Train With Us

Read to Lead Training

Read to Lead is our flagship training course that gives you an incredible opportunity to explore and develop your leadership and facilitation skills through the power of Shared Reading and great literature.  

As a trainee, you will learn about the benefits of Shared Reading and develop the skills, knowledge and resources to bring its principles to life with confidence and impact. The course offers a powerful space for personal reflection and supports wellbeing, while strengthening your ability to listen deeply, create inclusive conversations and lead with empathy. Read to Lead will enrich your own experience and practice of what it means to be a reader, while providing innovative, transferable leadership and facilitation skills that can benefit your work, your team and the people you support. For those who wish to take this further, the training also gives you all the skills to lead a Shared Reading group of your own.

The Training Course

Read to Lead is a series of invigorating and thought-provoking learning modules, delivered in a flexible way, including online and in-person at The Reader’s home in Liverpool, offered all year round.  

You have the option of six half-day training sessions online, or a three day in-person training at the home of Shared Reading, Calderstones Mansion House, Liverpool. 

 During the training, participants will:   

• Experience the joy of Shared Reading first-hand, developing understanding of how it can bring about positive changes in people’s lives.   
• Learn some of the key techniques and behaviours that underpin great Shared Reading through supported practice and bespoke one-to-one feedback from experienced practitioners.   
• Develop confidence in choosing literature for maximum impact.   
• Develop reading, leadership, facilitation and communication skills that can benefit your life and work beyond Shared Reading.   

After completing Read to Lead training, participants will become part of The Reader’s wider community, with ongoing opportunities to deepen their learning and apply Shared Reading principles within their current roles. They will also have access to The Reader’s Online Community Hub, which provides high-quality literary resources curated for use in Shared Reading, supporting those who wish to continue developing their practice or take the next step into leading a group of their own. 

You will receive 12 months access to The Reader’s Online Community Hub. If you should wish to access the Hub beyond this time, then a small membership fee will apply annually after the first year.    

Practical Skills

As part of your training, you’re guaranteed to learn practical skills for your development:

Confidence 

Shared Reading offers those in the group and the Reader Leader the opportunity to read aloud to help people connect and share experiences using stories and poems. This will support you to build confidence in presenting, sharing and speaking to others  

Leadership 

This a unique way of learning leadership skills and will give you confidence to direct and lead others. You will learn how to make decisions about the literature in a Shared Reading group and guide conversations to support the group dynamic. 

Facilitation  

The training will teach you how to create a safe space to allow for open and honest conversation so the group can collaborate, solve problems and reach their own conclusions about the chosen literature. 

Giving and receiving feedback 

Read to Lead training gives you the opportunity to receive feedback from experienced practitioners as well as receive and give feedback to your peers. 

Communication  

Shared Reading creates a safe space for open conversation which requires Reader Leaders to actively listen, engage and be respectful. Good communication is how we can connect our ideas and feel understood. 

Benefits for those attending Shared Reading groups

Our simple model brings people together to read aloud great stories and poems – creating powerful moments of connection. Shared Reading inspires and supports people to connect with each other through the sharing of stories. Led by trained Reader Leaders, it connects people in weekly groups where great literature is read aloud and made accessible to all. There is no pressure for group members to read aloud or speak until they are ready – they control their own level of involvement in a safe, inclusive space where people feel valued and at home.  

The impact of Shared Reading stems from the model itself, which is:   

Regular – offering much needed structure in sometimes lonely lives (groups must meet weekly) 

Group based  – bringing people together, building a network of support   

Inclusive  – texts are read aloud, no prior reading is required, therefore barriers to access are low. This includes accessibility for people for whom English is an additional language and those with low literacy.   

Safe  – the slow, calming pace of skilful facilitation coupled with a relaxing environment   

Stimulating  – working through quality literature together in creative and engaging way opens up new thoughts, feelings and language, developing the confidence and self-esteem of group members.   

How to apply

The per trainee cost for training as a Reader Leader on our online Read to Lead course is £495, payable in full at the time of signing our Service Level Agreement, in advance of the training.   

If you would like to find out more, or you are ready to take the first step, please do get in touch at learning@thereader.org.uk. 

International Read to Lead

The Shared Reading movement can now be found in countries including Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States.

To start your Read to Lead journey in your country contact international@thereader.org.uk to register your interest.

The per candidate cost for training as Reader Leader on our online Read to Lead course offer is £800.

Find out more here.

“Stories make you think and dream; books make you want to ask questions”
– Michael Morpurgo, I Believe in Unicorns 

The Reader brings together over a decade of experience and expertise to support children, families and Early Years professionals to address the pressing need to increase children’s love of reading, through practical and interactive training, engaging workshops and imaginative story sharing experiences. 

Reading for pleasure is the single most important thing that can make a child successful in life (UNESCO, 2011). It is the most important indicator of a child’s future success (OECD, 2002). 

Training Programmes

Children who regularly experience shared reading benefit from improved language skills, social-emotional growth and creativity (BookTrust, 2024). Regular reading supports the fundamental foundations for emotional health and wellbeing of children (BookTrust, 2025).  

Additionally, shared reading has enormous benefit for parents -lifting their mood, reducing stress and strengthening the bond between them and their child (Canfield, Miller et. al, 2020).  

We know The Reader’s Early Years programmes have incredible impact supporting our youngest children to have the best start. 

How to apply

If you would like to find out more, or you are ready to take the first step, please do get in touch at learning@thereader.org.uk. 

All Shared Reading for Early Years training programmes are payable in full at the time of signing our Service Level Agreement, in advance of the training.