Meet your Children’s Mayor, Esosa

Esosa is the current Leeds Children’s Mayor, elected by young people in October 2024. Her manifesto focuses on tackling mental health and promoting good wellbeing practices. In her manifesto Esosa addresses great ways schools and wider Leeds could support young people’s mental health! I was very lucky to meet Esosa at St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School. I was able to hear all of the amazing things she has been working on as Children’s Mayor! Why is Esosa so passionate about young people’s mental health?

Esosa is so passionate about young people’s mental health as she feels that it is not often spoken about, and it can sometimes be hard for young people to find out where they can receive support. As Children’s Mayor Esosa works with her school and various groups to help teach good wellbeing practices and create safe spaces for young people.

What has Esosa been up to as Children’s Mayor?

From attending events to helping her school create a day centred around wellbeing, Esosa has been busy! Esosa has helped create Say-It-Sweet day in St Patrick’s Catholic School, a busy day focused on showing extra kindness through words and gestures. D:SIDE, a charity for children, came in to speak about different topics promoting good health. Students even got to wear bright clothes, and did some yoga! The day was a great success. As Children’s Mayor Esosa also attends loads of events, her favourite has been opening up the upstairs of a Lotherton Museum about how children’s fashion has evolved over history.

What does St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School do that Esosa helps with?

Esosa and I spoke about all of the mental health support that St Patrick’s Primary School has in place. Esosa’s manifesto focused on having a calm and safe space where young people could go to relax and chat. I was able to see areas in the school that were made especially for young people if they ever wanted to find a relaxing spot. Esosa also showed me a paper chain hung up in the corridor of St Patrick’s, where each student wrote a compliment about another student on each chain.

She also showed me the ‘worry box’ that each classroom has that allows young people to express their worries through writing. Both of these things were decorated by young people and look great! The mental health support that St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School has brought in is exactly what Esosa is looking for as Children’s Mayor.

Find out more about Esosa and her campaign as Children’s Mayor

It was such a pleasure to meet Esosa, and see the school that she is a part of. Esosa’s manifesto surrounding positive mental health is brilliant and MindMate can’t wait to see what she does next!