Parents and Carers
- Key information
- Things to do
- Get involved in the community
- Support for Foster4Leeds foster carers
- Useful links
Children and young people are at the heart of a child-friendly city, and therefore parents, carers and families are too. Everything that we do is done with the vision of making Leeds the best city to bring children up in. We regularly promote what’s on for families, useful guides for parents and carers and coordinate events and activities.
This event was the best I've been to for children. Organised. Not overcrowded. The staff were all friendly and I felt it was a safe place for children to enjoy themselves. We could do and see everything. Mr bloom was a big hit. I also saw some families from where we live, and they had good things to say about the event. Well done to everyone involved!
Key information
2024/2025 Term dates
|
Term or holiday |
Starts |
Ends |
|
Autumn term (first half) |
Monday 2 September |
Friday 25 October |
|
Half term |
Monday 28 October |
Friday 1 November |
|
Autumn term (second half) |
Monday 4 November |
Friday 20 December |
|
Christmas holiday |
Monday 23 December |
Friday 3 January |
|
Term or holiday |
Starts |
Ends |
|
Spring term (first half) |
Monday 6 January |
Friday 14 February |
|
Half term |
Monday 17 February |
Friday 21 February |
|
Spring term (second half) |
Monday 24 February |
Friday 4 April |
|
Easter holiday |
Monday 7 April |
Monday 21 April |
|
Term or holiday |
Starts |
Ends |
|
Summer term (first half) |
Tuesday 22 April |
Friday 23 May |
|
May bank holiday |
Monday 5 May |
Monday 5 May |
|
Half term |
Monday 26 May |
Friday 30 May |
|
Summer term (second half) |
Monday 2 June |
Tuesday 22 July |
|
Summer holidays |
Wednesday 23 July |
Please see your individual school’s calendar for confirmation of training days and exact dates.
Things to do
Child Friendly Leeds offer information to families in Leeds around things to do and places to go. This ties in with our work around Child Friendly Leeds Wish 7. We share this information on our blog and social media channels.
Keep up to date
Following us on our social media channels and checking our blog can help to keep you in the loop with the latest information on ‘things to do’, ‘events’ and ‘news’.
Our other favourite locations to find out what’s on are:
- Mumbler Free Days Out & Things to do with Kids near Leeds (mumbler.co.uk)
- Leeds Inspired Leeds Inspired
- Breeze Places to go and things to do – Breeze Leeds
Get involved in the community
Child Friendly Leeds are involved in a number of community-based programmes. These are programmes that we help to run, that anyone can get involved in, which help to make the whole city more child-friendly.
Play Streets
Play Streets allow you to close your street to traffic (to stop cars passing through) for up to 4 hours at a time, so that children in the local area can use it for play!
Find out more about Play Streets
Some of the main benefits:
- Play has a huge positive impact on children’s development, from social skills to health and movement opportunities.
- Research shows children feel that streets ‘belong’ to cars, more than they do to themselves. Play Streets help us to share our streets a little more fairly.
- As play streets are resident-led, they can help your communities to feel safer as you get to know your neighbours.
- Play streets is an official programme, meaning you can access support from Child Friendly Leeds. From guidance to template documents, we provide the resources you need to make the play street happen.
Healthy Holidays
CFL sit on the panel for allocating funding to Healthy Holidays projects. Healthy Holidays clubs provide children in receipt of free school meals, fun activities and healthy food during the school holidays, with no cost to the parent/carer.
This year, a new online booking system was used. Find out more here: Healthy Holidays Leeds
Community committees
Community committee meetings are run by local Councillors for your area and are a chance to have your say on decisions which impact your area. Each community committee has a ‘Children’s Champion’, who help to keep a ‘Child Friendly Leeds’ focus during decision making.
Find your local meeting here: Community committees – have your say (leeds.gov.uk)
Support for Foster4Leeds foster carers
The Child Friendly Leeds team delivers an enrichment’ offer. By working with their network of ambassadors, they can provide opportunities to families of care-experienced children. For example, by providing tickets to cultural and sports events
Once again, thanks for organising the trip 😊 Events like this are amazing opportunities for our young people and for their carers! We are often so involved with difficulties or issues which can arise, that it’s easy to forget to relax and enjoy ourselves. The Cirque du Soleil show allowed us to do just that - my girls had an amazing time, and the VIP box made it extra special for us all. Thank you so much for your kind gift - it is hugely appreciated!
Are you a Foster Carer for Leeds City Council? Speak to the Foster4Leeds team to find out more about the Child Friendly Leeds Enrichment programme. Learn more about the types of fostering available with Foster 4 Leeds through Leeds City Council.
Useful links
- Leeds Family information service
- Keeping children safe – Report a child protection concern
- Supporting your child with their mental health - I'm a parent or carer - MindMate
- Supporting your child with special educational needs or disabilities - Leeds SEND Local Offer | Leeds Local Offer
- Support with finances – Money Information Centre Leeds
- Pregnancy and Maternity advice – Maternity - Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- #LoveYourself and move more with Active Leeds – Active Leeds
- Children’s Centres in Leeds - Children's Centres | Family Information Service Leeds