News stories from Brighter Futures for Children
9 October 2025
Tom’s race with new foster carers
The release of ‘The Run’, the seventh fostering awareness film produced by award-winning producers ReelTwentyFive, has been announced and will premiere at the…
21 August 2025
Reading GCSE exam results day 2025
Young people who sat their GCSE exams in Reading this summer will be finding out their results this morning. Vocational technical qualification (VTQ) students…
14 August 2025
Reading A-level exam results day 2025
A-level students who sat their exams this summer have been receiving their results this morning. Young people in Reading will also be receiving their AS-level,…
7 July 2025
Mockingbird Programme launches in Reading
A pioneering approach to foster care, designed to help carers feel more supported and children experience greater stability, has been launched by Brighter…
16 April 2025
99% of Reading parents offered one of top three preferred primary schools for their child
Almost all Reading parents (99%) who applied for a primary school place for their child starting school this September have been offered one of their top three…
10 April 2025
Sure Start Whitley Nursery rated ‘Good’
A day nursery in Reading, run by Brighter Futures for Children, has been rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted. Inspectors found Sure Start Whitley Nursery to be ‘Good’ in…
3 March 2025
97% of Reading students offered preferred secondary school place
Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC) has made sure the 1,882 pupils starting secondary school in Reading have a place for September. Just over 97% of Reading…
3 December 2024
Press statement on behalf of the Reading Youth Justice Service Management Board
The report is available on the HM Inspectorate of Probation website. Reading’s Youth Justice Service (Reading YJS) partnership is…
23 October 2024
Reading foster carers celebrate Black History Month through wellbeing event
Foster carers and professionals from Brighter Futures for Children’s independent fostering agency (IFA) in Reading marked Black History Month with a special…
17 October 2024
Fostering is… Everything
A powerful new film made with input from more than 100 councils releases today, emphasising the impact that fostering can have on everyone involved.…
16 September 2024
Reading’s mental health service for young people scores highly in survey
Reading’s Mental Health Support Team (MHST), which works in schools across the borough, has been rated good or above by almost 100% of its users for a second…
13 September 2024
Reading’s not-for-profit independent fostering agency rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted again
Brighter Futures for Children’s (BFfC) independent fostering agency (IFA) has been rated as ‘Good’ following an Ofsted inspection in July. The overall…
22 August 2024
Reading GCSE exam results day 2024
Young people in Reading will be collecting their GCSE or vocational technical qualification (VTQ) results this morning. While the majority will be pleased…
15 August 2024
Reading A-level exam results day 2024
Young people in Reading will be collecting their A-level results this morning, as well as T-level, BTEC and other Level 3 results. While the majority will be…
5 August 2024
Children’s services mascot fronts innovative new messaging campaign
Brighter Futures for Children’s (BFfC) mascot is the face of a brand-new poster campaign, aimed at improving communication, independence and behaviour…
2 August 2024
South East local authorities host new minister’s first fostering visit
Twenty local authorities in the South East have hosted a visit from newly appointed Minister Janet Daby MP. The visit from the Labour MP for Lewisham East,…
12 July 2024
Reading’s children’s services has made significant progress with improvements still needed
Overall effectiveness Requires Improvement to be Good The experiences and progress of children who need help and protection Requires Improvement to be…
8 July 2024
Reading joins country’s largest fostering partnership
Reading has joined 19 other councils from across the south east to create the country’s largest local authority fostering partnership, with the goal of…
29 May 2024
Mental health service for Reading’s young people expands
Brighter Futures for Children’s Mental Health Support Team (MHST) is expanding to schools in north and east Reading, with the team set to provide support to…
8 March 2024
Reading SEND Local Offer more helpful than ever before
Almost 95% of people who contacted the statutory information service for Reading families who have children with special educational needs and/or disabilities…
26 February 2024
RISE service now live for all settings in Reading
The Reading Inclusion Support in Education (RISE) service’s webpage is now live on the professional’s section of Brighter Futures for Children’s (BFfC)…
23 February 2024
School transport policy consultation now open
N.B. Please note, the deadline for this consultation was extended to 29 March 2024. Brighter Futures for Children is seeking families’ views on proposed…
17 April 2023
First preference primary school places offered to 91% of Reading families
Ninety-one per cent of Reading parents have been offered a place at their first preference primary school for their child this year. And 98% of Reading parents…
13 December 2022
Give the gift of home this Christmas
A festive campaign encouraging Reading people to consider giving the gift of home to a vulnerable child has been launched by Brighter Futures for Children…
19 April 2022
First preference primary school places offered to 89% of Reading families
Almost 90% of Reading parents have been offered their first preference of primary school for their child this year. Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC), which…
7 March 2022
BFfC supports LGBT+ Adoption & Fostering Week 2022
Brighter Futures for Children’s (BFfC) fostering service in Reading – which is rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted -is supporting a national campaign to encourage more…
23 June 2021
Reading part of a pilot for a new UK government emergency alert system
The UK government is introducing a new Emergency Alerts system that will enable people to be contacted via their mobile phone when lives are in danger. To…
16 April 2021
First choice primary school places offered to 90% of Reading children
Ninety per cent of Reading parents have been offered their first choice of primary school for their child this year. Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC),…
15 February 2021
Campaign to find more Reading foster carers for teenagers
One year ago, Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC) planted a tree in Town Hall Square in partnership with Ethical Reading, Reading Borough Council and the…
11 November 2020
Celebrating success – our care leaver braving changes
Being taken into care when you’re young can make the world a confusing place - from trying to understand what’s happened to you, what you’ve just experienced…
14 October 2020
Equality – A poem by a young person in care
Equality we all want it but do we really want to live in a world that is forced upon us. Do we really want to live on a planet that has more segregation than a…
16 April 2020
More than 95% get top three choice for primary school places in Reading
More than 83% of parents got their first choice for their children’s primary school places in Reading this year, despite an increase in 160 applications…
1 April 2020
Former foster carers urged to return during coronavirus crisis
Brighter Futures for Children, which delivers children’s services in Reading, is putting out a call to former foster carers in the borough to re-register amid…
18 March 2020
Reading’s fostering service no longer inadequate
Brighter Futures for Children’s Independent Fostering Agency (IFA) has been judged ‘Requires Improvement to be Good’ by Ofsted, following its first inspection…
16 March 2020
Reading unites against child exploitation
Making sure all children across the borough are safe is a key priority for Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC), which is working with partner organisations…
2 March 2020
Record number of Reading student get first choice secondary school place
A record number of students have had an offer of their first preference for secondary school place in Reading this year. First preference offers stand at 73%…
18 February 2020
Cherry blossom tree marks start of ‘Rooted in Reading’ campaign
Brighter Futures for Children and Ethical Reading joint press release, February 18 2020 When a 14-year-old boy moved to his permanent foster home last year,…
14 February 2020
‘Outstanding’ rating for our short breaks children’s home
Cressingham, one of two children’s homes run in Reading by Brighter Futures for Children, has been rated as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted after a recent unannounced…
23 August 2019
Reading bucks national trend with higher GCSE grades this year
More Reading pupils achieved grades 9-4 in English and Maths this year and the overall attainment is higher than in previous years. Figures from schools in the…
16 April 2019
More pupils get first choice primary school place this year
Reading’s new children’s company, Brighter Futures for Children, has made sure all primary school pupils in the borough have a place for September, with 87%…
19 February 2019
Kicking off half term at Reading Football Club
A big thank you to Reading Football Club Community Trust which has given our children in care the opportunity to train at their fantastic facilities. Everyone…
13 February 2019
Reading Youth Cabinet Conference 1st March
Reading Youth Cabinet are holding a conference by young people for young people on the 1st of March at St Laurence’s Church. The conference starts at 9.30am…