Children’s charity launches inclusive storytelling sessions for children across Cheshire

Children’s disability charity, Children Today Charitable Trust, is thrilled to be launching a children’s reading project – ‘Reading for Life’ – which aims to spread awareness of disability and neurodiversity and celebrate inclusion and diversity, after securing funding through the Cheshire West Crowd.

The online events running between December 2024 and May 2025 will feature 12 sessions with authors including paralympic gold medallist Danielle Brown MBE, Kate Foster and Matt Stephenson. Each session will include a live reading by the author followed by a questions and answers session for children to ask their very own questions. 

Children Today is encouraging schools, pre-schools, individuals and other organisations to sign up to join in and listen to the live sessions with their pupils.

Anyone who registers before Thursday 12^th December will also be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Amazon voucher for reading resources plus a set of the ten books featured in ‘Reading for Life’. There are also three runners up prizes including a set of ten books, and a further 60 individual books to be won.

Lexi Heselwood, communication manager at Children Today, says:

“We’re thrilled to have been awarded £5000 from the Cheshire West Community Innovation Fund towards ‘Reading for Life’ and would like to thank everyone who donated to the campaign. ‘Reading for Life’ is all about bringing more inclusive stories with disabled and neurodivergent characters to our children’s classrooms and beyond, sharing positive messaging about disability, celebrating our differences and encouraging inclusivity.

“The disabled and neurodivergent community are very underrepresented in children’s stories and we want disabled and neurodivergent children to feel included, heard, and inspired.

Likewise, it’s just as important that non-disabled children are encouraged to understand and celebrate how our minds and bodies can be different.”

Children Today is delighted to be working in partnership with Cheshire Education Library Services, Cheshire Public Library Services and Cat Williams, of Building Your Confidence Ltd to deliver the programme of events.

‘Reading for Life’ host, Cat Williams, from Building Your Confidence Ltd, comments:

“As a confidence specialist, speaker and therapist I'm passionate about building emotional awareness, self-belief and self-esteem from as young an age as possible, for people across all diversities and circumstances. 

“I particularly wanted to support Children Today’s ‘Reading for Life’ project because I believe we all communicate at our best through stories. Stories transform lives by resonating through time, and change the way we see ourselves, others and the world on an emotional level. 

“We’re all made up of the stories we’ve been told and the stories we tell ourselves. My own career journey has been transformed by the stories that have guided and transformed me along the way.”

‘Reading for Life’ kicks off in December with debut author Marc Bratcher and illustrator Korky Paul – well known for his illustrations of the Winnie and Wilbur series – who will be sharing their festive tale, One Snowy Christmas Eve.

The programme will also see two-time gold paralympic gold medallist and author, Danielle Brown MBE, share excerpts from Run Like a Girl and Girls Rule, which celebrate female role models in sport and throughout history. While Kate Foster, who is Autistic, will introduce her neurodiverse heroine Harriet Hound.

To find out more about the events or to register to take part visit:

 https://www.childrentoday.org.uk/events/

The full line up of events is as follows:

• Friday 13th December 2024 – Marc Bratcher and Korky Paul, One Snowy Christmas Eve
• Thursday 16th January 2025 – Kate Foster, The Bravest Word
• Monday 27th January 2025 – Danielle Brown, Run Like a Girl
• Monday 3rd February 2025 – Matt Stephenson, Raz Beri
• Thursday 13th February 2025 – Charlotte Barkla, All Bodies are Good Bodies
• Friday 7th March 2025 – Anne Alcott, When Things Get Too Loud
• Thursday 6th March 2025 – World Book Day – Danielle Brown, Girls Rule
• Tuesday 18th March 2025 – Kate Foster, Harriet Hound
• Wednesday 2nd April 2025 – Charlotte Barkla, From My Head to my Toes I say What Goes
• Monday 28th April 2025 – Matt Stephenson, Raz Beri
• Thursday 8th May 2025 – Anne Alcott, This Book Is Overwhelmed
• Thursday 15th May 2025 – Kate Foster, The Bravest Word

Pictured: Left to right - Lexi Heselwood, communications manager at Children Today, with Reading for Life host, Cat Williams from Building Your Confidence Ltd.