We had a fantastic day learning about the power of stories, storytelling and reading on Thursday 3 July 2025. Our in-person conference, hosted by The Mercers’ Company in London, brought together 19 speakers and workshop leaders who shared insights and the impact of using stories, storytelling and reading in family learning. The passion, energy and enthusiasm throughout the day was clear to see, with presenters and delegates making new connections and reconnecting with peers.
"Books are one of the most powerful tools we have as parents. When we join a library, we have free entertainment! Books are portable, playful, and full of possibility. They can be opened anywhere: at bedtime, at breakfast, in the pushchair or even in the car. And every time we read with our children, we’re doing more than telling a story..." Hannah Hagon, Founder of Unplugged Tots.
We began with an inspiring keynote about the power of reading and being read to, delivered by Cally Poplak, Managing Director of HarperCollins Children’s Books and Farshore. Cally shared their mission to make every child a proud reader and highlighted that reading for pleasure is falling: only 1 in 3 18-year-olds enjoy reading and 3/4 of 5-17 year-olds would prefer to watch TV or play games rather than read books.
Cally discussed three broad barriers for children's reading:
- not being read to enough
- seeing reading as a chore
- children choosing to spend their time with digital entertainment.
She then proposed three critical success factors to change this picture:
- being read to
- free choice of material to read
- a wide choice of reading materials, which gives agency and autonomy.
Being read to and choice are crucial factors in motivating children to read and creating lifelong reading cultures.
Katie Bareham from the Doorstep Library discussed sparking children's enjoyment in reading by bringing books directly to families. 68% of parents say their child or children enjoy reading more after sessions with the Doorstep Library, which is delivered by volunteers across four boroughs in London. Longer term outcomes include improved literacy, increased reading for pleasure, and better communications.
Nicola Wallis from The Fitzwilliam Museum runs ‘Playtime with Books at the Museum’. She talked about how they engaged families at the museum after being inspired by and working with PEDAL (Play in Education, Development & Learning), which supports adults to share books with their babies. The project's family activities, which took place at the museum, were co-created with families, building connections between books and the museum’s collections. It also inspired children and families to engage creatively and support parents to follow their children's interests.
Olivia Richards shared how The Story Project uses stories to teach children skills that can improve their wellbeing whilst also developing their literacy, including learning about physical health, mental health, relationships and economic wellbeing. The Story Project was inspired by a project in the US called Stories Connect, sadly no longer running, which prescribed books in prisons as a form of rehabilitation.
Olivia recounted the story of Andy, who took part in Stories Connect and spoke with Olivia’s students. The Story Project believes stories are a powerful way to learn about skills and provide a vicarious experience - children are learning from what the character does and how they react. The Story Project finds books that have characters that provide safe ways to talk about a range of topics, from hygiene to school readiness and how this relates to the children's lives.
Lucy Webber and Liz Fraser-Betts from The Story Museum discussed The Story Exchange, a programme by The Story Museum and the Oxford Cultural Education Partnership that supports teachers to embed oral storytelling and emotional literacy into learning. Their project highlighted the importance of shared experience and building relationships with schools over time. Through bitesize activities and a toolkit, the approach transformed children's and the educators’ confidence, resilience and engagement.
“The Story Power Conference was an inspiring day. It demonstrated to me the bigger picture, the varied and passionate work that is being delivered across the country to support young people, and how we fit into that.” Anna Harriott, Director of Stories in the Dust.
To kick off our afternoon session, Nicola Pomery and Mariam de Haan from The British Library discussed the Story Explorers exhibition. The exhibition aims to create a permanent presence for families at the British Library, connecting with communities through the developing of ideas and co-creation of content working with specialists at the Library. Families were invited to develop themed worlds for an imaginary library and share ideas on how they would play, interact and learn in their worlds.
The subsequent exhibition space was designed with families and children, featuring objects from The British Library Collection. It incorporates interactives including picture story play and activities such as theatrical role play, which supports creativity, communication and social skills. Story Explorers works in partnership with Camden Family Learning and the Edith Neville Family Centre.
Arwenna Davis from BookTrust discussed their work, which promotes and supports shared reading in the early years across the UK and involves thousands of local partners. They learned that, to engage families, you need to tap into the joyful connection, come with empathy and no judgement, create memories, and enable parents and practitioners to connect with each other as experts. Modelling storytelling is also important.
Camilla Reid, author and writer-in-residence at BookTrust, talked about reading with children and the amazing life-changing benefits it brings. She talked about her own experience as a parent reading to her children before specialising in early years books, and how her books aim to give both a meaningful experience and hook adults and children into the delight of reading together.
Gem Smith from Take A Part CIO, an arts organisation based in Plymouth, discussed the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ of co-created programmes with families that focus on literacy and oracy. Collaborating alongside artists, including a writer and playwright, they used writing, drawing and storytelling across projects to support families to grow their confidence, develop their own storytelling voice and co-create ‘Colin the Cormorant’, an illustrated storybook with local flair. It has highlighted the importance of art, oracy, trust and a safe space, as well as building long term and embedded relationships. Gem also emphasised the importance of process over outcome. Take A Part work with partners including Plymouth Sound National Marine Park, Engage and the MaxLiteracy Awards.
Morning workshops were delivered by Sabine Little from the University of Sheffield, who shared the power of embedding multilingualism and making into storytelling for children and families. Usifu Jalloh from Connection With Wonder showed how movement and music are integral to African stories, and how to use simple techniques to colour stories with beats and movements.
Jeszemma Howl from the Fatherhood Institute shared how their 'Fathers Reading Every Day' (FRED) programme encouraged fathers and other male role models to read with their children daily, fostering stronger bonds and improving literacy skills.
Lunch time drop-in sessions were hosted by Hannah Hagon, Unplugged Tots Founder and Chief Play Officer, and Kate Shelley, Founder of Tales Toolkit. Hannah discussed her upcoming book 'Unplugged Tots', which supports parents with activities to build bonds and learn simultaneously.
Kate showcased the Tales Toolkit, a package which combines physical resources with an award-winning online training programme to empowers children and practitioners to discover the incredible potential of storytelling. Both Kate and Hannah facilitated hands-on activities.
Our afternoon workshops ranged from philosophy to science. Emma Leeson from SAPERE (becoming Thoughtful) discussed how to use stories and philosophical enquiry as a way to explore challenging topics. Dr Alastair Daniel from The Story Tent explored how the playful pedagogy of oral storytelling encourages learners to shape and reshape their own tales, drawing on and developing their understanding of the world.
Anna Harriott, Stories in the Dust, and Professor Ian Williams, University of Southampton, demonstrated how they joined arts and environmental science to develop their powerful outreach theatre show, Stories in the Dust, a family eco-fable made of 90% reclaimed and recycled materials. Vanessa Woolf, from Connection With Wonder, explored the relationship between speaker and listener, which is at the heart of storytelling, with safe, fun and impactful ways to use sensory props to enhance communication.
“I left the Story Power conference brimming with ideas and creative ways to share stories with children and parents. Storytelling is fundamental to being a human being and this conference celebrated it with the importance it deserves."
Thank you to our speakers and workshop leaders for sharing their expertise.
If anyone is interested in joining our Story Power community, which aims to promote and support the importance of story-building and reading together for family happiness and wellbeing, please add your details here: https://wkf.ms/4ktwCi2