Leeds Children’s Mayor (programme for schools)

The current Leeds Children's Mayor

Esosa became the 2024-25 Leeds Children's Mayor in October 2024 with a total of 6,204 children and young people voting in the elections.   

Esosa's manifesto is about tackling mental health and wellbeing to help Leeds have an improved, positive future.

Esosa's manifesto

My manifesto is about mental health and wellbeing.  

If I was Leeds Children's Mayor I would tackle mental health and wellbeing.  

Mental health is important because it can affect how we handle stress and make choices and it influences your daily life. People all around Leeds should be aware of mental health effects. Therapy sessions can be around £30 which can be an expensive part of a family budget. If we don't tackle mental health at a young age it can impact the way we grow up and become and adult.  

Schools could:  

• Have a "Positive thoughts" day where we say positive sentences to each other - we could do a day every half term - this would boost everyone's happiness and those with mental health problems may feel like they can talk to someone
• Have a place to go to in school to be able to "Relax and Chat", inside or outside, we could decorate a space or a bench in a calm and safe way, and have chance to go there with permission to be able to talk to an adult of our choice or take a friend, this can have some calming music, books and nice smelling things
• We could work the Mental Health Leads in school and with local groups such as D-Side to arrange groups to come into school and explain the issues with mental health and give us ideas on how to help ourselves by doing small group work and helping us to understand the language and how we can spot issues and give advice to other children who may need it
   

Leeds as a city could:  

• Encourage groups of schools to have children ambassadors that can create resources and packs, share these and do lessons about mental health by children for children including introducing an annual Leeds Positive Thoughts Day where schools could enter a competition in the first year to create the logo and then each year to create a yearly badge for all to wear to promote the Positive Thoughts Day helping children and staff to remind them to be positive. This day could be during the annual Mental Health Week
• In the future, for all schools to have a trained councillor or access to a counsellor for children to be able to book into if they have any problems they want to speak to or roll out and create their own "Relax and Chat" spaces around schools, in Leeds whether this be a bench or an area for lonely/vulnerable people
• Promote local youth therapy places and have these displayed in schools so we know where to go and is free for primary school children or a small cost to families so that everyone can access it

If mental health is tackled early through therapy, talking and understanding the issues, then we can help Leeds to have an improved, positive future.

Previous Children's Mayors

The Leeds Children's Mayors since 2011 were:       

• Mohammed Hussein, Ireland Wood Primary (2023-24)
• Mason Hicks, Whitkirk Primary (2022-23)
• Zulaykha Hussain, Bardsey Primary (2021-22)
• Samuel Hill, Carr Manor Community School (2020-21)
• Wania Ahmad, Harehills Primary (2019-20)
• Rio Abbott, Grange Farm Primary (2018-19)
• Isla Bentley, Gildersome Primary (2017-18)
• Grace Branford, Drighlington Primary (2016-17)
• Hannah Begum, Hunslet Moor Primary (2015-16)
• Amy Eckworth-Jones, Strawberry Fields Primary (2014-15)
• Charlotte Williams, Rufford Park Primary (2013-14)
• Oliver Larking, Bardsey Primary (2012-13)
• Joe Smith, Strawberry Fields Primary (2011-12)

From 2004 until 2014 we had a Mayor for a Day.