Welcome to our September update for The Story Starts with You project. This bulletin is aimed at keeping you updated about the project and what’s been happening and what’s coming up.

It’s hard to believe we’re starting the second year of The Story Starts with You! Looking back over Year One, it’s been a year full of stories, creativity, experimentation and, most
importantly, growing confidence.

One of the most significant things we’ve seen is the development of relationships between teachers and storytellers. As trust has grown, teachers have become increasingly willing to experiment, take creative risks and reflect on their own practice. Our Creative Development Days, coaching and time together have provided valuable space for teachers to step away from the pressures of the classroom and focus on their own creativity and professional development.

The impact has been exciting:

• • 100% of participating teachers agreed that the project had improved their confidence in storytelling
• • 5 out of 6 felt it had positively supported inclusive practice

Teachers have also talked about rediscovering the joy of teaching, trusting children with greater ownership of learning and seeing storytelling as a way to support deeper curriculum learning.

Developing your school’s storytelling culture:

So, what’s next? This year two more teachers will be working with your storyteller, developing their own storytelling practices with their classes. We will also build on this learning by working with the first cohort of teachers to support them in how they can create and use immersive story worlds to engage, enthuse and inspire learning. They will have some amazing CPD opportunities as well as chance to work with Story Stitchers so create your own bespoke ‘Wonder Box’ directly linked to a wider school focus.

The story continues… and we can’t wait to see where it takes us!