The results of our latest listening exercise with children and young people in the diocese, on the theme of Do You Hear Me? are in … and there’s work to do!
Every term, for the past three years, the Diocese of Leicester has facilitated a listening exercise in partnership with schools and church groups.
The listening exercise enables children and young people (CYP) to explore an issue of their choice and share key findings with Bishop Martyn & Bishop Saju.
In the Autumn term 2025, we asked what themes or topics children and young people wanted to talk about more.
The top answer was friendships, with other subjects such as social media and mental health, on the hearts and minds of our young people.
The CYP responses will now set the agenda for future listening exercises through 2026-2027, with Friendships the theme for the summer term 2026.
We were encouraged to hear 59% of CYP felt listened to through the project – but there’s still work to do.
As a diocese, and a Church, we are committed to listening and responding to the voice of CYP.
This term, we heard from 132 young voices, made up of 48 children and 84 young people across four primary schools and six church groups.
You can read the report here and the summary here.
In his response video, Bishop Martyn expresses his thanks to all those who have taken part in the listening exercises, and facilitated them, not only this term, but to the thousands of children and young people who have shared their thoughts and feelings since the listening project began.
Your participation in these listening exercises is making a difference, and your voice matters. We want to be a Church that doesn’t just listen but takes note and makes changes.
Talking about the listening exercise and considering the project since its inception, Matt Long, Youth Engagement & Intergenerational Communities Enabler, said:
“I’m not surprised friendship was a theme children and young people want to talk about. We all need friends! People to journey with, to laugh and cry with, to support us through difficult times, to share food and play. Friendships can be difficult, especially for children and young people, as they grow and change and discover more about themselves and the world. I’m fascinated to see what insights we learn from children and young people as we listen to them explore friendship!”
He added: “It’s amazing that we’ve run eight listening exercises in the past three years and heard from 1450 young voices from across the Diocese. Working with children and young people on this listening project is the highlight of my role. Each term, I’m blown away by the depth of engagement and the insights that children and young people offer! Let’s listen more to their voice and let them lead us into the future now.”
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?
Contact Matt Long, to find out more: Matt.Long@LeicesterCofE.org