School of Children, Young People and Families
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Welcome to the School of Children, Young People and Families
Welcome to the School of Children, Young People and Families where we are focused on being a positive force to change society. As a School, we are grounded in understanding child development and exploring approaches that make a lifelong impact on children and their families. We do this by creating a culture of care where your sense of belonging as a member of this School is just as important as the sense of wellbeing you inspire in children and families.
Within the School, we offer a range of programmes that evolve around understanding the lives of children, how best to support their development, and making impactful interventions when families face difficulties. Our modules consider practical interventions that support children’s happiness, mitigate the risks of health inequalities, or support special educational needs and disabilities. All our programmes are career-focused, supporting you to explore the vast number of professional roles available when within children and families, or enhancing your career further within this meaningful profession.
There is a strong emphasis on social justice throughout our programmes, learning how to change the lives of children and families and rebalance inequalities. This can be within impactful interventions for supporting mental health, anti-social behaviour, or early communication and language skills. We consider trauma-informed practice to support social and emotional wellbeing and embrace meaningful reflective practice to support your professional wellbeing.
Alongside these programmes we also have our philosophy, ethics and religion programme. Modules cover a diversity of topics and perspectives whilst examining issues of both pressing contemporary and perennial importance. Our philosophy modules explore the nature of reality, the existence of God, what it means to be human, and much more besides. Our ethics modules will teach you how to think about complicated real-world issues in a thoughtful, rigorous, and compassionate way. Finally, our religion modules will help you to understand what people believe, why they believe it, the important role that religion can play in people’s lives, and how it shapes decision-making at both a personal and societal level helping you to better understand, and change, contemporary society and the modern world.
You’ll be inspired to explore a range of professional roles, and studying programmes that open doors across a variety of exciting careers. Modules are dynamic and co-created, with rich teaching and learning sessions that research-active tutors and local employers inform. As a School, we provide a genuine commitment to your development, raising confidence and academic achievement simultaneously. Joining us can help you become a positive force to change society.
Our achievements
8th in the UK and 1st in Yorkshire for Teaching, among universities in the UK included for Childhood and Youth
National Student Survey 2025
1st in the UK for Learning Opportunities among universities in the UK included for Childhood and Youth
National Student Survey 2025
3rd in the UK and 1st in Yorkshire for Assessment and Feedback among universities in the UK included for Childhood and Youth
National Student Survey 2025
Top 10 in the UK and 1st in Yorkshire for Learning Opportunities among universities in the UK included for Social Policy
National Student Survey 2025
Leeds Trinity University is top in Yorkshire and top 10 in the UK for 'satisfaction with teaching'
The Guardian University Guide 2025
96% of Leeds Trinity University graduates are in employment or further study within 15 months
Graduate Outcomes, Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) published 2024
1st in the UK for Academic Support among universities in the UK included for Childhood and Youth
National Student Survey 2025
Our courses
Postgraduate courses
School endorsements
The School of Children, Young People and Families at Leeds Trinity University has a long history of providing students with opportunities to enhance their professional development.
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ECSDN Quality Mark
Our BA (Hons) Childhood Studies degree has been recognised as ‘exceeding expectations’ following a recent Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies (ECGPC) quality assurance audit.
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Social Work England accreditation
Our MA Social Work is approved by Social Work England. On successful completion of this course, you’ll be eligible to apply for registration as a social worker with Social Work England.
Early Childhood Studies Graduate Practitioner Competencies
The Early Childhood Studies Graduate Practitioner Competencies is an additional award that runs in parallel with the BA Early Childhood Studies degree and BA Professional Practice: Early Childhood Studies degree.
The Graduate Practitioner Competencies are endorsed by the Early Childhood Studies Degree Network (ECSDN), to which Leeds Trinity University is a member institution. The competencies aim to strengthen the degree's early childhood workforce and professional practice aspect. The competencies award enables students to gain a full and relevant status and a level 6 qualification. Leeds Trinity is the only university in Leeds to offer this Ofsted requirement.
Achieving practitioner status can help enhance your employability in the childhood studies sector or support your progress to postgraduate study or higher-level professional roles.

A School with connections
The School of Children, Young People and Families has many connections with local organisations and charities. Below are just some of the partners we work closely with.
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School activities
Events such as trips, talks and conferences are a key approach within the School of Children, Young People and Families. This helps bring learning to life and see the implementation of theory into practice within our local and regional employers. All our degree programmes embed trips to see practice in action with children and families in a range of ways.
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Meet our alumni
Our alumni have been making an impact since we opened our doors in 1966. Read more about our exceptional graduates and how they got to where they are today.
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Becca Haigh - Owner of Wildling Adventures
"The progress that the children make is quite unbelievable. There is not a day at work where my heart does not sing."
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Matthew Brannen, Senior Policy Adviser at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
"I had some really great times at Leeds Trinity, with friends and classmates; work colleagues too! I spent lots of time building up the Catholic Society, working with the chaplaincy and getting involved in things going on in Leeds."
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Ben Davy - Trainee teacher
"The staff are so supportive and go above and beyond to help you, from the lecturers to the kitchen staff. Everybody at Leeds Trinity adds value to your experience."
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Victoria Smith - Director of Operations, York Childcare
"My MA really opened my eyes to the wider issues we face in the sector such as diversity, our understanding of the sociological impacts on young children and the varying range of pedagogy and approaches."
Cutting-edge research
The School comprises academics and researchers within ‘Children, Young People and Families’ or our ‘Philosophy, Ethics and Religion’ provision. The School's research portfolio is varied and underpinned by regional, national or international partnerships and collaborations with corresponding reach and significance.
Research themes
Social inclusion and wellbeing
The theme of social inclusion and wellbeing underpins much of the research within Children, Young People and Families.
Social inclusion and wellbeing
Topics include:
- Special educational needs and disabilities
- Childhood and adolescent mental health
- Gender debates within employment and employability
- Young parents in higher education
- Teachers’ professional knowledge about poverty and disadvantage
- Child protection for the disadvantaged and vulnerable
- Experiences of play therapy
- Care experienced young people
- Educational inequalities
- The experiences of BAME and marginalised British families during lockdown
- Domestic abuse
- Gender and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.
Philosophy, Ethics and Religion
Topics such as metaphysics; causation; moral theology; social justice; theology of indigenous religion; contemporary paganism; Christian theology; ecofeminism; and religious education are explored within Philosophy, Ethics and Religion.
The Catherine of Alexandria Research Group
Academic Leads
- Dr Richard Playford: Philosophical anthropology and exophilosophy (i.e., the philosophy of extraterrestrial life)
- Dr Dave Ellis: Wittgensteinian scholarship predominantly in philosophy of religion
- Dr Suzanne Owen: Specialism in Indigenous religious traditions and British nature-based traditions.
The Catherine of Alexandria Research Group
We harness and develop the expertise, skills, talents and potential of colleagues with shared interests in philosophy and religion.
Sub-themes running through the Research Group include:
Catholic Philosophy
- The distinctive contributions British Catholics have made to philosophy
- The insights Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy can provide to contemporary issues
Philosophy in Society and Culture
- The insights philosophy can provide on matters of social justice, equity and equality
- The different ways we can promote a philosophically literate society
- The different ways philosophy can be used to promote the common good
Our people
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Amanda Jefferson | Senior University Teacher | Research profile |
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Amelia Wesley-Holley | Programme Lead and Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist | |
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Associate Professor Bev Peartree | Associate Professor in Special Needs and Mental Health in Professional Practice | Research profile |
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Dr Clarrie Smith | Deputy Head of School: Children, Young People and Families | Research profile |
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Dr Edward Noon | Senior Lecturer in Children, Young People and Families | Research profile |
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Hannah Crooks | Lecturer in Early Childhood and Early Childhood Studies Programme Leader | Research profile |
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Dr Icarbord Tshabangu | Associate Professor | Research profile |
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Jo Wilkinson | Lecturer in Children, Young People and Families | |
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Dr Lyndsey Layton | Senior Lecturer in Children, Young People and Families | |
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Martin Holleran | Senior Lecturer | |
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Mike Dessington | Head of School: Children, Young People and Families | Research profile |
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Dr Richard Playford | Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader in Philosophy, Ethics and Religion | Research profile |
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Rosie Galbraith | Senior Lecturer | Research profile |
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Dr Suzanne Owen | Associate Professor | Research profile |
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Dr Tracy Laverick | Senior Lecturer | Research profile |
School of Children, Young People and Families blogs
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Good dads on deadlines: How universities can better support young fathers
27 November 2024
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Are miracles believable for contemporary Christians?
6 August 2024
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The experience of disablement amongst children and young people
8 December 2023
School of Children, Young People and Families News
Children, Young People and Families, Community
15/05/2025Leeds Trinity hosts sports day for local children with special educational needs and disabilities
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Children, Young People and Families
24/03/2025Early Childhood Studies degree exceeding expectations
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Children, Young People and Families, Research
27/02/2025Instagram can boost wellbeing of queer youth, says new study
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Children, Young People and Families, Education
30/01/2025Early Years Leadership Foundation Degree approved against employer quality standards
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