Care-experienced young people present SIX STEPS and share new creative work at a Liverpool City Region event.

The Verbatim Formula and Collective Encounters present

CREATIVITY AND CARE EXPERIENCE: Resources and Opportunities in Liverpool

Join us to:

Explore SIX STEPS, a creative digital resource co-designed by care-experienced young people

Learn and exchange information on opportunities for care-experienced young people across the Liverpool City Region.

The Verbatim Formula (TVF), in partnership with Collective Encounters, invites practitioners, participation professionals, youth workers, care experienced young people, artists, researchers and organisations working with care-experienced children and young people to a special event to present SIX STEPS, an innovative digital resource designed by care-experienced young people, for care-experienced young people.

This lively afternoon will offer the opportunity to experience the resource first-hand, hear directly from care-experienced facilitators, and explore how creative practice can strengthen participation, confidence, identity and advocacy within Children in Care Councils and other youth settings.

Rather than a traditional presentation, participants will take part in practical activities drawn from the resource, reflect on their relevance for young people in Liverpool City Region, and contribute ideas that will help inform the next stage of SIX STEPS' national development.

Liverpool-based arts organisation Collective Encounters will invite attendees to take inspiration from the resource and explore what kinds of creative opportunities we would like to see for care-experienced young people in the Liverpool City Region. The event is an opportunity to celebrate and spread awareness of the opportunities that already exist, as well as dreaming big about the possibilities for future creative practice in our region.

Details:

Wednesday,19th August 2026

12.30pm to 2.45pm

at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA)

Address: Mount St, L1 9HF. Liverpool.

Event Programme:

12.15pm - Arrival, registration and refreshments

12.30pm - 2.00pm - SIX STEPS: Interactive Dissemination Workshop and Discussion on local opportunities

Experience activities from the digital resource

Meet TVF's care-experienced facilitators

Explore creative approaches to participation

Reflect on local opportunities and gaps for care-experienced young people

2.00pm - 2.15pm - Break

2.15pm - 2.45pm - A sharing of creative work from care-experienced young people participating in Collective Encounters’ annual ‘Summer Arts Adventure’. Co-created in just two weeks, the performance will combine drama, poetry, music, visual arts and design.

Accessibility information:

Please come to the Pilgrim Street entrance of LIPA where you will be met and taken to the event. There is a lift available. Please let us know if you have any other access requirements.

Feel free to have a look at SIX STEPS here:

https://theverbatimformula.org.uk/home/six-steps/

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SIX STEPS: A Creative Digital Resource developed by The Verbatim Formula.

Made by care-experienced young people for care-experienced young people.

About The Verbatim Formula (TVF)

The Verbatim Formula (TVF) is a participatory arts collective based at Queen Mary University of London, where the project is produced by People's Palace Projects. It is co-led by Dr Maggie Inchley (QMUL) and Dr Sylvan Baker (CSSD) who work alongside care-experienced young adults engaging them as co-investigators within our practice-led research. We use creative techniques and our cross-sector work has contributed to inclusive debates across HE, Social Care, museums, Arts Centres and sometimes theatres. TVF brings experts by experience into policy and legislative spaces. We’ve even performed at the National Theatre!

TVF's work is funded by Queen Mary University of London, The Portal Trust, Arts and Humanities Research Council, Arts Council England and UK Government. TVF has won the Theatre and Research Performance Association prize for Transformative Research (2023), the UK KE Award for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Knowledge Exchange (2024), and was shortlisted for a Times Higher Education Award (2024).

Find out more about TVF here: https://theverbatimformula.org.uk/

About SIX STEPS

SIX STEPS was designed by TVF co-researchers to be used by participation officers and youth workers with groups of care-experienced young people. We made it with love and with care. It shares creative ideas in an interactive and fun way.

The SIX STEPS guides you through a range of creative, accessible activities that invite young people to:

explore their identity, needs, and interests

connect and collaborate with others

recognise their strengths and creativity

build confidence

develop skills to advocate for themselves and others

experiment with artistic practices

TVF developed the SIX STEPS resource with feedback from care-experienced young people in Children in Care Councils across

Description supplied by the event organiser.