Story Valley 2.0

Story Valley is an innovative, international project which aims to develop students’ literacy and language skills through telling stories in fun, creative ways. We are excited to be launching Story Valley 2.0

Following a successful trial we are looking to support schools and colleges to run a Story Valley programme. An activation grant, lesson resources and CPD are all available in the package. 

Story Valley is a creative programme to inspire young people to explore their identity and tell their story to develop their creative confidence. A full pack of tools to use in lessons alongside case studies provide teachers will a wealth of resources to make the programme fit the delivery context. 

Browse the Story Valley resources page to immerse yourself in what’s on offer. 

Applications for 2025-2026 are now open. Submit your application here. 

Story Valley 2.0 

Nottingham City of Literature were part of the original programme which developed and tested the Story Valley approach. We reflected on our learning and have launched Story Valley 2.0 with our original collaborators Edinburgh College and Nottingham College. To learn more about the original Story Valley project visit our project page.

Over 2 years we are offering 3 groups of schools and colleges the opportunity to test the Story Valley approach. We are now taking applications for the second cohort to run in the 2025-2026 academic year. We will be running another cohort in 2026-2027. If you are interested in singing up to receive information about these opportunities when they are released sign up here. 

Watch the grant launch webinar below to find out more about the programme and download a summary of the opportunity to share with colleagues that will be supporting your application.  

Watch the webinar to hear about the programme and how Nottingham College have successfully delivered Story Valley. Download a copy of the Opportunity Outline to share with colleagues. Outline: Story Valley 2.2 

Found out about our Story Valley 2.0 programme. 

Apply for Story Valley 2.0
Sign up to receive updates about the next cohort launch.
Register here
Story Valley 2.0 summary
Download a summary of the Story Valley 2.0 project
Download here

FAQs

What is Story Valley?

Story Valley is a project that produced a set of resources to use in the classroom sharing different forms of creative storytelling to engage students attending Vocational Education and Training (VET) schools and colleges in literacy, language learning, oral history, and other cultures.

Story Valley 2.0 is an opportunity for teachers to receive training, resources and support to deliver a trial Story Valley project in their school. A £1000 activation grant will be available for 3 schools in year 1 (2025), 6 schools in year 2 (2026) and 9 schools in year 3 (2027).

What does delivering Story Valley mean?

Teachers will use the lesson plans and resources to guide students to produce a creative output. Story Valley can be run in lesson time as part of the curriculum. You may wish to choose a unit which requires a creative output to use the Story Valley approach.

Browse some of the outputs that were created by students that participated in the Story Valley programme delivered by their teachers.

Why should I sign up to the Story Valley Programme?

Joining Story Valley gives you access to training, support and to be part of a pioneering group of educators. You will also be able to deliver a high impact programme for your students and develop stronger relationships. You will also be able to Help shape the programme for future cohorts

We will be providing a £1000 activation grant for 3 schools as part of cohort 1.

How do I apply?

To apply to be part of cohort 1 of Story Valley please complete an expression of interest (EOI). The deadline for applications is the 25th July.

If you can’t commit to the first cohort then sign up to register your interest in future cohorts.

How will we shortlist sites?

Need
Priority will be given to schools/ colleges that are operating in areas that demonstrate high levels of need.The guidance notes suggest referring to, Free Schools Meals Entitlement (FSME), student support fund, ESOL rates and literacy rates.

Ability to engage in the programme
We know that sites that have support from senior leadership achieve better results. We will only shortlist sites that can demonstrate that they have sign-off and support to deliver the programme and attend training associated with Story Valley.

Commitment to Story Valley principles
We are looking for teachers that are enthusiastic about the project approach of Story Valley. 

What can the £1000 activation budget be used for?

The activation budget is available to help you deliver the Story Valley programme. Previous participants have used the funds to purchase materials for students to create their final outputs. The grant should be spent by July 2025.

What are the CPD events?

The CPD events provide training in the core areas of the Story Valley programme: Oracy, Story Writing and Literacy. They are delivered by experts in the field.

Are the CPD events mandatory?

The CPD events are an extremely useful part of the Story Valley programme and every effort should be made to attend. If the project lead cannot attend the CPD session, a nominated member of staff can attend to share learning on your behalf. 

Can I register interest for future cohorts (2026, 2027)?

If you are not able to join the first cohort than you can register your interest for updates about our future opportunities. 

What are the conditions of the grant?

We have tried to strike a balance between collecting useful information to help us demonstrate the impact of the programme and improve for future cohorts alongside the pressures on your time and capacity.

During the programme:
Attend 0.5 day kick-off event w/c October 2025
Attend CPD sessions (3 x 0.5 day)
Collate student participation data (numbers participating in Story Valley)

After the programme:
Participate in feedback session
Provide student feedback (questionnaire provided)
Provide overview of grant spending