Filter Helps Bring Inclusive Stories to Highover School

Representation matters, especially in the classroom. That’s why we recently partnered with Highover School in Hitchin to help expand their collection of inclusive core texts as part of their Mirrors & Windows initiative.

Five handmade thank-you cards with colorful designs and messages lie on a wooden surface. Four colorful handmade thank-you cards with various decorations and messages on a wooden surface.

At Filter, we believe that representation is essential. That’s why we recently partnered with Highover School in Hitchin to support their Mirrors & Windows initiative by helping them purchase a new collection of inclusive books.

These texts will be used across year groups as core learning materials, giving children the chance to see themselves and others, reflected in the stories they read.

Why These Books Matter

Highover’s Mirrors & Windows programme is all about giving children books that reflect their lives and open their eyes to experiences beyond their own. With our support, the school has added a brilliant collection of core texts, including:

  • Round is a Tortilla by Roseanne Greenfield Thong
  • You Choose by Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodhart
  • Handa’s Surprise by Eileen Browne
  • Coming to England by Floella Benjamin and Diane Ewen
  • What Jobs Could You Do? by Catherine Barr and Ana Gomez
  • Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman
  • Don’t Touch My Hair by Sharee Miller
  • My Name is Not Refugee by Kate Milner
  • The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf
  • All the Ways to Be Smart by Davina Bell
  • Race to the Frozen North by Catherine Johnson
  • What Happened to You? by James Catchpole

These books cover themes like neurodiversity, family structure, ethnicity, migration and more. By weaving them into everyday lessons, Highover is making sure inclusivity isn’t just a topic for one day, it’s part of their culture.

You can find out more about these books by visiting BookTrust or your local library’s website.

Working with the Highover Team

We were proud to work with Mrs Sophie Driver, Deputy Headteacher, who has over 20 years of teaching experience and a passion for meaningful, inclusive education. Under her guidance, the school team carefully selected books that would both reflect and challenge students’ perspectives.

Highover already has a strong foundation when it comes to values-led education. The school champions kindness, resilience and respect, and believes in celebrating diversity as a strength. That commitment is visible not only in their classroom teaching but in everything from their extra-curricular clubs to their extensive parent engagement initiatives.

What This Means To Us

At Filter, we genuinely care about inclusion. It’s something we’re always working on as a team and a value we bring into everything we do. We regularly support local schools and community events, especially those that open up conversations about careers in digital and help make tech feel accessible to everyone.

Getting involved in projects like this is one way we try to give back and be part of something bigger. Supporting Highover with this book initiative felt like a small but meaningful way to help create a more inclusive future.

The staff and children are so grateful to Filter for donating these wonderful books. Thank you!

Mrs Sophie Driver

Deputy Headteacher, Highover School

Summary

We’re proud to have played a part in helping Highover bring more inclusive stories into the classroom. When children can see themselves, and others, in the books they read, it helps build confidence, empathy and a stronger sense of community.

It’s a reminder that representation in education isn’t just nice to have, it’s essential and we’re always happy to support that however we can.

Joy Clarkwin

Marketing Manager

Joy is Filter’s voice to the outside world, developing our content and marketing strategies, and communicating the great work that we do to the widest audience. Joy manages our website content, social media channels, resource centre, the UnFILTERed video podcast series, our Enterprise Guide eBook series and every aspect of our marketing activity.

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