Sibling Reunited (STAR) have released a Christmas song and music video titled ‘Calling Out at Christmas’.

Written by Bruce Morrison and performed by Charlotte Henry, the song was made by STAR for every brother and sister who are missing each other over the Christmas period.

The song was created to raise awareness for the STAR charity but also to highlight the importance of siblings staying in each others lives when they enter the care system.

The music video is available to watch now on YouTube. It tells the story of Olivia who is spending her first Christmas with her new adopted family but despite having everything she has always dreamed of she feels there is something missing – her big sister who she has not seen in years.

Watch the video here.

The Chair of Stand Up For Siblings, Kate Richardson, completed the Edinburgh Kiltwalk’s Mighty Stride in September.

A big thank you for the wonderful donations which were topped up by The Hunter Foundation. Kate raised a total of £525 for STAR.

These funds will go towards funding the children’s Christmas experiences at STAR, Siblings Reunited in December.

The chair of Stand Up For Siblings Kate Richardson is walking the Edinburgh Kiltwalk on 18 September 2022 to raise funds for Siblings Reunited (STAR).

Siblings Reunited (STAR) reunites brothers and sisters separated in the care system, through adoption or kinship care by providing the opportunity for quality and regular sibling contact.

Donate to Kate’s Just Giving page.

You will have hopefully heard already about the evaluation of Siblings Reunited (STAR) being undertaken by the Association for Fostering, Kinship and Adoption (AFKA) Scotland, funded by The Promise Scotland.

Further information about the work we are doing is provided here. 

We are now at the next stage of our recruitment process and would like to conduct either online or face-to-face interviews with the following people:

• brothers and sisters aged 13 or above who attend STAR or have done so in the past;
• carers and parents of brothers or sisters who attend STAR or have done so in the past;
• social workers who are working, or have worked, with a child who attends STAR.

If you can spare an hour to talk to us, please email Mark Hardy mark.hardy@afkascotland.org.  Also, if you know of someone who might be interested in being interviewed, please share these details with them.

Finally, a huge Thank You! Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the project so far, either by filling out online surveys, or posting your comments into the postbox at STAR. If you have not yet completed a survey, the online survey can be found here, or complete a post-card survey next time you visit STAR.

Would you like to help develop and spread good practice in supporting relationships between brothers and sisters in care in Scotland?

As part of funding from The Promise Scotland, AFKA Scotland is evaluating Siblings Reunited (STAR) in Fife. STAR is a specialist service supporting family time together for brothers and sisters where local authorities are unable to provide this from within their own resources.  AFKA’s research team are looking to hear from lots of people about their views and experiences of STAR.  You can watch a short video introducing the research here.

You can complete the online survey if you are:

• a local authority manager involved with locality children and families services, fostering, kinship, or adoption
• are a social worker or other professional working with a child who has attended STAR
• a social worker who has had no involvement with STAR
• a parent or caregiver of a child or young person who has attended STAR
• a care experienced adult who has attended STAR
• a current or former volunteer at STAR

Please look out for more information we’ll be sharing through social media and e-mail, and it would be very helpful if you can re-share this information within your networks.  To find out more about ways that you can take part, please e-mail mark.hardy@afkascotland.org