Leeds Child Poverty Strategy 2024 to 2027
The Leeds Child Poverty Strategy 2024 to 2027
Wish 8 and the Leeds Child Poverty Strategy go hand-in-hand. In fact, Wish 8 has actually been used as the wording for the strategy’s main goal. The wishes represent the voices of children and young people in Leeds, meaning whole strategy is written with the voice of the child at the centre.
Why refresh the strategy?
All strategies are regularly refreshed to keep the aims and goals up to date and to make sure they reflect the situation in Leeds. The Child Poverty strategy is updated every 3 years.
How was the strategy refreshed?
This strategy is about child poverty and so it was extremely important to listen to children and young people when setting new goals and creating a new plan. This is where the ‘Voice, Influence and Change’ team come in! They run the Leeds Youth Voice programme and regularly work with young people who want to have their voices heard and influence decisions which affect their lives. The team also work closely with lots of other youth voice groups from across Leeds, who got involved too.
For this update, over 200 young people from youth groups and organisations across Leeds were asked what they would like to see in the new strategy. This took place between July and September 2023.
Children and young people’s top priorities:
Reduce the stigma and shame around poverty.
Improve what is on offer for children living in poverty and make activities more accessible.
Make sure children living in poverty have their basic needs met.
Councillor Helen Hayden (Executive Member for Children and Families) wrote the introduction for the strategy and proudly mentioned the consultation work:
Our latest consultation highlighted crucial priorities identified by children and young people; the need to reduce the stigma and shame associated with poverty, ensure the fulfilment of basic needs, and enhance access to activities for children living in poverty. These priorities will help guide the work of the child poverty impact board over the next three years.
What are the main points in the strategy?
The strategy is there to make sure we are working together to reduce the impact of poverty on children and their families. This includes working together across the council and other organisations in Leeds. The strategy outlines what poverty is, gives statistics for Leeds and sets out the ambitions and approach that Leeds will take. The ‘Child Poverty Impact Board’ is the group who use this strategy as their plan and are responsible for making sure there are improvements.
The areas of work for the Child Poverty Impact board to deliver on, are:
Support schools so that children living in poverty can access learning and have better experiences at school.
Improve green spaces and play spaces so that play spaces are safe spaces where people can connect.
Make sure all babies have the best start in life, including during pregnancy.
Make sure all young people have access to work experiences, employment opportunities. Support young people through life transitions.
Provide support, guidance and opportunities to families so that they can lead financially secure lives.
Make sure that families experiencing poverty access help and support without stigma or prejudice.
Support all families/young people living in social housing so that they tenancy is sustainable.
Different people on the Child Poverty Impact Board will be responsible for different parts of the plan and will bring updates to regular meetings over the next 3 years.
