The Five S Framework: lived experience leadership trainingFrom care leaver to care leader.

Story. Kayla, 24, is asked to speak at her council’s conference. She tells the hardest part of her story to 200 people. Afterwards everyone tells her it was powerful. Nobody asks what she wants to happen next.

Theory. Marshall Ganz’s public narrative links a story of self to a story of us and a story of now, so that a story leads to action. In the Five S, storytelling is about choosing what to share and what you are asking people to do.

Action. People write the story of their work in three short parts, test it on a partner, and cut anything they would not want repeated without them in the room.

By the end of this part people can tell the story behind their work in a way that asks for something, and share only what they choose.

You leave with A short version of your story, ready for a pitch, a post or a meeting.

Story. Marcus, 27, runs a peer group for care leavers in his town. The young people trust him. He has never written a budget, and he is dreading the funding meeting.

Theory. Leading something takes different skills from taking part in it. The Five S looks honestly at the skills you have, the ones the work needs, and the people who could bring them.

Action. Each person maps their skills against what their work needs, then pairs up to find who in the room, or in their network, could fill the gaps.

By the end of this part people can name their strengths as a leader and the gaps they need to fill.

You leave with A skills map with the gaps and who could fill them.

Story. Priya, 21, sits on her council’s care leaver advisory group. She has raised the same idea at three meetings. Each time it is written down. Nothing happens.

Theory. A strategy answers three questions: who it is for, how it reaches them, and how it is paid for. Without those answers, good ideas stay in the minutes.

Action. Groups take one idea from the room and build a one-page plan: who it is for, the first three steps, partners who could help, and where the money could come from.

By the end of this part people can turn an idea into a plan with a first step, a partner and a way to pay for it.

You leave with A one-page plan for the next year.

Story. Jordan, 30, set up a mentoring scheme in one children’s home. Two other councils want it. Jordan works full time and is not sure he wants it to grow.

Theory. Moore, Riddell and Vocisano (2015) describe three ways social innovations grow: scaling out to more places, scaling up to change policy, and scaling deep to change culture. Keeping something running well where it is can be the right choice too.

Action. People choose a route for their work, list what it would need, and name what they would stop doing to make room for it.

By the end of this part people can choose how their work grows and say what that will take.

You leave with A decision on how your work grows, and what it needs.

Story. Ellie, 26, set up her council’s care leaver forum and ran it for four years. When she took a new job, the forum stopped meeting within two months.

Theory. Work that depends on one person ends when they move on. Succession planning means writing down how the work runs and growing the next leaders while you are still there.

Action. People name who could lead their work next, write down the three things only they know, and plan the handover.

By the end of this part people can plan for their work to carry on without them.

You leave with A succession plan with a named next leader.