The Spark to host Sheffield Children’s Annual Members Meeting in Sheffield Children’s 150th anniversary year 

Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust will welcome members, families, colleagues and the wider community to its Annual Members Meeting on Thursday 10 September 2026 – 150 years after the first meeting that set Sheffield Children’s on its journey to becoming a specialist children’s hospital. 

The meeting will take place at The Spark, Sheffield Children’s new world-class facility and home of the National Centre for Child Health Technology (NCCHT) at the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park. The meeting is open to everyone, including patients, families, colleagues, Trust members and the wider community. 

The meeting will begin at 4pm on Thursday 10 September 2026 at The Spark, Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.  To find out more and register your place, visit Sheffield Children’s Trust membership 

The Annual Members Meeting is a special milestone during Sheffield Children’s 150th anniversary year. In 1876, a meeting was held to establish a hospital for children in Sheffield. What began with a shared ambition to improve healthcare for children has grown over 150 years into a Trust providing specialist care, research and innovation for children and young people across the region and beyond. 

This year’s meeting offers an opportunity to reflect on that remarkable journey – while looking ahead to the future. 

Attendees will hear from Professor Laura Serrant CBE, Chair of Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Chief Executive Ruth Brown and representatives from The Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity and the Trust’s external auditors, KPMG. 

Across the 90-minute session, members will be invited to reflect on progress through the 2025/26 financial year against Sheffield Children’s three strategic aims outlined in our Caring Together 2030 Trust Strategy – to provide outstanding patient care, be a brilliant place to work and to be recognised as leader in children’s health. Alongside this, the meeting will celebrate the achievements of colleagues, patients, families and partners during this special anniversary year. 

The meeting will also look towards the future, with The Spark providing a fitting backdrop. The new £24 million facility is home to the National Centre for Child Health Technology and represents Sheffield Children’s continued ambition to transform health and care for children and young people. 

Professor Laura Serrant CBE, Chair of Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We’re really looking forward to this year’s Annual Members Meeting. It feels particularly special to be coming together in person during our 150th anniversary year, and to do so at The Spark – a building that represents our ambitions for the future. 

“150 years ago, people came together because they believed children in Sheffield deserved better healthcare. That same spirit of ambition, compassion and partnership continues today. This meeting is a chance to celebrate how far we have come, recognise the incredible work happening across Sheffield Children’s now, and look ahead to what the next chapter could bring.” 

From a meeting in 1876 to a new chapter in 2026 

The Annual Members Meeting provides a fitting moment to look back at the Trust’s origins. 

Sheffield Children’s was created in 1876 by a doctor, an architect and a solicitor. The hospital was founded to support “poor sick children” who could not access or afford care in industrial Sheffield. That first meeting was the beginning of a 150-year story shaped by children, families, colleagues, volunteers, supporters and communities. 

Now, 150 years later, Sheffield Children’s continues to put children and young people at the heart of everything it does – caring for them and their families, creating experiences that make a difference, and working to create a healthier future for generations to come. 

From that first meeting to The Spark, the Trust’s anniversary year is a chance to celebrate the past while looking towards the next 150 years of child health. 

The Trust’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2025/26 will also be published shortly on the Sheffield Children’s publications webpage.