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Sensory Stories Fund

Applications for the Sensory Stories Fund are now closed. This page is for information only.

Our Sensory Stories Fund provides a £500 grant for schools and groups working with children and young people with additional support needs to promote a love of stories in their setting.

This grant aims to provide books and sensory storytelling materials for pupils with additional support needs, their teachers, parents and carers to benefit from. Groups can also use the grant towards an author event with a storyteller or practitioner to bring sensory storytelling to life.

You can apply if you're working with pupils with additional support needs under 18 years old in Scotland in early years, schools, or further education settings, as well as residential units or other organisations standing in place of school for young people not in mainstream education.

This programme is generously funded by the Mohn Westlake Foundation.

Why apply?

The £500 grant can be used however you see fit to develop a love of stories with the children and young people in your setting. This could be through purchasing tactile books, sourcing materials to create sensory story bags, or inviting a storyteller to deliver a sensory storytelling session for your children and young people. It is designed to be flexible and allow you to meet the particular needs in your setting.

What is the panel looking for in your application?

Who is the grant for?

Tell us about how the grant will meet the specific needs of the children you support. This is crucial, so please describe the group of children and their needs. For example, tell us if they are non-speaking children who respond best to stories told through props, or dyslexic children who love visual storytelling.

How will you spend the grant?

Identify a specific area or initiative that the grant will support. What is one thing you will target with this funding?

What will the impact be?

Show us the impact you hope to achieve with the grant. What are your goals, and how will this funding make a difference?

What’s your reading/storytelling culture like?

Give us an indication of how your setting currently engages with books and stories. Are there existing programs or activities related to reading and storytelling? Highlight these to provide context for your application.

Feedback

Grant applicants who have been successful will be required to give feedback about the spending and impact of the grant. Scottish Book Trust will contact you with a feedback form in May 2025.

Timeline

The grant should be spent in the 2024/25 school year (i.e. before end of June 2025).