The project involves the following stages of work:

Recruitment: Working closely with Children England and local partners, we have recruited a team of proactive young people to become ‘Young Leaders of the Childfair State’. This group brings together a diverse cross-section of the youth population, including those with direct experience of different parts of the Welfare State and young people from under-represented groups.

Design Sessions: We are supporting the Young Leaders to explore and identify key issues with the current Welfare State, what’s working and not working for them, and what really matters to young people. The Young Leaders determine which areas are most important to focus on, and receive training in research, interview skills, facilitation and public speaking.

Peer Research: The Young Leaders have co-designed a series of tools for peer research – including an interview, online survey and workshop plan - which they are using to conduct peer research with at least 500 other young people across England. The workshops stimulate conversation and gather young people’s views and ideas for change. The interview enables more in-depth research into individuals who have specific experience of the Welfare State. The online survey enables us to reach a higher number of young people and gather more quantitative data as well as qualitative findings.