Children and families

Vision and aims

Leeds is home to nearly a quarter of a million children and young people aged 19 or under. Our ambition is for Leeds to be the best city in the UK for children to grow up in, where they are valued and supported, with a voice of their own and a bright future ahead of them.

Our Child Friendly Leeds initiative brings together everyone who shares this ambition. Our children and families team works with our partners to nurture children and support their families so that our young people can enjoy a safe, happy and healthy childhood, wherever they live in the city.

We are proud that our children’s services are rated outstanding overall. Our most recent Ofsted report noted that children benefit from consistently strong and creative social work of a high standard. We were commended for our work to ensure that young people, including looked after children and care leavers, have a voice and influence over services.

We are committed to improving attainment so that all children can achieve in their learning and gain skills for life, whatever their circumstances. Personal education plans support children in care to learn effectively and we remain focused on educational progress for children vulnerable to poor learning outcomes. With dedicated provision for children who have special educational needs or disabilities we support all our young people to fulfil their potential.

If you share our commitment to putting children and young people at the heart of everything we do, please get in touch. We have opportunities in our outstanding team for people from many professional backgrounds and with a range of skills and experience.

Children's social work

We work with families and communities to protect children’s welfare, supporting them to live safely at home or looked after in residential or foster care.

Early help

We are a multi-disciplinary team working alongside city partners to respond to families’ needs with effective early help in their own communities.

Learning Improvement

Help us make a difference to the lives of children and young people in Leeds by working with school leaders and governors across the city.

Learning Inclusion

This service supports children and young people with special educational needs and those who are at risk of missing out on educational opportunities due to their circumstances.

Children’s residential services

It’s an exciting time to join our team; we’re growing our provision and have opportunities citywide for new colleagues committed to making the lives of children and young people the best they can be.