Where Stories Begin, Futures Are Born
At Bright Little Stars Nurseries, storytelling is not just part of the daily routine; it is central to our vision.
We are passionately committed to creating child-centred environments where every child is empowered to reach their full potential, nurtured through warmth, connection and compassion. Through storytelling, whether spoken, sung, read aloud, or acted out, we nurture far more than literacy. We spark confidence, curiosity, empathy and imagination.
As the government prepares to launch the National Year of Reading 2026, we are proud to lead by example. Storytelling in its immersive and joyful forms has long been woven into our culture. At Bright Little Stars, bright futures truly begin with a story.
The Story Starts Early: Pre-Phonics Foundations
We know that reading begins long before children recognise letters. That is why our pre-phonics programme is a key part of our learning approach. It supports listening, communication and expressive language through joyful, play-based experiences.
Children engage in:
• Sound walks and environmental listening, tuning into the rich sounds around them
• Rhyming songs, clapping games and alliteration, developing awareness of patterns and sounds
• Mark-making using textured and sensory materials such as flour, foam, feathers and twigs
• Role play and storytelling with puppets, bringing language to life through movement and expression
These experiences are carefully designed to inspire young learners, stimulate thinking and lay a confident, joyful path to reading.
Creating Stories Together: Animation and Sharing
One of the most exciting elements of our bespoke learning programme is how we support pre-school children in developing their own group stories. In guided sessions, children collaborate to create narratives that are brought to life through simple animation, using age-appropriate technology.
Children then share their finished stories with friends and family, which builds pride and strengthens communication. This creative process also promotes social development through turn-taking, listening and respecting one another’s ideas.
Immersive Storytelling: Becoming Part of the Story
Inspired by popular stories, immersive storytelling plays an important role across all our nurseries. Rather than simply reading stories to children, we bring them to life using props, sound, movement and sensory exploration.
Children become part of the story, taking on characters, mimicking sounds, using instruments and acting out scenes. From the soft rustle of leaves to the sound of horses’ hooves made with coconut shells, storytelling becomes a full-body, sensory-rich adventure.
At Bright Little Stars, the storytelling experience begins even before children enter the nursery doors. Our immersive story tunnels are designed to inspire awe and wonder, inviting both children and parents to step into a world of imagination. These themed tunnels have included everything from underwater aquariums filled with fish and textures, to a fully recreated journey through ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’, complete with grass to swish through, squelchy mud to step in and snowstorms to brave. Families walk through together at drop-off, creating a joyful, shared moment of connection and anticipation for the day ahead.
Research shows that immersive storytelling:
• Deepens understanding and memory
• Enhances vocabulary and language fluency
• Supports empathy and emotional intelligence
Most importantly, it fosters a lifelong love of reading, which lies at the heart of the National Year of Reading’s mission.
A Personal Story: My Journey with Neil Griffiths
As Operations Director at Bright Little Stars, I have always loved reading, but my passion for storytelling truly began during my early career and training with Neil Griffiths, creator of the Story Sack concept. That experience reshaped my understanding of storytelling. It became more than reading; it became connection, performance and joy.
This approach continues to shape our practice at Bright Little Stars.
Our teams use story sacks filled with books, puppets, props and games to create rich, hands-on experiences that children remember and retell.
Neil’s influence came full circle when he visited to read Itchy Bear during our first Readathon, delighting children and families and showing the true magic of storytelling delivered with heart. Over the past ten years, Neil has also played a key role in our ongoing staff development. He has featured regularly at staff inset days, helping us continue to champion storytelling across all our nurseries and inspire the next generation of educators. His involvement has ensured that the passion for storytelling remains very much alive and continues to grow within our teams.
Phonics That Feels Like Play
When children are developmentally ready, we introduce phonics through trusted approaches. These are delivered through playful, child-led activities including:
• Splat-the-sound games and themed tough trays
• Sound-sorting baskets and hoops
• Letter hunts and puppet-led blending
• Oral segmenting and blending using familiar three-letter words like cat, tin, or sit
What sets Bright Little Stars apart is that phonics never feels like a formal task. It is always playful, interactive and filled with discovery.
Coming Soon: AI and Creativity in Storytelling
In September 2025, we will launch an innovative programme that uses artificial intelligence to support children in bringing their stories to life in new and exciting ways. Using safe, age-appropriate AI tools, children will be able to transform their own narratives into vivid, interactive experiences.
This programme is designed to enhance creativity, promote communication and build pride in self-expression. As children engage with technology in a guided, meaningful way, they also begin to develop early digital literacy, a vital skill for the future.
Our Learning Libraries: Bringing Stories Home
Each Bright Little Stars nursery includes a dedicated Learning Library, where children and families can borrow carefully selected books to enjoy together at home.
We’re committed to providing parents with the tools to support their child(ren)’s learning at home. As part of our pre-school reading initiative, children take home books from our pre-school nursery library to share with their families. These are exchanged regularly to ensure access to a wide range of quality authors, fiction and non-fiction titles.
Our libraries include:
• Picture books and Traditional tales
• Books supporting emotional development
• Books to help children understand their feelings
• Brain books that explore how we think and learn
• Dual-language texts
• Culturally representative books, such as Black Sleeping Beauty and The Indian Cinderella
• Phonics readers
Books are updated regularly to reflect seasonal changes, celebrations and current interests, ensuring there is always something fresh to explore. We also offer parents tips and guidance on reading with confidence, helping families establish warm and consistent reading routines. This mirrors the National Year of Reading’s aim to place parents at the center of early literacy.
The First Readathon: A Celebration of Story
In 2025, Nicola Smith, Area Manager, hosted our first Bright Little Stars Readathon, a virtual celebration that brought together children, families, educators and authors in support of Barnardo’s.
The event featured inspiring storytellers including:
• Neil Griffiths (Itchy Bear)
• Ben Kingston-Hughes (The Day the Crayons Came Home)
• Gabby Dawnay, Alice Sharp and Jay Walternash
• Guest reader Kelly Smith MBE, reading The Highway Rat
Nicola said ‘Reading to children as a practitioner had always been one of my favourite things to do, and that’s where the Readathon idea came from. I loved bringing the reading to life. It’s amazing to think that just 10 minutes of reading a day can have such a huge impact on a child’s development. I know this event inspired our families to read together as a family even more’.
It was an evening of imagination, laughter and shared experience. Alongside our annual fundraising through the Big Toddle, the Readathon raised £11,206 for 2025, bringing our total to over £61,000 for the charity.
A Community That Shines
Our commitment to storytelling reflects a wider aspiration.
We aim to create a close-knit community grounded in trust, love and compassion, where every child feels known, valued and celebrated.
By nurturing children’s stories, whether real, imagined or retold, we help shape their understanding of themselves and their place in the world. When children leave us, they do so not only loving to read, but eager to learn, filled with confidence and ready for their next chapter.
Staff Who Inspire the Story
Behind every storytelling session is a passionate and skilled early years professional. That is why we invest in staff training, development and wellbeing, ensuring our team:
• Share and feel part of our vision
• Have access to growth and career development
• Work in high-quality indoor and outdoor learning environments
Educators are encouraged to become storytellers themselves, modelling a love of books, weaving language into every part of the routine.
When adults are inspired, children follow.
Looking Ahead: The National Year of Reading 2026
As the UK prepares to celebrate reading on a national scale, Bright Little Stars is proud to be already championing its goals through:
• Daily storytelling, phonics and story sack experiences
• Strong family partnerships through lending libraries and reading initiatives
• Community events such as the Readathon
• Inclusive and multi-sensory storytelling for all learning styles
In 2026, we plan to expand even further with themed visits, story festivals, project work and reading awards.
We are proud to lead with innovation, and even prouder to keep dreaming big.
Where Bright Futures Begin
We believe every child deserves a strong beginning to their story. Through immersive storytelling, fun and a genuine love of books, we equip children with the tools for early reading and the desire to.
When children see themselves reflected in stories, they gain the confidence to create their own.
And that is where bright futures begin.
As the manager of the very first Bright Little Stars nursery and the designer of our original learning programme, storytelling has always been my passion. From the very beginning, I envisioned storytelling not just as a daily activity, but as a defining thread woven throughout our culture and curriculum.
Twelve years on, that vision continues to shape our nurseries and inspire our teams. We place a strong emphasis on storytelling and the love of stories in every learning room. We have an incredibly passionate early years team who continue this legacy so fantastically. Their dedication ensures that the storytelling spirit remains vibrant and alive in every nursery, every day, across all Bright Little Stars nurseries.
Author: Mandy Guttadauro, Operations Director at Bright Little Stars Nursery.
