Carers said how much the children loved getting the parcels and the books always got put in pride of place, neatly on the shelves.

I know that young people who are part of the Letterbox Club in South Gloucestershire now and in the past have gained and continue to gain so much more than could ever be given monetary value.

I wish Letterbox Club continued success. All the young people I have heard from have really enjoyed receiving their parcels and a lot of the adults that have seen the parcels going out wish there was a similar scheme for adults!

A very simple idea, executed imaginitively and making best use of slender resources.

Access to the fun and inspiring educational materials that the Letterbox Club sends is helping young fostered children to meet their potential at a key stage in their development.

The Siobhan Dowd Trust is delighted to be working with The Letterbox Club. From the moment we became aware of it, we knew that it was exactly the kind of initiative we wanted to support, and it’s also clear that it has a proven track record of success. This kind of support for looked after children is even more important in these times of spending cuts, and we look forward to a long relationship with the Letterbox Club.

We know that all too often children in care struggle in school and fall behind their peers in terms of academic achievement. Access to the fun and inspiring materials that the Letterbox Club sends out is helping young fostered children to meet their potential at a key stage in their development.

Undoubtedly, these parcels have been an amazing resource for our LAC. We've had our best response ever from our young people this year. They seem to be so proud and excited about receiving these packages through the post... Thanks again for providing such an excellent child-centred resource.

We are delighted to be able to work with Booktrust to give fostered children this chance to boost their reading and writing skills. Too often they fall behind at school and don't have the access they need to extra support and opportunities. This scheme goes some way to giving them the same chances as other children when it comes to reading and writing.

I really think it's a fantastic and incredibly valuable scheme which offers something hugely positive to some of our most vulnerable children. A huge thank you to you for all your support, you've been so helpful making sure everything runs smoothly here.

I went to a PEP this week for a Year 6 girl. I couldn't resist telling you how excited she was to get a letter from Jacqueline Wilson. She thought Jacqueline had written personally to her so was just so happy. If you get the chance to pass that on then I hope it can make Jacqueline's day too.

I just wanted to say thank you to all at Letterbox for the new parcel arrangements. It has certainly made life a lot easier for me.

We were having a look at the parcel contents and were very pleased with it. We're sure our children in care will be really happy when they receive these parcels too. Thank you and all the other people who have put the effort into doing this.

The books are so wonderful - I am going to re-read some of them before they are sent out. Our Library Service is getting very excited about this project and they are going to get extra copies of the Letterbox book authors so that the young people can continue their interest, as well as running events for them.

I visited a child today who has completed an evaluation on her own. When I asked if she could recommend any improvements to the Letterbox Club, she replied: 'Yes, it should go on until you are 12 years old.' She was a Year 3 child!

I have been sending out the feedback forms on the Letterbox parcels and have had very positive replies, including one today saying that the child 'thoroughly loved' getting the parcels; the carers enjoyed sharing them with him and referred to it as an AMAZING scheme.

My manager said yes to signing up for 2011 without any hesitation as we feel it has had a fantastic effect on the literacy and numeracy levels of our LAC and personally is one of my favourite projects to be involved in.

We are delighted to have found the Letterbox Club, which is a very special programme. We believe that providing a child with access to books is one of the best starts you can give them in life so it is a real privilege to share the joy of reading with children in foster families around the UK.

All of us working at Penguin believe passionately in the transforming power of books in people’s lives. Hearing first hand from Rose gave us a way of putting that belief into action in a really practical way.

I’m incredibly proud to be a Patron of the Letterbox Club. It’s wonderful that looked-after children can receive crucial support through their special book and maths parcels, delivered once a month. I’m particularly pleased that there are now parcels containing a delightful book selection for older children aged 11-13 and know it will be much appreciated.

I have seen this project go from strength to strength. I've seen the delight on the faces of the children, opening their colourful packages. I've seen them play the games with friends and carers, listen to the books, read the books and talk with great enthusiasm about the joy of being a member of the Letterbox Club.

The Letterbox Club is a great idea. Every child in care deserves to receive books. That the books come through the post in an envelope addressed to the individual child is just the best! I wish The Letterbox Club had been around for the hundreds of young people that I came across when I was in care.

I think the Letterbox Club is such an exciting and worthwhile project. It’s great that looked-after children get their own special parcel of books and stationery and stickers. It’s like a little birthday present every month. I’m delighted to be involved - I think it’s a wonderful way of introducing children to the joys of reading.

I'm delighted to be a patron of the Letterbox Club in Northern Ireland. I've seen for myself the excitement the children get on receiving their parcels. We've met up on Fostering Achievement Fun Days in Belfast and Omagh, where I've had great fun chatting to them, reading them my stories and even dancing with them. The Letterbox Club is doing fantastic work and I hope it goes from strength to strength.

A great notion and I am glad to be part of it.

I am the foster carer for Janet, 10, and I felt that I should write to say how great the Letterbox packs have been. After the first pack, Janet started to anticipate with pleasure the arrival of the next one and she has made really good use of all that has been in them.

As a teacher (who is just completing a Master’s dissertation in Children’s Literature!) I fully appreciate the value of reading and I, too, have been delighted with the range of material that has been sent.

As an ex-primary teacher who ordered the school's books, I was both surprised and impressed by your lovely, well thought out book packages, especially as you are catering for such a wide range of children. Well done. This project must be one of the best things social services has done since I have been fostering!

The variety of books and games has helped my foster son to enjoy and respect books. We have great fun reading and playing as a family.

Lottie has all the books on show in her room. We both enjoy reading and playing the games. She loves reading in bed, it helps her drift off to sleep. She keeps her books close to the bed.

Andy loves the stories that are funny and he enjoys the extra things in the pack, like pens and note books. It helped us do more with him - the maths games were great.

He read a lot anyway but it gave him more choice of books to read... storybooks and fact books.

The Letterbox Club has helped me do more with Susan. We play the maths games and use the books on a daily basis for paired reading. Books can be expensive, so we really appreciate the Letterbox Club/

The Department was very impressed with the scheme which was why we funded the expansion of the initial pilot and we are delighted that this scheme has now expanded into the secondary phase with the recent launch of Letterbox Green (for those aged 11-13)

The main purpose of the Letterbox pilot project was to trial a new way of improving the educational outlook for children, by providing children in care in primaries four and six with educational materials. Improving outcomes for young people in care is extremely important. Developing their education will not only give them the opportunity to gain the skills and qualifications they need but will also give them the confidence to strive further.

...we are showing our commitment to improving the basic literacy and numeracy skills of babies, children and their families.

The Letterbox Club continues these positive messages to some of the more vulnerable children in Wales. By providing looked after children aged 7-13 with a pack of books, mathematics activities and education materials every month for six months they are helping to improve their educational prospects.

Helping young fostered children to meet their potential at a key stage in their development.

Encouraging youngsters to enjoy reading introduces them to a lifelong pleasure. It also plays an important part in raising their attainment, which we as a council have made a key priority. It is particularly vital that the attainment and achievement of looked-after youngsters is raised and so the Letterbox Club is a fantastic addition to the other work we are doing to help ensure children and young people in our care have better life chances.

To the letterbox club

thank you very very much for sending me everything. I have lots of fun with the percels you send for me. My favourite thing that you have sent me, is my wheres wolly book.

Thanks for sending us the Goodies.

i especially like the book about bats and humans.

Dear Alice Galvin

Thank you for the parcel. Plese can you keep sending thems. I can stay happy ever after.

Thack you

Thank you very much for the letter box parcel. I loved the stuff inside. I am really looking forward to the next parcel.

Yours faithfully

Dear

Thankyou for the books and the pens it is very nice to give me that,

thank you lov my suth sowe. I want you to you to now that. I am happy to beiy in yore club. June 2009