Young people

Children and young people in the National Conversation

Take part in The National Conversation: Next Generation

Children and young people across the UK (under 16s) are invited to join the National Conversation to make sure we hear the views of the next generation on what brings people together, what divides us, where they feel they belong, and what could make their communities stronger.

Schools, colleges, youth groups and community organisations can participate by hosting conversations using our free toolkit and resources.

Join the conversation this Autumn. Get involved in National Conversation: Next Generation Week, 5–9 October.

Who can take part?

You can take part if you work with children or young people in:

Schools and colleges

Classrooms or assemblies

After-school clubs

Youth groups

School councils

Community groups

Faith, sports, arts groups

Volunteering groups

You do not need special training. The toolkit gives you everything you need.

What you need

To run a conversation, you need:

A group

We suggest 3–10 children or young people. For larger groups, you might want to split into smaller discussions.

Time

We suggest 3–10 children or young people. For larger groups, you might want to split into smaller discussions.

A facilitator

This could be a teacher, youth worker, group leader or young person.*

The toolkit

The free toolkit helps you plan, run and capture your conversation.

*Where possible, it is helpful to have two people involved: one to guide the discussion and one to capture what is said.

How to take part

1. Prepare

Download the toolkit and resources. They will help you introduce the conversation, support the children and young people to think about the questions and get the conversation started.

Alternatively, you can use our resources to support a young person to be a Youth Conversation Leader.

2. Hold your conversation

Bring your group together to talk about community, belonging and how we live well together.

Hold your conversation during National Conversation: Next Generation Week, 5-9 October 2026, or at a time which works for you this Autumn term.

Young people will explore questions such as:

What does community mean to you?
Which communities matter most to you?
Where do you feel you belong?
What helps make a community strong?
What could make communities better for children and young people?

3. Share what you heard

After your conversation, tell us what young people said so their views and ideas are included in the wider National Conversation.

Share your feedback, using the feedback form, before 23 October 2026 to make sure your group’s ideas are heard. You can upload a photo of the conversation capture poster in the pack, or leave a voice note.

Important: the feedback must be submitted by someone aged 18 or over. If a young person leads the conversation, an adult should submit the feedback on their behalf.

Submit your conversation feedback