Making sense of youth safeguarding
& bringing relational practice to life
We create Resonant Spaces for connection, learning, and professional development, and help professionals nurture relationships with young people and each other.
Resonant Collaboration in partnership with the Association of Child Protection Professionals, presents:
Safeguarding with young people who are questioning, leaving, or changing faith
A one-day conference | Wed 21 October 2026 | 09:15 - 16:00 | Fazeley Studios, Birmingham
Faith and non-faith beliefs matter to many young people, offering them meaning, belonging, and connection to community.
But young people who question, leave or change their faith can face harms, such as family rejection, mental distress, shunning, coercive control, conversion practices, homelessness and profound disruption to belonging.
Young people of faith can find themselves navigating equally significant harms rooted in stereotypes, bias and racism.
National safeguarding guidance makes little mention of these harms.
Participating contributors and speakers:
Dr Naomi Thompson, Reader in Youth and Community Work, Goldsmiths, University of London, sociologist of youth and inclusion, with a particular interest in faith and other intersecting identities.
Young people from Birmingham are shaping this project: St Basil’s Youth Advisory Board, and community researchers from Birmingham Volunteering for Health.
Yehudis Fletcher, PhD researcher at Durham University and author of Chutzpah, speaking from research and lived experience of leaving a high-control religious community.
Dr Lucy Potter, ESRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of York, whose research looks at non-religious asylum-seeking and apostasy.
Kathleen Hallisey, solicitor at Scott-Moncrieff & Associates and trustee of Thirtyone:eight, specialising in abuse claims brought by survivors of abuse in religious and other institutional settings.
Dr Rachael Owens, Associate Professor, Global Centre for Contextual Safeguarding, Durham University.
Canon Dr Andrew Smith, Director of Interfaith Relations, Church of England, Birmingham.
Dr Luke Billingham, Youth Worker, Hackney Quest and Research Associate, Open University.
Donna Craine, Support and Advocacy Services Manager, Faith to Faithless, Humanists UK: survivor-led service for people leaving high-control religion.
More speakers and contributors to be announced, soon!
Want to book a stall to share your research or resources? Get in touch!
Who we are
Resonant Collaboration was founded by Colin Michel and Rachel Ringham, specialists in youth safeguarding, relational practice, and multi-agency collaboration.
What we do
We work with professionals across sectors to create Resonant Spaces for learning, collaboration, and change within teams, services, and multi-agency partnerships
How we work
We explore real-life stories, share ideas, create practical resources, and add a little touch of creative sparkle to cultivate connection, confidence, and capability.
Learning opportunities
We design and facilitate workshops, courses, and learning programmes to help you create safety with young people.
Organisational consultancy
We provide consultancy to help you improve practice, management and oversight in teams, services, and multi-agency partnerships.
Groups & supervision
We facilitate reflective groups and supervision to help you reflect, make sense, and learn in relation to work experience.
Resonant Collaboration projects
On professional love…
Exploring the nuances of professional love within safeguarding, social care, education, and related professions, this project seeks to understand how to cultivate authentic relationships amidst massive structural challenges.
Young people leaving, losing and changing faith
We are convening a learning event on Wed 21 October 2026 in Birmingham to grow our collective knowledge about this topic, reflect on practice and create helpful guidance and professional development about youth faith transitions.
Human Learning Systems + Transitional Safeguarding
At Resonant Collaboration, we believe in a human-centred, adaptive, and collaborative approach. This project is exploring links between the paradigms of Human Learning Systems and Transitional Safeguarding.
Our commissioning partners in 2025 and 2026
