Leaders FAQs
What age groups can the Young Leader Labyrinth be run with?
The Young Leader Labyrinth is aimed at those under 18 years of age. We recommend that the Young Leader Labyrinth is used with young people in school years 9 up to 13. However, some prefer to work specifically with older young people (year 10+). It could also be adapted for young adults.
How many young people should I run the labyrinth with?
The Young Leader Labyrinth works best in a small group setting. If running in a large group (10+) consider splitting the group in two for some activities.
When should we run the Young Leader Labyrinth?
The Young Leader Labyrinth works best if facilitated over an academic year September – July being aware that for some young people it may take them longer than one year to fully complete the Labyrinth.
How should I run a Young Leader Labyrinth?
You will need to consider the best way to deliver the Young Leader Labyrinth training in your context. Most youth leaders gather the group before or after a usual session. Some choose to base it around a meal, but you should allow a minimum of 30 minutes per session to properly cover the material for each letter.
How long will each session of the Young Leader Labyrinth training take?
This is very much up to those leading and will also be impacted by the size of group. We would suggest allowing 30 minutes to cover the wondering questions, activity and to go through the card with the young people. If you want to make this session longer Extra and Going Deeper activities and resources are included in the leaders notes.
Do we have to do the cards in order: A-Z
No you don’t, you and the young people can choose the order you do the cards in, but Z must be left until last.
In what ways can the young people lead locally?
In the pack there are ‘task’ cards which give suggestions of how young people can lead locally. We have tried to provide a variety of offers but encourage you as a leader to also think of other opportunities in your local context for the young people to lead. Consider different styles of leadership but also help the young person to try things outside of their preferred style.
We recommend when leading locally with young people that there should be a minimum 2 academic year gap between the young leaders and young people they are working with. Therefore, you may need to find opportunities for the young people outside of your youth work setting.
How do I keep track of the young people’s progress?
In the leadership notes you’ll find pages to keep a track of what letters the young people have done, record that they have completed the Take Away and how they have been leading locally. Extra recording sheets are available on request.
Do we need to run the Away Days and Residentials?
We would encourage you to run the Away Days and Residentials if possible as they are a great opportunity to explore topics you might not cover doing the cards alone. It can also bring multiple groups of young people together if other groups in your area are running the Young Leader Labyrinth.
We offer suggested programmes and materials on our Away Days and Residentials page, this is a dedicated website page which can be accessed with a passcode upon purchase of the Young Leader Labyrinth material.
Who developed the Young Leader Labyrinth?
The Young Leader Labyrinth was devised by the Diocese of Carlisle to use within our Network Youth Churches in Cumbria. It was originally created in 2018 when it ran with several groups of young leaders, however COVID meant we stopped running the training. It has been picked up and piloted again in Cumbria in 2025/26 with 4 groups of young people. In response to the pilot, we have updated and strengthened the offer to make it suitable for young people today.
