Families, infants, and professionals in Leeds will participate in events to mark Baby Week, a weeklong celebration of early childhood, starting from Tuesday, 14th November.
The central themes of the week revolve around embracing diversity, appreciating different cultures, and drawing inspiration from art, play, and individual identity. This year’s focus is on ‘culture and identity.’
Baby Week was established in Leeds in 2016 with a clear objective: to make Leeds the premier place for children to grow up. Since then, it has expanded across the UK, with events taking place in nine different locations.
Throughout the week, Leeds will host over 100 events. The festivities kick off with a free opening party at the Tetley on Tuesday, 14th November. This event will feature stalls, exhibitions, and activities celebrating early childhood.
For more information about Baby Week and to view the full schedule of free events, please visit www.babyweek.co.uk.
Councillor Fiona Venner, Leeds City Council’s executive member for children’s social care and health partnerships, said: “It is fantastic to see Baby Week return for another year, and for a wide variety of places across Leeds to be joining in on the action.
“Early childhood is a really important phase in children’s lives, so it is so important that the whole city comes together to support parents across the week.”
Founder of Baby Week Leeds, Lucy Potter said: “From seeing Baby Week celebrated across Brazil known as Semana Do Bebe, I knew it would be a fantastic initiative to bring to Leeds to bring sectors together to focus on the best start and really make a city-wide impact.
“We know the early years are a crucial stage and we really want every child to have the best start. From a tiny seed in Leeds, Child Friendly Leeds have helped make the initiative into a national awareness week celebrated across nine regions this year.
“Baby Week is not only a platform to promote services, reduce barriers to access and bring families together but also a fantastic opportunity to bring students and professionals working in the health, education, and early years sector together to collaborate and share best practice.”
Earlier this year, Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales visited Leeds to launch the ‘Shaping Us’ campaign and to learn more about Child Friendly Leeds, an initiative of which Baby Week is a central component. Following the visit, efforts were made with partners to advocate for the importance of early childhood on a national scale, resulting in the expansion of Baby Week to nine regions:
Leeds
Bradford
Calderdale
Cheshire and Merseyside
Coventry
Redcar and Cleveland
Nottinghamshire
Newcastle
Torbay
