable!  

The Big Questions Survey is now live! Every young person who answers has the chance to influence change and will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win one of three £50 vouchers. 

Need some ideas on how to engage young people in answering the Big Questions Survey? We've got you covered with a handy bitesize toolkit inspired by our young consultants, see attached below.