Child Friendly News

Director of Public Health Annual Report 2022

Cover image of the Director of Public Health Annual Report with 'in our shoes' in a footprint

A new report is published this week which shows how health partners, families and organisations in Leeds are working together to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and young people’s health and wellbeing.

The Director of Public Health (DPH) Annual Report is the first annual DPH report produced since the pandemic; entitled ‘In Our Shoes’ it weaves together a powerful story through speaking directly to children and families in Leeds, with an extensive literature review and analysis of local data and building a rich picture of ongoing health impacts.

Children were less likely to become ill with COVID-19 than adults and were not the focus of protective measures, however, the pandemic affected them profoundly and unequally.

The recommendations in the report provide a guide to what further action is needed to maximise the chances for all children in Leeds to have a fair start in life. The report was commended nationally by Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) receiving particular praise for its supporting film 'In Our Shoes'.

You can watch the film on YouTube.

Read the children and young people summary version of the Director of Public Health Annual Report online.

Read the full version of the Director of Public Health Annual Report online.

King Charles III visits Leeds to celebrate 10 years of Child Friendly Leeds

King Charles meeting Leeds school children holding Child Friendly Leeds paper flags

Throughout 2022, Child Friendly Leeds was focused on celebreating their tenth anniversary and reconnecting with the city after the pandemic. During that period, we shared highlights from the last ten years, updates from our improvement journey whilst continuing to champion the voices of children and young peoples. CFL has reviewed the feedback from local and city-wide consultations, surveys, and ballots over the last 3 years, capturing the views of 80,000 children and young people in the city to identify the current top issues and priorities, forming the 12 wishes for the city.

In the midst of the celebrations, we were thrilled to welcome His Majesty The King in Leeds for his first visit to the city since ascending to the throne. Leader of the Council, Councillor James Lewis states: "We're particularly pleased that as part of his visit, The King has helped us to mark 10 years of Child Friendly Leeds, an initiative which is a real success story for the city, and which has made a genuine difference to the lives of local children and young people."

King Charles III was welcomed by many colleagues, ambassadors who have all been working on making Leeds a child friendly city as well as many children and young people. One special guest was Leeds Children's Mayor, Mason Hicks aged 10, was elected last month after campaigning on a manifesto of children's mental and physical health, promoting kindness and community spirit, and the creation of an event to bring children from different backgrounds together.

View the gallery and read more about the Royal Visit

Child Friendly Leeds is 10

Child Friendly Leeds was launched by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012.

Over the last 10 years, the city has embraced this ambition and we are proud of partnerships that have developed across the city between Child Friendly Leeds Ambassadors and services working with families to helping to improve outcomes for children and young people. Children and young peoples voices are at the heart of our approach and will continue to shape our priorities and plans for the years to come!

We have a special celebration page marking 10 years with events and activities, news and updates about our the winners of the Child Friendly Leeds Awards and our launch of the CFL wishes here.

Find out more about our celebrations

Things to do this Summer in Child Friendly Leeds

Poster with a border of bright colourful cartoon graphics of children playing. The centre image shows a picture of a busy event in Millennium Square with a stage and stalls and sports. The text says: What;s On This Summer In Child Firendly Leeds.

This summer we have lots of exciting activities taking place in Leeds for families.

Visit our blog to view all the events and key dates as well as links to other family friendly websites to find out everything you need to know:

Things to do this summer

Child Friendly Leeds recognised in the White Rose Shopping Centre Community Awards

The winners of the fifth annual White Rose Shopping Centre Community Awards, celebrating local Leeds heroes, were announced in a ceremony on Thursday 20 October.

Winners included:

Hannah Begum, the Leeds Children’s Mayor, who has worked to promote community cohesion during her year in office.

Auli Miles and Maxine Kelly of Child Friendly Leeds, who strive to put children and young people at the heart of the city

Morley Women’s Institute, whose Rhubarb and Custard Calendar has so far raised more than £8,000 for charity

Wild Thing ecologist Phil Bolton, who supports the White Rose team in understanding the biodiversity of the centre’s environment, identifying species such as kingfishers and safeguarding their future safety.

Each winner was presented with a glass trophy handmade by the Glassroom at Cockburn School, featuring a design created by Year 7 student, Nathan Rayner.

Steven Foster, General Manager of White Rose Shopping Centre, said: “Each year, our Awards brings so much joy to both the local community and our staff – there’s such a buzz around the event in the run-up, and we’re proud to honour these amazing members of society.

The Awards really highlight how wonderful and diverse our local area is. We’re delighted to pay tribute to these heroes of South Leeds, as well as reflecting such a unique part of the region under our roof – there’s something for everyone. We’ve been buoyed by the compassion and bravery that this year’s winners have displayed, and we know the rest of the community has, too.”

New event space at Kirkgate Market

In line with the new developments at Victoria Gate and John Lewis, Kirkgate Market has undergone a makeover and now has a new specialist market, gourmet food area and event space. The vision is to create a wonderful space where individuals, communities and ‘not for profit’ organisations can share their talent, products and services. Footfall is currently 140,000 per week.

Kirkgate Market is keen to work in partnership with child friendly Leeds to create a child and family friendly programme of events and activities through the week, at weekends and in the school holidays. The events and activities offered must be of a high calibre and should aim at attracting young people and families to the market.

The activities offered could be small scale sports; arts and craft; music: bands, ensembles, orchestras and choirs; theatre; cabaret; spoken word: poetry, story-telling etc.; dance; play and any other forms of entertainment you can think of. To perform here you will need Public Liability Insurance and a completed Risk assessment.

There are three spaces available for use:

The Event Space – A 10 metre square arena with stepped seating. Please note any bands would need to bring own PA system
Flexible Event Space 1 - 10 x 22 metres. This is a more suitable space for larger activities including exhibitions etc
Flexible Event Space 2 – 3 x 30 metres

All the above can be hired for Private Ticket Events after the Market is closed.

It is a great opportunity for organisations to reach the massive audience that visits and passes through the market on a daily basis. If you are interested in using the space, please email market.events@leeds.gov.uk to discuss this opportunity.