Small Circle Session 3: Mapping the System & Finding Root Causes
Date: 21 January 2026
Time: 4:30pm – 7:00pm
In Session 3 of the Small Circles programme, young people took a big step forward in understanding the challenges in their community by moving from identifying themes to exploring the systems and root causes behind them.
Building on the mind maps created in the previous session, the focus this week was on asking deeper questions about why issues exist — not to place blame, but to better understand what is really going on beneath the surface.
🤝 Creating a Safe and Supportive Space
The session began with a warm welcome, sign-in and name badges, followed by a recap of the group’s Ways of Working and agreements to make sure everyone felt safe, respected and able to share their views.
To help everyone relax and connect, young people took part in a fun icebreaker — Human Bingo — which got conversations flowing and helped build confidence before moving into more in-depth discussions.
🧠 What’s Really Going On? Digging Deeper into the Issues
Young people were invited to revisit the large mind map created in Session 2 and reflect on whether there were any issues or experiences that had not yet been fully explored. This helped ensure that all voices were heard and that the group’s priorities were shaping the discussion.
From there, participants worked in small groups using the “5 Whys” root cause analysis tool, which encourages people to ask “Why is this happening?” multiple times to move beyond surface-level problems and identify deeper influences.
For example, instead of stopping at “I missed the bus,” young people explored what led up to that moment — such as stress, lack of sleep, or pressures from school — helping them see how different factors are often connected.
🔍 From Symptoms to Systems
Each group chose specific challenges from the mind map and worked through several layers of “why,” supported by facilitator prompts such as:
- Is this a cause or another symptom?
- What makes this hard to change?
- What else might be influencing this?
This process helped young people recognise that many problems are shaped by wider systems — including education, mental health, family pressures and access to support — rather than being down to individual choices alone.
After a break for food, groups continued their deep-dive discussions, with some swapping worksheets to add fresh perspectives to each other’s reflections.
⭐ Identifying the Strongest Root Causes
Towards the end of the session, young people reviewed their worksheets and starred the strongest root causes they had identified. In a whole-group discussion, they shared what stood out to them and what patterns they were beginning to notice across different themes.
This reflection helped young people start thinking about which issues might be possible to influence or change — setting the stage for the next session, where the group will explore these root causes in even more depth.
🚀 What’s Next?
Session 3 was a powerful step in helping young people see how individual experiences connect to wider systems, and how understanding root causes is essential before meaningful solutions can be designed.
In the next session, the group will continue this journey by digging deeper into the root causes they have identified and exploring what change could realistically look like in their community.
