Dreaming Big for South Yorkshire

Partners from across South Yorkshire unite to find ways to improve the lives of children and young people across the region

A new region-wide movement, led by children and young people, has been launched to improve the lives of children across South Yorkshire as Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust marks its 150th anniversary.

As Sheffield Children’s celebrates 150 years of creating healthier futures, the Trust is looking beyond its own history to inspire lasting change through the launch of South Yorkshire’s Year of the Child 2026.

The Year of the Child brings together partners from across health, education, local government, charities, businesses and communities with one shared ambition: to tackle the inequalities affecting children and young people while ensuring their voices help shape the future.

The initiative was officially launched by partners at Dream Big South Yorkshire, a two-day summit in Doncaster led by Save the Children UK, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Chilypep and the Children and Young

People’s Alliance.

More than 300 children, young people, families, community organisations, charities, health leaders, local authorities, investors and policymakers came together to explore how South Yorkshire can become the best place for every child to grow up healthy, hopeful and able to achieve their full potential.

Throughout the summit, children and young people shared their experiences, priorities and ambitions through policy labs, roundtable discussions and youth-led sessions. Their lived experience shaped conversations on poverty, health, education and opportunity, ensuring their voices were central to developing future action across the region.

Ruth Brown, Chief Executive of Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“At Sheffield Children’s our purpose is to create healthier futures for children and young people. For 150 years we have been caring for children from Sheffield, South Yorkshire and beyond, and we see every day how poverty shapes children’s lives.

“Sheffield Children’s 150th year is about much more than celebrating an anniversary. It is about turning a milestone into bigger momentum. The South Yorkshire Year of the Child is how we take the ambition behind Sheffield Children’s and turn it into something bigger than any one organisation. It is a platform to celebrate what is already happening, connect people with a common purpose and create an even greater impact together with children and young people.

“My big dream is that every child and young person in South Yorkshire has the opportunity to grow up healthy, hopeful and able to achieve their full potential, whatever their background, circumstance or health needs.

“We know that to achieve this, we have to work together. Supporting children’s health is one of the most powerful ways to break the cycle of poverty, and we’re proud to be working with partners across the region through the South Yorkshire Year of the Child to create real, lasting change. By bringing together our collective knowledge, expertise and the voices of children and young people themselves, we can make sure every young person has the best possible start in life.”

A major announcement during the summit was the launch of the £500,000 Dream Big South Yorkshire Fund – the first dedicated child-centred investment fund of its kind in the UK.

The fund brings together investment from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, private philanthropic partners secured by Save the Children UK and social impact organisation Key Fund.

It will provide grants and loans to organisations working with children and families in communities most affected by poverty, helping deliver projects that improve children’s health, wellbeing and life chances.

Young people will help shape how the funding is invested, ensuring decisions are informed by the children and families the fund is designed to support. Following a successful pilot, the ambition is for the fund to grow into a multi-million-pound investment supporting children across South Yorkshire.

The fund forms part of wider work to develop a South Yorkshire Child Poverty Action Plan. A new Dream Big Children and Families Commission will also be established, bringing together young people, parents and carers with lived experience to influence future decisions and keep children’s voices at the heart of creating change.

Sarah Godfrey, Senior Community Lead for Save the Children UK, South Yorkshire, said:

“South Yorkshire is a national trailblazer with this new fund for children. In the short-term, it’s going to help some amazing local organisations to work with communities to tackle poverty. Long term, we’re hoping this can grow to help thousands of local children. Other parts of the country can take inspiration from South Yorkshire in how to invest in children, and help communities now and in the future.”

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard said:

“Every child in South Yorkshire deserves the best possible start in life – the chance to grow up happy, healthy and able to fulfil their potential. But for too many families, that isn’t the reality today.

“The Dream Big South Yorkshire Fund is about driving that change – backing local organisations, listening to communities, and putting children and young people at the heart of the decisions we make.

“By bringing together public funding, philanthropy and social investment, we’re showing what’s possible when people come together with a shared purpose.

“That’s how we begin to turn the tide – not just for today, but for the long term – and build a fairer, healthier South Yorkshire where every child has the chance to stay near and go far.”

The discussions at Dream Big South Yorkshire will now shape the next phase of the Year of the Child, informing a shared programme of action across the region. Ideas, priorities and commitments developed by children, young people and partners will help shape South Yorkshire’s Child Poverty Action Plan alongside a series of legacy commitments and practical policy changes designed to improve outcomes for children and young people.