4th February 2025 All Posts

Making the Most of National Storytelling Week in Early Years Education

National Storytelling Week is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the power of stories in early years education. In the early years sector, storytelling happens naturally every single day. Whether it’s through the availability of books in the setting or through spontaneous play, children are constantly engaging with stories. These experiences are essential in supporting their learning and development.

The power of storytelling in early years

Storytelling is more than just a fun activity – it plays a key role in building children’s knowledge, skills, and behaviours. When listening to stories, children are provided with the opportunity to explore their emotions, understand different perspectives, and develop a wider understanding of the world around them. Storytelling also nurtures important skills like communication and language and supports personal, social, and emotional development.

In the early years curriculum, storytelling isn’t just an activity—it’s an essential part of learning. Stories spark imagination, encourage creativity, and support problem-solving. By allowing children to connect with stories, through books, role-play, or their own made-up stories, we help to encourage learning and literacy skills.

What is National Storytelling Week?

National Storytelling Week is celebrated every year in the UK. It’s a time to celebrate the magic of storytelling and show how stories can inspire, teach, and bring people together. For early years settings, it’s a great opportunity to focus on the power of stories—by reading aloud to children, encouraging them to share their own stories, or finding fun ways to bring them to life.

In 2025, National Storytelling Week will run from Saturday the 1st of February to Sunday the 9th of February. The week was created by the National Literacy Trust and is being supported by Amazon. This year’s theme is “Reimagine Your World.” It highlights how everyday surroundings are full of hidden stories—from a stick found on the way to nursery becoming a magic wand, to owls hooting at night, or exploring a new tree in the park and discovering strange and wonderful creatures that might live there. As the National Literacy Trust points out, the most amazing stories can come from the most ordinary places—they just need someone to discover them. This year’s theme encourages us to do just that!

Linking storytelling to the early years curriculum

In early years education, storytelling plays an important role in supporting different curriculum areas. It helps with communication and language by boosting children’s vocabulary and understanding. Listening to stories allows them to develop the language skills to express themselves clearly.

Storytelling also encourages personal, social, and emotional development. It helps children explore their emotions and relationships, fostering empathy and a better understanding of others. When it comes to understanding the world, stories play a key part too. They help children make sense of the world around them, opening up their knowledge of different cultures, communities, and experiences.

Storytelling also improves concentration and memory, and helps to bring experiences and imagination to life. Storytelling creates a sense of wonder and awe, helps children understand events, and even provides opportunities to introduce new ideas and vocabulary. But it’s not just about reading from a book— it’s all about the telling itself, sparking imagination and excitement in a way that engages children’s minds.

Encouraging storytelling and sparking imagination

Recent research from the National Literacy Trust shows that young people’s enjoyment of writing is at an all-time low. One way to reverse this trend is by supporting the love of storytelling in a child’s early years. By creating an environment where children feel free to explore and create stories, we can help spark their imagination and curiosity. When children are engaged in stories, they are more likely to feel motivated to express themselves through writing as they grow.

National Storytelling Week is a wonderful opportunity to get creative with stories. Bringing stories to life can make them even more engaging, whether through puppets, props, or acting them out. A simple story like Shark in the Park, Going on a Bear Hunt or The Gruffalo can become a whole adventure with a little roleplay and some junk modelling.

When I worked in early years, a small group of my key children became fascinated with Shark in the Park. We read it every day and they acted it out in the nursery garden, holding their hands to our eyes like binoculars. This led us to create our own binoculars from recycled materials, using all sorts of wonderful resources from around the nursery. We then took our handmade binoculars on a trip to the park, packed lunches in hand, to go on a shark hunt! The children were completely immersed in the experience, extending the story in their own way, adding new ideas, and deepening their play and learning.

By acting out stories, children feel more connected to them and are encouraged to use their imagination to add their own twists. This not only makes storytelling more exciting but also helps develop creativity, communication skills, and a love of stories and storytelling.

Bringing stories to life every day

While National Storytelling Week is a great reminder of the importance of storytelling, it’s something that should be woven into everyday activities in early years education. Practitioners, parents, and educators should make time for stories every day – reading to children, encouraging them to retell stories, and creating an environment where children feel free to create their own narratives.

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About the Author

Content Marketing Executive at Connect Childcare