The National Literacy Trust is partnering with Sheffield Hallam to deliver their Talk With Tales for Children (TWiTCH) programme in disadvantaged communities across the UK, helping thousands of young children to improve their vocabulary, communication and engagement with books and stories.
The new partnership was launched at Coin Street Nursery and the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education Library in London on Monday 29 June.
Nick Sharratt joined the National Literacy Trust and Sheffield Hallam to launch the programme, in which his Lift-the-Flap Fairy Tale (Macmillan Children’s Books) books are used and gifted to the settings involved. Nick ran a story time and draw along session with the children at the nursery. He also spoke about the importance of shared reading experiences for young children.
Bestselling illustrator and author Nick Sharratt said: “I am really delighted that three fairy tale books I created with Stephen Tucker have been selected for the TWiTCH early years programme. It's wonderful to know that our books will be playing a role in this brilliant scheme, designed to guide early years practitioners into getting the very best out of their shared reading experience with children aged 3 - 4, which is so crucially important to a child's development.”
Developed by education experts at Sheffield Hallam University, TWiTCH is an evidence-based year-long professional development programme to enhance the skills of early years practitioners.
The long-term goals of TWiTCH are to improve educational outcomes by ensuring that all children - particularly those vulnerable to language disadvantage - benefit from rich, purposeful, and developmentally appropriate language experiences. Through strengthening practitioners’ skills and embedding conversational approaches into daily practice, the programme aims to foster lasting, sustainable improvements within early years settings.
TWiTCH takes place during story time, through illustrated traditional tales, puppets, props and specially designed interactive resources for children aged three and four-years-old.
Since starting with just four settings in 2019, TWiTCH has grown to reach 60 early years settings and 20 childminders across the North of England. In 2026/7 a further 132 settings will participate in an Education Endowment Foundation funded efficacy trial led by the University in collaboration with Durham University.
The new partnership with National Literacy Trust extends the TWiTCH programme to 80 nurseries and early years settings each year for the next three years across the country.
This will be delivered in parallel to the trial led by Sheffield Hallam, meaning thousands more children across the country will benefit from the programme.
Dr Fufy Demissie, TWiTCH Project Director at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “We developed TWiTCH to help tackle inequalities in children's early language and literacy experiences by supporting practitioners to make shared book reading a meaningful and enjoyable part of everyday practice.
“We are incredibly proud of the impact the programme has already had in nurseries and early years settings across the North of England, and this partnership with the National Literacy Trust represents an exciting opportunity to extend that impact to thousands more children and families.
“By working together, we can help ensure that more children, regardless of their background, have access to the rich language and reading experiences that support their learning, development and future success.”
Kirsty MacDonald, Head of Early Years at the National Literacy Trust, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Sheffield Hallam to deliver TWiTCH, a programme that has a direct impact on young children in the most disadvantaged communities, giving them the early language and literacy skills they need to thrive.
“This partnership is a vital part of our Early Words Matter campaign, which is committed to empowering early years practitioners to embed high-quality early language and literacy practice in their settings and in the community. Together, we are making sustainable changes in communities that need our support the most, so that every child can thrive.”
New nurseries, schools and early years settings are being sought for the extension of the programme being led by the National Literacy Trust. Settings or early years practitioners interested in getting involved should contact twitch@literacytrust.org.uk.
