Our birthday, your celebration

On this day, 150 years ago, Sheffield Children’s opened its doors for the very first time! 

To celebrate our big day, we wanted to do something extra-special. So, we threw a huge birthday bash for everyone.

This milestone belongs to everyone who has been part of Sheffield Children’s over the last century and a half. The children and young people we’ve cared for, their families, our colleagues past and present, volunteers, supporters, partners and the communities we serve.

More than 900 people joined us throughout the day at The Spark, our new £24m home of the National Centre for Child Health Technology.

We took a trip through Sheffield Children’s history, brought ideas to life with Kids Invent Stuff, explored the future of healthcare technology with NAO the robot, got crafty making birthday crowns with Art+, and got everyone playing with games from Playful Anywhere.

Organisations from across Sheffield joined the fun too, getting children and young people moving, dancing and even giving teddy bears their very own hospital experience. Our huge birthday celebration was made possible with support from Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity.

And, of course, no birthday would be complete without a song and some cake! Children and young people led a chorus of Happy Birthday after speeches from our Chief Executive Ruth Brown and South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard.

For 150 years, Sheffield Children’s purpose has remained the same: to create healthier futures for children and young people.

What began as a small hospital caring for 29 inpatients in its first year has grown into one of the UK’s leading children’s healthcare organisations, caring for hundreds of thousands of children and young people every year.

Thank you to everybody who came to celebrate our birthday with us, and to everyone who has been part of our 150-year journey. We can’t wait to see what the next 150 years bring!

The day in pictures

Read an open letter to past and present families, colleagues, governors, and supporters of Sheffield Children’s from our Chief Executive Ruth Brown.

Read more about our history on our website ‘About us’ page.