Children’s Voices Matter: Why Listening Is at the Heart of Good Care

Imagine making decisions about someone's life without asking them what they think. It sounds unthinkable.

Yet for children and young people in care, ensuring their voices are genuinely heard requires deliberate effort from everyone around them.

At 3S Adolescent Care, we believe listening is one of the most important things we can do.

Listening is more than asking questions

There is a difference between hearing someone and genuinely listening to them.

Listening means being curious. It means creating opportunities for young people to express themselves in ways that work for them.

It means understanding that a young person may communicate through behaviour, silence, humour, creativity or simply spending time alongside someone. And it means being prepared to change our approach when what we hear tells us something needs to change.

Young people should have influence

A young person living in a 3S Adolescent home should have opportunities to influence the environment around them. That could include decisions about activities, food, routines, their bedroom, relationships, education and plans for the future.

It can also mean having honest conversations about things that aren't working.

Ofsted's current inspection framework places children's views, rights and participation firmly within its evaluation of children's experiences and progress.

This reflects an important principle: children and young people are not passive recipients of care. They are active participants in their own lives.

Building trust takes time

Some young people arrive in residential care having experienced adults who have let them down.

Trust cannot be demanded.

It has to be earned.

That might mean keeping a promise.

Doing what you said you would do.

Remaining calm when things become difficult.

Being consistent.

Not giving up after a challenging conversation.

Over time, those small experiences can begin to change a young person's understanding of relationships.

From voice to action

Listening only matters if it leads to action.

If a young person says something isn't working, we need to understand why. If they have an idea, we should explore it. If they are worried, they need to know that their concern will be taken seriously. And when a decision cannot be changed, we should explain why. That transparency matters.

A culture of curiosity

For our teams, listening is part of a wider culture of curiosity.

Why is this young person behaving this way?

What might they be trying to communicate?

What could we do differently?

What would help them feel safer?

What matters to them?

These questions keep the focus where it belongs.

Not on managing a behaviour.

Not on completing a process.

But on understanding the young person behind it.

Because every child has a voice, and our responsibility is to make sure they know it matters.

Find out More

Find out More about what we do, how we support children and young people and how 3S Adolescent Care makes a difference.

Contact us by filling out our contact form.