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World Storytelling Day (20 March) is an important time for schools across the UK, and this year, we're using it as an opportunity to highlight our popular and engaging Story Builder resources. These resources empower young people to tell their stories and support engagement and learning across the curriculum through storytelling. Below, we highlight how our Story Builder resources and workshops have inspired educators, youth groups, and young people, and sparked creative thinking in educational settings across the UK.
Storytelling is a powerful tool that helps young people understand the world around them and enhances learning across subjects including English, art and design, PSHE education, and many more. Whether in books, films, or games, storytelling enriches young people's lives and communication skills while broadening their understanding of different perspectives.
Whether you're a languages teacher approaching conversational role play, a geography teacher bringing tourism to life, or an educator looking for an engaging way to explore complex topics, Story Builder supports young people in connecting with a subject and learning through it. Its cross-curricular structure and self-guided format make it perfect for both classroom and club activities. No matter the topic, Story Builder strengthens literacy skills and gives learners an opportunity to enhance thinking skills and personal capabilities.
Through our Story Builder workshops, educators and learners have experienced first-hand the power of storytelling in education and film.
Storytelling in action
In London and the South East of England, we have been building a strategic relationship with Onside Youth Zones, delivering introductory Story Builder sessions and practical filmmaking with Film Buff Challenge: Future Filmmakers workshops, engaging 31 participants across their centres.
By working with Chocolate Films, young people learned about storytelling, filmmaking technique, and the various job roles in the screen industries.
We have also worked with Flipside, an LGBTQ+ and mental health support youth centre in Barking and Dagenham, to deliver a Story Builder session covering genre, character, and setting, inspiring the participants to think about the power of storytelling through film. The group are also participating in our Every Child a Filmmaker initiative, where they will put their new skills and knowledge into practice.
In Wales, recent Story Builder sessions for ages 11-16 were met with enthusiastic feedback, with young people praising the interactive approach to the sessions and the exciting energy they brought to their learning experiences.
Inspiring SEND learners through film and storytelling
We delivered Story Builder sessions at two SEND schools in Bristol - Newfosse Way School and Kingsweston School - for young people aged 16-18.
These sessions formed part of both schools' National Careers Week activities, tailored to give students hands-on experience with filmmaking while also exploring careers in film and TV.
The students enthusiastically engaged in discussions about their favourite films, designing characters, making them out of plasticine, and animating characters using a simple app. Some standout characters and animations included a shapeshifting number which moves seamlessly from 1-4 on film, and a rocket to the moon inspired by Aardman's A Grand Day Out.
At Cambian Lufton, an SEND college in Yeovil, young people also experienced the power of storytelling using our accessible Story Builder Key Stage 2 resource. Learners were guided through storytelling techniques before introducing model-making and stop motion filmmaking to bring their creative visions to life. A particular stand-out character created by one of the students was a piece of toast who fell into a pot of butter!
I thought the model-making part was engaging, as the students were able to really see their created characters come to life. They enjoyed being able to tell a story and exploring the creative side of animation.
Matthew Bird, Head of Department for Employment, Cambian Lufton
Bringing storytelling to life through animation
As part of our partnership with Bristol WORKS, Year 10 students from Orchard Secondary School in Bristol experienced a two-hour Story Builder workshop, with a focus on stop motion animation and careers insights.
The students experimented with camera angles, movement, and shot composition before they created their own characters and settings. They then brought their stories to life through animation, with standout projects including two squabbling dinosaurs and an intense snail race!
The session was fantastic, and the students really enjoyed it. Loads told me it was the highlight of the two days - and they all took their characters home.
Jess Lanham-Cook, Bristol WORKS Delivery Officer
We also delivered Story Builder sessions to students at PINC College's two Stoke Campuses - Mitchell Arts Centre and Middleport Potteries. At Mitchell Arts Centre, students combined Story Builder resources with stop-motion techniques to develop narratives and bring them to life through animation.
Two additional workshops, led by professional animator Jon Harrison, followed a similar format and explored the history of animation and its role in storytelling today. Following the success of the sessions at the Stoke Campuses, we are excited to deliver further sessions with PINC College to inspire even more stories and narratives in future.
Inspiring film and media students
Our Story Builder resources have proven invaluable tools for young people studying film and media qualifications, including film studies and Moving Image Arts. In Northern Ireland, Into Film Ambassador Thaddea Graham returned to her former school, Bloomfield Collegiate, to help Moving Image Arts students craft imaginative narratives for their films using Story Builder. Graham was joined by Gordon Lyons, Minister for Communities of Northern Ireland.
With its clear and structured approach to creating compelling narratives, Story Builder equips the next generation of filmmakers with the tools they need to tell their stories through film and thrive in the screen industries.
Additional resources to explore storytelling
Film and filmmaking offer young people an accessible medium to tell their stories and understand subjects across the curriculum. Story Builder guides learners through the building blocks of creating a narrative with engaging cross-curricular activities and career links.
As we continue to champion the power of storytelling, we offer a range of Story Builder resources to support different abilities and learning journeys:
- Developed in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery, Story Builder: Unscripted TV is a resource for Key Stage 3 educators (or equivalent) and learners aged 11-14, and explores narrative development through the lens of television while highlighting exciting industry careers.
- Our Story Builder: Games resource, created in consultation with BAFTA and the Family Gaming Database, is ideal for helping support young people to develop their own game ideas and narratives and get them interested in the idea of a career in the games industry.
- Combining Story Builder with the magic of the film Puffin Rock, Story Builder: Puffin Rock celebrates the first full-length animation film made in Northern Ireland and encourages primary learners to create their own story about recycling and helping others.
