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Evidence brief sharing findings from the EMPOWER national pilot

Publication date January 2026
“Teacher’s listen to you”: How to ensure youth voice is centred in sex and relationships education

The EMPOWER toolkit was first designed in 2018 by Together for Childhood in Plymouth to help young people shape their sex and relationships education.

From January to July 2025, we piloted EMPOWER across the UK in 24 academies, community schools and specialist schools to see if the toolkit could be scaled-up for use nationally.

We wanted to understand how EMPOWER was used in practice, what worked well, what could be improved and how it can support young people and educators. To do this, we used a mixed-methods approach, including: 

  • interviews
  • participatory focus groups
  • surveys
  • and a rapid review of existing research.

This evidence brief shares findings from the pilot and how we used this to create the EMPOWER toolkit that is now available as part of our Talk Relationships service.

Authors: Kandazi Sisya and Katy Sands

“Teachers listen to you”: how to ensure youth voice is centred in sex and relationships education
Download the report (PDF)

Key findings

EMPOWER provides schools and educators with a useful framework for incorporating youth voice in sex and relationships education

Young people and facilitators told us that using EMPOWER to quality assess sex and relationships lessons and resources improved their experience of it. Making lessons more relevant and engaging for young people improved teacher confidence in the content.

Facilitators of the EMPOWER groups also successfully adapted the toolkit to their personal style, the young people they were working with and their school setting.

Schools should dedicate time and tailored support to create the conditions that enable meaningful youth voice

It took time for young people in the EMPOWER groups to build trust and feel psychologically safe. It is important that everyone involved, especially young people, are given the skills and resources to properly contribute.

Young people value being listened to and recognise the personal and wider benefits of having their voices acted upon

EMPOWER enabled young people to develop their confidence and skills in critical dialogue as well as improving their sex and relationships education and understanding of the topics discussed.

“It was really good because it actually showed that teachers were listening and cared what we had to say.”

Young person
“Pupils MUST have a voice in shaping the [sex and relationships] course as the issues affect them directly; they are the ones who must navigate these sensitive periods."

Facilitator

Access the EMPOWER toolkit

EMPOWER is available as part of Talk Relationships – our service supporting all UK secondary education settings to confidently deliver inclusive sex and relationships education.

Find out more

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