This session will be facilitated by the well known expert Sally Tonge and is aimed at those practitioners working directly with children. Sally specialises in working with very young children and their parents/carers and has been a storyteller in residence for the Pre-School Learning Alliance, Sure Start projects and Early Years Centres. The session will support in developing knowledge of what children gain from story times and the importance of this in all areas of development. Also included will be practical ideas to enhance this important activity within the setting.

The aims of the session are:

• To understand why effective storytelling is so important and the underpinning research associated with this.
• To look at areas of learning and development in relation to storytelling.
• Explore what effective storytelling looks like.
• Support practitioners in establishing an appropriate story telling environment.
• Look at the challenges.
• Provide practical ideas to support practitioners.