New Child Friendly Leeds champions announced

The winners of the annual Child Friendly Leeds awards have been announced at a glamorous ceremony at Leeds City Varieties last night.

The awards, organised by young people, celebrate some of the people, places and organisations helping to make Leeds a child friendly city.

Hundreds of nominations came in for champion children, child friendly places, people who go the extra mile, as well as great organisations, with the winners announced at the special event.

The awards showcased the talent, achievements and energy of the city’s children and young people, as well as highlighting and celebrating what people, places and organisations are doing to make Leeds a child friendly city.

The prestigious awards ceremony was organised by a group of ten young people who made up ‘YP Productions’. The young people, some as young as twelve, planned every aspect of the ceremony, from the design of the trophies and decorations, to selecting the young performers from Leeds who entertained guests on the night. The ceremony was watched by an audience of 400 people including city leaders and VIP guests. Apprentice star Frances Bishop added to the glamour of the evening when she presented the child of the year 11 – 18 award to Daniel Morton.

The winners of the 2017 Child Friendly Leeds awards are:

Child of the year: Under 11s category:

Ishaq Hashmi

Ishaq struggled to speak as a young child due to difficulties understanding dual languages. He worked with a speech therapist, slowly gained confidence and is now the first to offer his help to other children at after school classes, supplementary school & the football academy.

Child of the year: 11–18 category:

Daniel Morton

Daniel was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2014. Despite facing numerous operations and treatment Daniel has raised an impressive £5000 for cancer charities.

Best place for children and young people category:

The Belle Isle Family Centre – Health for All

The centre provides a safe and friendly place for children and their families to meet new people and try fun and new activities.

Organisations inspiring schools:

IntoUniversity

IntoUniversity is passionate about supporting children and young people to see and reach their potential, whether that is a university place or another goal.

Best overall contribution category:

Keepmoat and Construction Housing Yorkshire (CHY)

Keepmoat, in partnership with Leeds City Council have supported 52 young people through their apprenticeships and provided them with additional opportunities to increase their confidence.

Adult inspiring children and young people category:

Carol and Stephen Davis

Carol and Stephen Davis volunteer each week at Lofthouse Children’s Centre, running well-loved groups for local families.

Councillor Lisa Mulherin, executive member responsible for children and families said:

“The Child Friendly Leeds awards ceremony was an absolutely fantastic night which not only celebrated the people, places and organisations which make Leeds a great place to grow up, it also showcased the hugely talented young people we have in Leeds.

“I would like to congratulate all the winners, those shortlisted and all the nominees - they are shining examples of what it really means to be child friendly.

“Becoming a child friendly city is not something we, as a council, can do alone. There are so many people across the city, who have really taken on board what we are trying to achieve and these awards are a great opportunity for us to recognise and celebrate their great work and achievements.”

The awards are hosted by the Leeds City Varieties, sponsored by British Gas and Trinity Leeds, and supported by Marks & Spencer and First Direct Arena.

Cllr Mulherin added:

“Without the support from these businesses we would not have been able to hold this fantastic event and celebrate all the people in our city who are helping to make Leeds child friendly.

“We are always looking for more businesses that are willing to make a pledge to look at how they can help make Leeds a great place to live for every child in the city.”

The full list of the shortlisted nominees:

Child of the year (under 11 years old)

Isabella Allison-Corah

Jayden Marshall

Ishaq Hashmi

Keyan Rhodes-Daniels

Child of the year (11-18 years old)

Chelsy Harris

Daniel Morton

Megan Smithson-Booth

UK Youth Parliament

Best overall contribution

Town Centre Securities (Charlotte-Daisy Ziff)

Keepmoat, Sc4L and Construction Housing Yorkshire (CHY)

Leeds Independent Visitors Scheme

Student Leeds Safeguarding Children Board

The White Rose Centre Management Team

Trinity Leeds Shopping Centre, (Rosie Anderson and Wendy Denman)

Victoria Quarter (James Bailey)

Leeds United Football Club (Foundation & Conferencing and Event Team)

Best Place for children and young people

Angel of Youths

CATCH - Community Action to Change Harehills (ARK facility)

Belle Isle Family Centre

The Rainbow Factory

The Tetley

Adult Inspiring children and young people

Libby Tinworth - Health for All

Carol and Stephen Davis

Nola Ellen

Nathan Atkinson, Fuel for Schools

Organisations supporting schools

IntoUniversity

Northern Ballet Theatre (START Project)

Space 2 and Shantona Women's Centre

Mini Mermaid Running Club UK

The city is working together to make Leeds the best place for children and young people to live and grow up in. To find out more about what is happening and how to get involved, people can visit www.childfriendlyleeds.co.uk

Full details of the nominations can be found on the Child Friendly Leeds website: www.childfriendlyleeds.co.uk

For more information about the awards ceremony please follow @Child_Leeds on Twitter and use the #ChildFriendlyLeedsAwards hashtag.