Empowering Foster Families in Surrey Through Inclusive Stories
A Partnership Between Happier Every Chapter and Surrey County Council Fostering Service
Background
Surrey County Council Fostering Service supports hundreds of children and young people across the county, ensuring every child has the stability, care, and opportunities they deserve. At the heart of their mission is the belief that every child’s voice matters, and every family deserves access to resources that foster belonging.
Happier Every Chapter shares a similar mission: to improve literacy attainment, diversity awareness, and inclusion by curating representative, empowering stories for children and families. Happier Every Chapter’s work with schools, communities, and corporates has already proven the power of inclusive literature to transform reading habits, confidence, and wellbeing.
When the two organisations met, the alignment was immediate: how could they use inclusive stories to support children in care and their foster families especially during school holidays, when opportunities for connection and enrichment are crucial?
The Challenge
-
Foster families are geographically spread across Surrey and beyond, making in-person gatherings difficult.
-
Children in care often need additional encouragement to build positive relationships with reading.
-
Carers want activities that strengthen bonds with children while promoting identity, empathy, and self-expression.
The Partnership Vision
Both partners recognised the opportunity to create accessible, engaging, and inclusive literary experiences tailored to foster families. By combining Happier Every Chapter’s expertise in diverse book curation and literacy engagement with Surrey’s trusted relationship with fostering communities, the partnership aims to:
-
Spark a love of reading in children of all ages.
-
Provide carers with resources and activities that build connection.
-
Create moments of joy, belonging, and shared experience—no matter where families live.
Planned Initiatives
-
Virtual DEI Book Fair & Storytime Festival
A week-long online celebration featuring storytime sessions, author readings, and a virtual bookstall of Happier Every Chapter’s inclusive titles. Families could enjoy a “Foster Voices” corner, spotlighting carers and young people sharing their favourite books. -
Holiday Reading Challenge
Children log books from a curated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) list, with weekly Zoom check-ins for quizzes, games, and guest readers. Certificates and prizes would recognise participation, reinforcing achievement. -
Author Q&A + Creative Writing Workshop
A live session with a children’s author followed by a writing workshop. Contributions from children could be compiled into a digital anthology, showcasing their creativity and amplifying their voices. -
Digital Story Trail Adventure
An interactive, choose-your-own-path online experience centred on themes like empathy, identity, and belonging—perfect for sparking family conversations. -
Books & Brunch Live Family Event
A relaxed Saturday morning event featuring live readings, puppetry or animation, a chat with a foster carer or young person, and downloadable brunch recipes and activity sheets to bring the stories to life at home.
The Impact Potential
This partnership offers more than just books it creates a movement of belonging, creativity, and joy for children who need it most. By blending literacy enrichment with community connection, Surrey County Council Fostering Service and Happier Every Chapter can:
-
Strengthen identity and self-esteem for children in care through stories where they feel represented.
-
Support carers with accessible, meaningful activities that build family bonds.
-
Establish scalable models for other fostering services across the South East to replicate.
Next Steps
The partnership is currently planning a pilot activities during the October half-term and Christmas holidays periods when children and families are more available. Both organisations are committed to testing these ideas and co-creating a programme that works for the unique needs of foster families.
Conclusion
This collaboration illustrates the power of strategic partnerships between local authorities and literacy organisations. By uniting around inclusive stories, Happier Every Chapter and Surrey County Council Fostering Service are opening new chapters of joy, confidence, and connection for children in foster care.