Shortlist revealed for the 2016 child friendly Leeds awards

The names of the people, places and organisations shortlisted for the 2016 child friendly Leeds awards have been announced today.

The winners will be officially announced at a prestigious awards ceremony, being organised by a team of young people, which will be held at the Leeds City Varieties on the 28 January.

There were an astounding number of nominations received for the third annual city-wide Child Friendly Leeds awards. This made selecting the shortlist an extremely difficult job for the awards judging panel. Six winners will be chosen from the 24 nominees on the shortlist.

Councillor Lucinda Yeadon, executive member for children and families said:

“We would like to thank everyone who took the time to nominate in these awards. We were amazed by the sheer number and quality of nominations received and touched by the commitment and hard work shown by all those nominated for an award.

“There are some fantastic people, places and organisations committed to making Leeds a better city for children and young people and it’s great that we are able to celebrate their work, through an event such as the child friendly Leeds awards.

“What a wonderful way to recognise just some of the work being done across the city to improve the lives of children and young people that goes some way towards making Leeds a child friendly city.”

The prestigious awards ceremony is being organised by a group of eight young people who make up The CFL Crew. The ‘crew’ – some as young as twelve – are busy making the final preparations for the ceremony which will be watched by an audience of nearly 400 people including a number of city leaders , VIP and surprise celebrity guests.

The CFL Crew have planned every detail, from the design of the trophies and decorations, to selecting the young performers from Leeds who will entertain guests on the night. They are also responsible for hosting guests on the night.

Jonathan George, Head of Customer Service at British Gas said:

“We’re thrilled to support those who help to make Leeds an inspiring and safe city for local children.

“It’s great that the children themselves are helping to organise the event, building their skills and confidence for the future.”

The individuals, groups and organisations that have been shortlisted in each of the six categories are:

Children’s Champion (under 11 years old)

Oliver Barrow and Briony Ellis

Tunmann Dev

Jake Frood,

Harry Phillips

Children’s Champion (11-18 years old)

Bright Sparx

Junior Frood

#Realtalk

Sophie Chapman and Ellie Roberts

Adult Looking After Children & Young People

Lynn Henry

Marvina Newton

James Rattigan

Assad Razzaq

Overall contribution

Getaway Girls

Leeds Play Network

Marks & Spencer

The Market Place

Supporting schools

Dr Burke

Hamara Supplementary School

The Real Junk Food Project

Skillz Education

Best Place for children and young people

Chapel FM

The Rainbow Factory

Roundhay Park and Tropical World

The Conservation Volunteers at Skelton Grange Environment

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

The 2016 child friendly Leeds awards judging panel includes:

• Councillor Lucinda Yeadon – executive member for children and families
• Councillor Alice Smart – lead member for Child Friendly Leeds
• Sue Rumbold - Leeds City Council chief officer in children’s services
• Andrew Eastwood – Leeds City Council, head of service in children’s services
• Lydia Hopkinson, British Gas
• Rosie Kelsall, Trinity Leeds
• Elliott Turnbull, The Works Skatepark
• Representatives from the child friendly Leeds young advisors group

Leeds City Council and its partners are working to make Leeds to be the best place for children and young people to grow up in. To find out more about what is happening and how to get involved, people can visit http://www.childfriendlyleeds.co.uk

Full details of the nominations can be found on the Child Friendly Leeds website: https://childfriendlyleeds.wordpress.com/awards/

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