Will the 2020s be a decade remembered by how we improved the lives of children, young people and families, in the same way we talk of the revolutionary freedoms gained in the 1960s?

Research compiled over the last two years, by The Staff College, involving Chief Executives and Directors and young people from across the UK, has outlined four potential future scenarios for our children.

While two of them are positive, where future technology and activism creates a country that listens to its children, we could just as easily slip into a world where young people feel betrayed in a country of division and inequality. The result of which could see 1 in 2 children living in poverty.

None of us can predict the future. Using scenario planning techniques, however, we can look at plausible futures and think about how we can work now to support positive changes and mitigate what is not in the interests of children. The Staff College has created Project 2035, a project designed to open up conversation between leaders in different organisations in different places to support thinking and planning now for future changes for children and young people.

Project 2035 is based on 12 critical uncertainties, each of which can be discussed, argued and debated as part of the many ways people can engage with the research.

Ranging from a free downloadable flashcard game to a systems leadership programme, our aim is to stimulate conversation and support leaders in the work they need to do to ensure children thrive.

Launching at the National Children and Adult Services Conference on the 20th November, the Project 2035 workshop will enable senior leaders from a range of services to congregate to open dialogue around how we can lead our country towards the best possible outcomes for children and young people.