Shared Reading in the Early Years Training

“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.

Sharing Stories in the Early Years

For Early Years Professionals

This course is designed to give staff and volunteers who work with children aged 0-5 the skills, confidence and resources required to deliver small group Shared Reading experiences.

Supporting all areas of the EYFS, regular storytime can help children to:

Explore new worlds and develop imagination
Build confidence and sense of identity
Improve early relationships with books and reading
Understand feelings
Improve language and communication skills

From £152 for individual training places.
£1,215 for a full cohort.

92%
learnt new ways to make reading more fun for children
90%
felt more confident sharing stories with children
72%
felt more confident about helping children and parents stay involved during a session

99%
wanted to spend more time reading with their child
95%
felt it was good to share ideas and thoughts with other parents
95%
learnt new ways to make sharing stories more fun for me and my child

Stories For You and Yours

For parents and carers

These interactive, fun, small group sessions aim to put parents and carers at ease, supporting them to build skills and confidence sharing stories with their children, irrespective of their own levels of literacy.

Three 2-hour workshops are focussed time for parents/carers to learn skills to take back to their families. They will learn to bring stories and rhymes to life, how to engage little ones when reading aloud, and how to boost language development.

Parents/carers gain:

Improved confidence in sharing stories with early years children
Encouragement to read for pleasure
Storybook gifts

Costs start at £604 for a full cohort.

Books and Babies

For new parents

These bite-sized sessions provide a warm and welcoming space to bring new parents, and their babies, together.

Over four sessions, parents take part in relaxing Shared Reading for adults, and gain hints and tips to make reading and rhymes fun.

Families gain:

Meaningful social connection to other new parents
Improved wellbeing in the perinatal period
Improved confidence sharing stories with babies
Early language development
Storybook gifts

Costs start at £747 for a full cohort.

94%
felt the workshops were good for their wellbeing
99%
wanted to spend more time reading with their child after attending
97%
wanted to spend more time reading for themselves after attending

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. 