Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Child Friendly Leeds are committed to listening to and championing the voices of children and young people. One way we do this is by working on the 12 wishes, and Wish 12 is all about making Leeds a more inclusive city for children and young people with SEND.

Give it a go - sports day

Give it a Go now in it's third year offers young people the chance to try a wide range of sports, groups and fun activities available across the city. The event was created in response to feedback from students in Leeds’ specialist schools, who shared that they wanted more opportunities to explore different activities and discover what they enjoy. The event brings together Child Friendly Leeds, local providers including our leading sports clubs including Leeds United Foundation, Leeds Rhinos Foundation, Yorkshire Cricket Foundation and our ambassadors including PE Partner, Active Leeds, Breeze Leeds, Leeds Local Offer and Mencap.  

As a partnership project, the day is planned and delivered with the Education, Mental Health and SEND programme at Leeds Trinity University and their students who deliver this project as part of the personal development module. You can view the highlights from 2025 here.
 

Raising awareness of hidden disabilities – a project with young people

Child Friendly Leeds worked on a project to raise awareness of hidden disabilities. This project was led by young people who shared their challenges and strengths through art and poetry. Their words and drawings were then turned into a series of posters which have been shared across Leeds.

Download the posters and campaign resources here.

The young people who took part in this project want to tackle the stigmas about people with SEND. They also want to improve public awareness so that more people have a deeper understanding of what someone with hidden disabilities may be going through beneath the surface.

Want to get involved?

Sharing the posters helps to amplify the voices of young people with SEND and improve awareness. The posters can be downloaded, or hard copies are available from the public health resource centre. To order, you will need to register and then send a completed order form to phrc.form@leeds.gov.uk. The codes for the posters are as follows:

P758 (butterflies);

P756 (iceberg);

P757 (grid).

This project was completed in collaboration with Leeds Youth Voice, The Merrion Centre and Town Centre Securities.