National Literacy Trust in Blackpool

15/06/2026

If you work with children or young people, you could inspire them to develop a love of reading that will not only support their learning and life chances, but build their confidence and wellbeing too.

Our latest research shows an upturn in children and young people's reading enjoyment for the first time in five years. But there's still more work to do to ensure every child as the support they need to discover a love of reading.
..That's where you come in! We're looking for volunteers to take part in Books Out Loud - an initiative to encourage a love of stories through reading aloud with children and young people.

You don’t need to be an expert in books or storytelling to take part. Your understanding of the young people you work with is more important.

Find out more ➡ literacytrust.org.uk/books-out-loud

10/06/2026

Today, our new research shows that children and young people's enjoyment of reading has risen for the first time in five years🌱

More than a third (36.1%) of children and young people aged 8 to 18 said they enjoyed reading in their free time and 1 in 5 (20.3%) said they read daily in their free time.

And our work in communities like Blackpool is making a difference. Children in the schools where we work most intensively were 15% more likely to enjoy reading in their free time and 34% more likely to enjoy reading at school, compared to their peers across England.

Despite these gains, children’s levels of daily reading and reading enjoyment across the UK are still low. With your support we can keep this momentum going and help more children in Blackpool develop the literacy skills they need to thrive.

Find out more about the research: https://literacytrust.org.uk/news/our-latest-research-shows-modest-rise-in-childrens-reading-engagement-but-levels-remain-low/

09/06/2026

19/04/2026

Help us change more life stories through literacy.

We’d love to hear from you to understand who follows us on this page and why.💭

Your feedback will help us improve how we support you and make our communications better, which means together, we can make an even bigger difference in our community.

You can complete the survey in under two minutes and it's completely anonymous.

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/IWPFTT/

Thank you for your time!

05/02/2026

National Storytelling Week is a wonderful opportunity to share stories with your little ones, in as many different ways as possible!

Don't worry too much about reading a story from start to finish, whether you're making finger puppets dance, talking about the pictures and colours in a board book, or simply narrating an outdoor walk, you are helping your child to develop important literacy and communication skills!

23/01/2026

Will you be celebrating National Storytelling Week in your school or community setting? Let us know in the comments!

Storytelling is a powerful tool to help children discover the joy of creativity, expression, and connection. By sparking their creativity through stories, we can support their language and literacy development, laying the foundation for future success in school and beyond.

Ahead of National Storytelling Week - which this year is part of the National Year of Reading 2026 - we’ve designed a free resource for early years practitioners. Created with support from Amazon, the resource includes a storytelling video from Simon Mole and Gecko and is based on an earthworm poem in Simon Mole’s ‘A First Book of Bugs: With 30 Poems about Insects and minibeasts’. Simon and Gecko will teach a storytelling song and rhythm all about finding worms outside in their storytelling resource.

The resource includes tips to help build storytelling into your role-play areas, specially designed no-cost activities around exploring bug characters and sounds, and small world and construction area tips. There are also home learning activities to share with families to continue the magic and fun at home.

Download the FREE Early Years National Storytelling Week resources today: https://loom.ly/2mQU0Ww

14/01/2026

The National Year of Reading 2026 launched yesterday at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, and here in Blackpool we're so excited to work with our volunteers and communities to celebrate and raise the profile of reading for pleasure over the next 12 months - and more! Let us know in the comments if your community organisation is getting involved.

There are loads of ways you can get involved with the National Year of Reading, or "Go All In", whether you're a parent, teacher, faith or youth group leader - or even simply a keen reader who wants to share in the fun! One of the campaign's main aims is to encourage one million more people using libraries - so dropping in to your local Blackpool Libraries is a great place to start!

Check out the Go All In website for more info and fun ideas on how to get your community involved: https://goallin.org.uk/get-involved/community-organisations/

09/01/2026

Our Youth Literacy Champions at Blackpool Sixth FYi Library and Learning Resource Centre have pulled together a booklist to help their fellow students prioritise their mental wellbeing.

We love this idea - why not share in the comments some of your favourite books for self care and spread the love?

05/01/2026

We posted last week about the National Year of Reading, but we want to share a little reminder with you about our Blackpool Banquet anthology published in partnership with Blackpool Council Catering Services last year! 🍕🍅🍉🍖🌭🌶📚

If you're into food, checking out a copy of A Blackpool Banquet is a great way to Go All In and discover some great stories, poems and recipes shared by Blackpool's schools and communities. Whether you love to cook, bake, or simply eat delicious food, if you're into it, read into it.

You can find copies of A Blackpool Banquet in all Blackpool Libraries, and we've gifted copies to lots of Blackpool Primary schools' libraries too! Our amazing network of volunteer Literacy Champions will be gifting them at events and in their settings - and if you're still struggling to get your hands on a copy, then let us know... we've got a couple of spares! 🥰

01/01/2026

✨Happy New Year! ✨

2026 marks the start of the - and we're encouraging all of our followers, their friends and families, to .

Whatever your interests, if you eat, breathe and sleep it, then Go All In and read it! That song you have on repeat, have you read the lyrics yet? Mad about video games? Check out some of the written reviews online before you download your next game. Can't get enough of comedy? Check out your favourite comedian's biography from your local Blackpool Libraries and find out where they get their inspiration from. 🤩

Whether you want to find out how to help your kids Go All In, or you're part of a local organisation, sports club, interest group etc - discover how to get involved with the National Year of Reading over on the website! https://goallin.org.uk/