John Lewis Partnership Report reveals nearly £3m raised and more than 400 roles offered to care experienced people

• Building Happier Futures Impact Report released to mark National Care Leavers Month.
• JLP hosts Minister for Children & Families and calls for greater support for kinship and foster carers.
• Building Happier Futures programme - helping care experienced people explore employment in the John Lewis Partnership - now accessible in every John Lewis and Waitrose shop.

The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has today launched its third Building Happier Futures (BHF) Impact Report, revealing it has raised nearly £3m for charities supporting the care experienced community and has offered more than 400 roles to care experienced people since the programme began in 2022.

The report, released to mark National Care Leavers Month, confirms the BHF employability programme is now accessible in every John Lewis and Waitrose shop.

Part of the John Lewis Partnership Foundation, the BHF fund awards grants for UK projects to provide education, connection, experience and fun for care experienced people and to date has raised £2.8m and supported 26 charities.

In addition, the John Lewis Partnership and the Open University have jointly funded 22 scholarships for care experienced people.

Foster carers and kinship carers from the Partnership met Josh MacAlister, Minister for Children & Families and Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner, to discuss how employers can better support carers and accelerate employment opportunities for the care experienced community. The Partnership is using its voice to call on the Government to strengthen support for kinship and foster carers during the ongoing review of the parental leave system.

As the largest accredited Fostering Friendly organisation, the Partnership offers an additional week of paid leave to its Partners who are foster and kinship carers, helping them balance work with their vital responsibilities.

To further the cause, the John Lewis Partnership is calling for businesses to introduce tailored recruitment and employability programmes to support people leaving care to explore the world of work, as well as policies that offer employees the flexibility they need to provide support to children and young people coming into their care.

Sarah Scahill, Building Happier Futures Lead at the John Lewis Partnership, who hosted the event, said: “There is a major national shortage of foster carers, leaving many children without a stable background and unable to fulfil their potential. As a large, purpose-led business, we have a responsibility to help break down such barriers to opportunity, and there is more work to be done across Government, business and society.

“We pledge to continue to learn from experts in the community but we also need policies that provide for the needs of carers and those they care for. And we invite other businesses to stand with us in supporting employees who provide foster or kinship care to give the very best home to the children in their care.”

Children and Families Minister, Josh MacAlister, said: “We need more of our big employers to do their bit to support some of the most vulnerable children in our society. Whether that’s helping young care experienced people with a leg up on the career ladder, or supporting employees who are kinship or foster carers.

“The John Lewis Partnership is a great example of what employers can do in this area. This Care Leavers Month I am issuing a call to action to the great British business community to step up to the plate and deliver for young people in care.

“I would also encourage employers to sign up to the government-funded Care Leaver Covenant. We are driving the largest ever reform of children’s social care through our Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, backed by £2 billion to break the cycle of crisis for children, and businesses have a vital role to play in that.”

Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner, said: “I want to pay testament to the incredible people who selflessly open their homes and families to children across England and to the John Lewis Partnership which is leading the way when it comes to supporting employees who decide to take up these vital roles.

“We must ensure that we value our foster and kinship carers as experts in children’s lives, providing them with strong support, good training, and fair allowances. By doing so, we can encourage more people, including younger adults and professionals, to consider fostering and give more children the stability and care they need.”

Sarah Thomas, Chief Executive of The Fostering Network, said: “The Fostering Network is proud to partner with the John Lewis Partnership and values their leadership as our biggest Fostering Friendly Employer. We are calling on the Government to strengthen support for foster carers during the ongoing review of the parental leave system and for employers to follow the John Lewis Partnership’s lead in this space.

“As a charity, we are grateful for the generous support provided to our charity and local fostering causes through the Community Matters funding. This funding helps the whole community to continue to champion foster care across the UK.”

Building Happier Futures Impact Report 2025

Now accessible in every location the John Lewis Partnership operates in, from the 317 Waitrose and 36 John Lewis shops to distribution centres across the UK, BHF aims to offer employability support to care experienced people, including CV writing and interview skills.

The BHF Impact Report, released today, reveals the milestones achieved since the programme’s launch in 2022, including:

Employability

• 402 roles have been offered to people from the care experienced community.
• 1,442 care experienced people have attended welcome tours, introducing them to the opportunities in John Lewis Partnerships’ shops, offices and supply chain.

Education

• 22 scholarships have been awarded to care experienced people, jointly funded by the John Lewis Partnership and the Open University.
• More than 1,000 people who work in the John Lewis Partnership have completed care experienced learning with Who Cares? Scotland to deepen their understanding as allies.

Fundraising

• £2.8m has been raised for charities supporting the care experienced community through product sales and other customer fundraising initiatives.
• Of this, £271k has been raised for the BHF Fund through the sale of Made by Care products, designed by care experienced aspiring designers.
• 26 charities have been supported by the BHF Fund, part of the John Lewis Partnership Foundation.

Foster & Kinship Carers

• The John Lewis Partnership has been accredited as a Fostering Friendly organisation by The Fostering Network (the largest business to receive this) and as Kinship Friendly by the Kinship charity, since 2023.
• Partners who are foster and kinship carers receive additional paid leave, giving them the flexibility to attend appointments and training.
• During Foster Care Fortnight, the Partnership hosted coffee mornings at John Lewis shops across the UK, offering a welcoming space to connect.
• The John Lewis Partnership Community Matters charitable giving scheme that runs throughout John Lewis and Waitrose shops dedicated its funding to causes which support fostering and children’s activities in May, June and July.

Sarah Scahill added: “The John Lewis Partnership aims to be the employer of choice for care experienced people. We are committed to providing an inclusive and supportive environment and while we have made meaningful progress, we are always looking to learn from the care experienced community. The insights and experiences of our care-experienced Partners significantly enrich our business, driving innovation and enhancing our collective understanding.”

Made by Care

The BHF programme also includes an annual ‘Made by Care’ range of products, designed by a person from the care experienced community. Profits from each product sold are donated to the Building Happier Futures Fund, which is part of the John Lewis Partnership Foundation.

This year, Leah, a teacher and aspiring designer has developed a ‘wildflower’ gifting range, including a sweatshirt, a silk scarf, a printed statement mug, a hand-painted vase, a trinket dish, a journal and a puzzle (all available online and in John Lewis stores) and a tote bag made from recycled bottles (available online and in Waitrose stores).

In addition, all John Lewis profits from the £14.99 “Where Love Lives” vinyl record, which features songs from this year’s Christmas advertisement, will be donated to the Building Happier Futures programme.

Emma’s Story

Emma Sullivan, Partner and Kinship Foster Carer, joined the discussion with Josh MacAlister, Minister for Children & Families, to highlight the challenges facing children and young people in care - and of becoming a kinship foster carer - and the importance of practical support with the hope of making a difference for other people in the same situation. 

"Working for the Partnership has always been a source of pride, but this feeling has deepened for me with the introduction of Building Happier Futures (BHF) as an expression of our Purpose and a practical intervention to improve the lives of our Partners. The support offered to colleagues with care experience, those who have adopted, are fostering, or are kinship carers truly reflects an organisation that values its people. Becoming a foster carer involves navigating a complex system and addressing a multitude of unmet needs for the young person in your care, often requiring numerous appointments and meetings.

“The ability to connect with others within the Partnership, to receive understanding and backing from colleagues, and to benefit from the supportive culture exemplified by BHF has been an important contributor to my ability to get through the assessment process and provide a stable and loving home for my four children. Seeing my foster son, now 18, and my daughter, whose friendship led to our fostering journey, thriving and heading to university fills me with immense pride. Their journey, alongside mine, has involved challenges and resilience, and I am certain that the connections and support I have found within the Partnership have been crucial in reaching this point as a family.”

For further information, please contact:

[email protected] or 07792 591035

Notes to Editors:

• You can read the full report here
• Download accompanying images: https://we.tl/t-tS5NiJbH1h

About the Building Happier Futures programme:
In 2022, the John Lewis Partnership launched the Building Happier Futures programme. The programme aims to harness the talents of care experienced people, fundraise for investment in the care experience community and influence societal change.

About the John Lewis Partnership
The John Lewis Partnership owns and operates two of Britain's best-loved retail brands - John Lewis and Waitrose. Started as a radical experiment over a century ago, the Partnership is now the largest employee-owned business in the UK, with 70,000 employees who are all Partners in the business. The Partnership is purpose-driven, existing to create a fairer and more sustainable future for our Partners, customers, suppliers and communities. Our Purpose not only inspires our principles, drives our decisions and acts as our guide to be a force for good, it steers us to do things differently and better - all in service of creating a happier world for everyone and everything we touch.

John Lewis operates 34 shops across the UK as well as johnlewis.com. Waitrose has more than 300 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 59 convenience branches, and another 27 shops at Welcome Break locations. The retailer's omnichannel business includes the online grocery service, Waitrose.com, and specialist online shops including waitrosecellar.com.

About The Fostering Network
The Fostering Network is the UK’s leading fostering charity and membership organisation for foster carers. For over 50 years we have led the way in improving foster care so it is the best it can be. We believe that relationships are the golden thread running through every fostering story and are dedicated to supporting, enriching, and empowering the vital bonds between those who work together to offer love, warmth, stability and hope to children and young people.