In the National Year of Reading 2026, and as part of Care Experienced Week in Scotland and National Care Leavers' Month in the UK, Georgia Barrow, from the Reading Heroes team at The Reader, reflects on what empowerment looks like through the lens of Shared Reading. Georgia explores how stories, relationships and the experience of feeling heard can help care experienced children build confidence, connection and a sense of possibility.

A familiar face and a good story. Sometimes feeling listened to begins moments like these. At The Reader, the UK’s biggest Shared Reading charity, these moments lie at the heart of Reading Heroes and Tiny Heroes, two of our projects that bring care experienced children together with trained volunteers to share books and conversation.

It is through creating space for care experienced children to discover stories and make reading their own that we see how confidence, connection and a sense of possibility can emerge. The theme for this year’s National Care Leavers’ Month that takes place in November, is ‘Leading the way: From experience to empowerment’, which invites us to think about the power of literature as a pathway to empowerment.

Reading Heroes

The Reader is the UK’s biggest Shared Reading charity. Every week (in the UK and beyond), we read aloud with thousands of adults and children in places like cafes, hospitals and prisons to connect people and help us live well. There is no pressure to talk or read aloud but people can connect and share experiences using stories and poems.

The Reading Heroes and Tiny Heroes programmes use the same model and over a 26-week programme, children are paired with a trained volunteer for an hour of reading together each week. Reading Heroes supports children aged 5-15, while Tiny Heroes works with children aged 2-4. Reading Heroes sessions mostly take place online, with some in person. Tiny Heroes volunteers meet children in person, at home, nursery or preschool.

Children are referred through Virtual Schools, a local authority service that helps support educational opportunities for children in care across the UK. They partner with The Reader and fund our vital work. The circumstances of the children involved varies, including foster care and kinship care, where children live with relatives or other people close to their family.

One of the things I value most about Reading Heroes and Tiny Heroes is that there is no right way to take part. Each child brings their own interests, experiences and ways of joining in, and there should be no expectation that children engage with stories in the same way either.

Reading for pleasure

“I used to think reading was boring and found it hard to imagine the characters but now I understand it better.” Reading Heroes Participant

Both projects use The Reader’s Shared Reading approach: reading slowly, pausing and allowing conversation to unfold. A moment in a story might prompt a question, a memory or an unexpected observation. There is no rush to finish the book. What matters is the experience of exploring it together.

This is why I see Reading Heroes as something quite different from a school reading intervention. Children do not have to read aloud; some may spend the whole programme listening, and that is welcome. If a child chooses to read, the volunteer’s role is to listen and encourage, rather than stop them to correct each mistake. For a child who might associate reading with getting something wrong, that difference matters.

Findings from our 2024/25 group of young readers showed 85% said that the child is a more confident reader and 81% of young people enjoy reading more now. Our team regularly hears of children moving up reading levels or receiving reading awards at school. Those are welcome developments, but they are not the projects’ purpose. The focus remains reading for pleasure, enjoying a story and the connection it makes possible.

"Reading is kind of fun.” Reading Heroes Participant

The importance of showing up

One thing I've learned through my work on our Reading Heroes and Tiny Heroes programmes is that alongside the books is the relationship: someone returning each week, paying attention and remembering what matters to that child. We hear carers telling them how much children look forward to their sessions, and how meaningful it is when volunteers remember details from earlier conversations.

That consistency can be particularly valuable during change. The project has supported children whose volunteer has continued reading with them through moves between homes, offering a familiar connection when other things around them have changed. A volunteer cannot remove every challenge a child faces, but they can offer them time and a regular opportunity to be heard.

For me, this is where empowerment begins.

Making their own pattern in the world

“The difference in his reading has been amazing, but even more special is how much he now loves books. He’s grown in confidence so much and is proud of himself, which means everything.”

Carer of a Reading Heroes Participant.

What I've come to appreciate is that moving from experience to empowerment is not about prescribing a future for a child. It is about opening possibilities of the reader through stories. A child can listen, build confidence and discover what they enjoy.

91% of our projects’ volunteers said that taking part has boosted the child's overall confidence showing the positive impact that can be made through these protected one-to-one sessions with a trusted person.

The hope is that this enjoyment can travel with them beyond the programme, knowing that a book or a visit to a library can offer something they choose for themselves. The immediate experience matters too. Children also receive books as part of the programme so that they can build their own libraries and get invited to events with local authors to continue their joy of reading.

“Austin loves receiving his books. It’s the only post he gets directly sent to him.” Carer of a Reading Heroes participant

For me, this quote captures something that can easily be overlooked. Empowerment is often found in the everyday things: being recognised, being remembered, receiving something that is yours, and knowing that your interests matter. Sometimes it begins with nothing more complicated than a story, a trusted adult and the time to share it together.

Become part of the story

Find out more about The Reader

Watch the Reading Heroes video

Interested in becoming a Reading Heroes or Tiny Heroes volunteer? Email The Reader: readingheroes@thereader.org.uk

The views expressed in this blog post are those of the author/s and may not represent the views or opinions of CELCIS or our funders.

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