On behalf of the National Literacy Trust, I am excited to share our end of grant report with the Hadrian Trust.
In August 2025 we delivered a large-scale family literacy fun day, called United by Stories. This event was aimed at disadvantaged families who live in Newcastle and the wider North East, and it was made possible with the help from generous funders including the Hadrian Trust.
Thank you again for your historic support.
United by Stories overview
The 2025 event was hosted at the Newcastle United Foundation, a venue rooted in the heart of the community.
This year’s event welcomed more than 300 attendees and brought together over 30 partner organisations and charities to deliver a wide range of activities and resources. Through the day, we worked to:
- Inspire a love of reading and storytelling
- Highlight the natural links between literacy, sport, teamwork and storytelling
- Encourage families to develop new reading habits in a familiar and enjoyable setting
- Connect families to vital community services during the summer holiday period, including health and social services.
It was clear from feedback on the day and the considerable uptake that Newcastle families seek free, local opportunities that combine fun with meaningful learning.
Workshops and storytelling sessions were delivered by three popular Northeast authors, including our main guest author Louise Forshaw. Louise’s sporting-themed graphic novel resonated with children who are often reluctant to engage with books.
Additionally, our Early Years Team provided specialist workshops focused on speech, language, and communication, ensuring that parents with children aged 0-5 were supported in their early literacy development. Alongside this, families were able to enjoy a wide range of arts and crafts activities including:
- Creating their own comic strips
- Designing origami
- Decorating bookmarks
- Making book character masks
Children could also:
- Have their face painted as their favourite fictional characters
- Enjoy live tasters of theatre and music performances inspired by classic stories
- Take part in football games
- Play virtual reality dodgeball
- Handle objects, dress up, and even take part in swordplay demonstrations, in partnership with local cultural venues.
Quiet Space
Based on feedback from previous events, we introduced a designated Quiet Space within the main hall. This was designed to support children and families who may feel overwhelmed, overstimulated, or who have additional needs. The Quiet Space was purposefully darkened and equipped with sensory lights, a sensory tent, and cosy rugs. Families could relax while enjoying character colouring books or watching fictional tales such as The Gruffalo and Zog, which were shown on the large projector screen. This calm, inclusive zone was well used and received positive feedback from families, demonstrating our commitment to making events accessible for all.
Literacy Passport Challenge
To encourage engagement with as many activities as possible, families were invited to complete the Literacy Passport Challenge, stamp card. Each completed passport could be exchanged for a free age-appropriate book with a sporting theme. This ensured that every family were equipped with resources to continue their reading journey at home.
A new feature this year was the ‘Author-Graph’ initiative, which gave families the opportunity to meet authors in person and collect a signature as part of their passport. Children particularly enjoyed the personal interaction with authors.
Community partners
From post-event feedback, many families reported that they discovered new local services they had not previously accessed. Attendees engaged with a wide range of enrichment activities and services delivered by our partners including:
- Children & Families Newcastle
- The Great North Museum
- Sunderland Empire
- NAPI
- St Oswald’s Hospice
- Healthworks
Community health services such as Cancer Voice, Antenatal support, and the Tiny Lives team.
Repeat engagement
We were particularly encouraged by the level of repeat engagement. Families who had attended Stadium of Stories last year returned for this iteration of the event. In some cases, families travelled from outside the local area just so that they could attend. This demonstrates the value that families place on the opportunity to access inclusive, literacy-focused activities delivered in a community-friendly environment.
Since August, we have seen repeat engagement from families who joined us for the first time, with many going on to attend other local activities in their communities.
Summary
As a leading literacy charity, our focus remains on inspiring enjoyment of reading and storytelling while forging stronger connections between families and the services available in their community. United by Stories demonstrated the power of partnership, the importance of inclusive venues, and the role of creativity in bringing people together. We look forward to building on this success in the years ahead.
We thank the Hadrian Trust again for your historic support, and we hope to work with you again in future. Please see below for some photos taken at United by Stories.
“We came to the United by Stories event and loved it, especially the author Louise Foreshaw. We decided to come along to this event because she [her child] loves reading.”
– Participant Parent
“Great to get to know what’s out there for children and to get to know the national literacy trust. The books we got were great too, the kids love them!”
– Participant Parent
“Great activities without having to spend anything. We really appreciated it”