Shortlist revealed for the 2019 Child Friendly Leeds Awards

The names of the people, places and organisations shortlisted for the 6^th Child Friendly Leeds awards have been revealed.

The annual awards ceremony will take place in February this year, and will celebrate all the work that is happening across the city to make Leeds the best place for children and young people to grow up in.

The prestigious city-wide event is being planned by a group of 13 young people called The Dynamics. They have been working hard to organise every aspect of the awards, including merchandise, venue décor and selecting the young performers from Leeds who will entertain guests on the night. The Dynamics will also be the hosts of the evening.

There will be eight awards categories presented, including the brand new category ‘Youth Group of the Year’. This will recognise those groups of young people who have made a positive difference to children in Leeds.

There were a record number of nominations received this year, with just under 600 nominations being made across the eight categories.

This made shortlisting an extremely difficult job for the judging panel. 42 nominees were chosen, and there will be 8 winners announced on the night, in front of an audience of around 400 people including a number of city leaders, VIP and supporters.

Councillor Lisa Mulherin, Executive Member for Children and Families said:

“We have been overwhelmed and delighted by the record number of nominations we have received this year. This truly reflects the continuous hard work that people, places and organisations in Leeds are doing to meet our child friendly ambition.

“It’s great that we are able to recognise this work through our Child Friendly Leeds awards. The fact that Leeds’ own talented young people plan and present the event makes it an even more special way to celebrate what so many are doing across the city to improve the lives of children and young people.”

The awards are hosted by Leeds City Varieties and sponsored by aql, Trinity Leeds, White Rose Shopping Centre, Victoria Leeds, HCP, Yorkshire Housing, Yorkshire Transformations, Pinnacle PSG, Morgan Sindall and First Direct Arena.

Prof. Adam Beaumont, founder and CEO of aql, said:

“We’re absolutely committed to our partnership with Child Friendly Leeds, and are proud to be the main sponsor of the sixth annual CFL Awards. Young people are our future and we have to do all we can to enable them to thrive.”

For more information please visit the CFL awards page on the Child Friendly Leeds website https://www.leeds.gov.uk/childfriendlyleeds/cfl-awards

Media opportunity

When: Thursday 7 February 7pm (please arrive by 6.30pm)

Where: Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, Swan St, LS1 6LW

The ceremony begins at 7pm and there will be an opportunity to film, photograph and interview the winners from around 8.30pm. Filming and photography during the awards ceremony and performances is also permitted.

Spaces are limited so please contact Vanessa.Lancaster@Leeds.gov.uk to arrange attendance.

Notes to Editors:

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

Child of the Year

Victory Uzomah is passionate about mental health and ensuring that all children have a happy and positive time at school. She is a fantastic role model and asset to her school.

Charles Thompson has organised fund raising events to help those living in poverty, struggling in wars, and those living in under developed countries.

Serea Bingham baked biscuits in her own time to sell and raise money for St George’s Crypt. She has also been involved in regular charity fundraising walks.

Roman Pilmoor-Widd took part in "Brave the Shave" in order to help all the children who have cancer. Altogether, Roman raised a massive £205.

Imogen Lawrence suffered a major loss in her family and went through counselling. Through her perseverance and resilience, the rest of her school have come to learn about dealing with difficult issues.

Young Person of the Year

Sophie Chapman is the driving force behind setting up the Tribe Youth Group and is a youth leader for the CrossGates Primary Junior Wardens.

Max Greenwood is a volunteer leader and an inspiration to young people at the Premier Martial Arts in Bramley.

John Dunwell had a kidney transplant a number of years ago and is now a successful sportsman. He is instrumental in fundraising so other Leeds competitors can attend the National Transplant Games.

Muzdalfa Ahmed started the Grand Muslim Youth Council and encourages young people to step out of their comfort zone and speak up about the issues they face.

Isla Bentley launched 'Generous June' during her year as Children’s Mayor where primary school pupils across Leeds carried out random acts of kindness.

Arqam Al Hadeed founded the Grand Muslim Youth Council (GMYC) and is passionate about helping young people, by ensuring their voices are heard at a national level.

Salman Daji is very active and runs many campaigns on areas like mental health, Black History Month, disability awareness with students from Leeds City College.

Youth Group of the Year

Autism Bricks UK is a social enterprise which provides meaningful work experience for Autistic people and fun activities across the wider community of West Yorkshire using Lego.

Out 2 18 and Transtastic Youth Group offer a safe place to meet for young people aged 13 - 25 years who identify as LGBT, and are a lifeline for them.

Tribe Youth Group are a group for 6 – 15 year olds which empowers them to develop as individuals and enjoy new challenges through fun, volunteering and social action.

Youth Matters (Crossgates and Whinmoor Ward) are a pro-active group of young people who love to get involved in projects that make a difference and tackle challenges in their community.

Kick Off Boys Youth Dance Project is a joint partnership between Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD), Dance Action Zone Leeds (DAZL, Phoenix Dance Theatre and Leeds City College that offers weekly classes, half-term intensives, performance opportunities and film projects for boys and young men aged 12–18 years.

Adult Making a Difference

Lisa James set up ZigZag (a support group for young people with autism and their families) and runs a community shop in Cookridge, which provides work experience and volunteering opportunities for people with autism.

Mandy Craven uses her personal experience of Autism to provide support to young people and families via the Leeds ABC Group. She runs monthly information, training sessions and play dates in the school holidays.

Chris Lake and is doing extraordinary things to improve the lives and health of young people in Leeds, including supporting the development of the StepUp! mental health app created by young people.

Kerri Walker works at the Seacole Scheme and helps and supports young people who are experiencing some of the most difficult times of their lives with housing, daily practicalities and independent living.

Deborah Kenny and Katie Lamb (Carr Manor) work at Carr Manor Primary School, where they have helped create a school that truly embodies the restorative culture with young people at the heart.

Communities and Schools Working Together

P.E. Partner works alongside schools, community partners, County Sports Partnerships, clusters, charities, parents and children to create opportunities for thousands of young people to engage with physical activities.

Karma Nirvana @ Co-Op Academy have worked together on the #StirringUpTheConversation initiative to create meaningful changes that could save lives. Karma Nivarna is a charity working to stop forced marriage and honour based abuse.

The Students into Schools programme at the University of Leeds has placed over 6,500 students in 300 local schools and educational organisations contributing the equivalent of £2M worth of free support over the last 20 years.

‘The Hall Meets Hovingham’ Dementia Project involved pupils from Hovingham Primary visiting The Hall (a care home) with a view to raising awareness about dementia and contributing to the health and well-being of the older residents.

Shakespeare Primary School & Nursey and Bridge Community Church came together to offer much-needed school places and a warm welcome and support to children who had newly moved to Leeds in response to the city's significant school place shortage in inner East Leeds last year.

Inspiring Creativity through Arts and Culture

Life Experience are a social enterprise who support children, teenagers and vulnerable adults, by sharing real life experiences through the medium of poetry and drama, to encourage young people to avoid a life of crime and drug addiction.

Tutti Frutti are a leading national and international touring children’s theatre company and pioneered the first Leeds Little Feet Children’s Theatre Festival which brought nine theatre companies to perform at Narehills Primary and other local schools.

Alive and Kicking Theatre Company work with schools and in the community to bring drama alive to children, teachers and families by taking them to imaginary worlds and getting them to use the power of imagination to overcome many problems and battles.

Northern Arts Factory provide drama and dance sessions and workshops, holiday clubs and community shows alongside delivering sessions within schools from reception up to secondary school ages, which impact on young people’s confidence.

Phoenix Dance Theatre work with diverse local communities through programmes such as the Schools Partnership Scheme, where they deliver GCSE/BTEC/A-Level dance syllabuses, and after-school provisions and engagement projects for hard to reach students.

Best Place in Leeds for Children and Young People

Aireborough Supported Activities Scheme is an established charity making an essential difference to around 250 children annually by providing residential short breaks and play schemes to disabled children, who would not otherwise receive respite.

Herd Farm Residential and Activity Centre is a grade two listed converted barn transformed into a 50-bed residential and outdoor inclusive activity centre for children and young people set in 16 acres of tranquil countryside.

Leeds Mencap (Vinery Centre) supports children, young people and adults with learning disabilities along with their families and carers. The Vinery Centre was the result of the vision, generosity and hard work of so many people across Leeds and is an inclusive, welcoming, vibrant and lively space.

Place2be@LTHT (the Clarendon Wing) is a great social hub and a safe and welcoming space where teenagers (who are in hospital as patients or visitors) can meet, watch films, attend events, play games, and chill out.

Leeds Urban Bike Park is inclusive, safe and exciting for everyone with or without a bike and has engaged thousands of young people on the free to access facilities, which include Mini Pump Track, National Standard BMX track and MTB Trails.

Overall Contribution to Making Leeds a Child Friendly City

First Direct Bank (Fiona Hill) have consistently supported vulnerable children by sponsoring awards, offering free tickets and sponsoring personalised Christmas presents for children in care, children of care leavers, young people in residential homes and young unaccompanied asylum seekers.

LandSec (White Rose and Trinity) have provided work opportunities for young people, celebrated achievement by sponsoring Award ceremonies, run Christmas parties for foster and kinship families, and have provided family friendly toilets as well as a fantastic outdoor play space.

Leeds Rhinos Foundation have inspired others to achieve more through physical education in and out of schools. They are working in schools on bullying, respect and healthy living. They’ve offered complimentary tickets to Leeds Rhino's games which help enrich the lives of children and families.

Outwood Bounds Trust is an educational charity that helps young people defy their limitations through learning and adventure in the wild. The activities take young people out of their comfort zones and give them the confidence to tackle the real-world head on and to build resilience.

Think like a Pony is a welcoming, inspiring and safe place which runs horsemanship programmes, aiming to empower children and young people to develop social and communication skills through learning to interact safely, empathetically and effectively with horses