National Poetry Day 2026

The National Literacy Trust has released initial details and educational resources for National Poetry Day 2026, which will take place on Thursday 1 October 2026 under the official theme of Wonder. Celebrated on the first Thursday of October each year, the national campaign aims to foster a lifelong love of poetry by equipping schools and community settings with accessible tools to read, write, and perform poetic works.

The announcement comes amidst findings from the charity’s research into youth poetry engagement, which revealed that 48.8% of children aged 8 to 16 in the UK actively engage with poetry. The study highlighted significant positive impacts on mental well-being, confidence, empathy, and academic aptitude among young readers and writers. Crucially, the data demonstrated that children receiving free school meals are significantly more likely to consume (32.6% vs 20.9%) and create (18.3% vs 11.3%) poetry in their leisure time compared to their non-disadvantaged peers. However, research also exposed a sharp drop-off in interest as pupils age, with leisure engagement falling from 48.7% among 8-to-11-year-olds to just 17.3% among 14-to-16-year-olds.

To help educators maintain momentum ahead of the 2026 event, the National Literacy Trust continues to provide a suite of curriculum-linked teaching materials and creative activities:

Age-Specific Classroom Resources: Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) tools, primary-focused creative challenges, and secondary modules such as the Monologue Jam for pupils aged 14 and above.

Targeted Learning Packages: Specialized teaching frameworks including Writing from Nature (ages 7–13), the Digital Poet in Residence scheme, and early years poetry toolkits.

Youth Laureate Initiatives: Collaborations featuring contributions and insights from the West Yorkshire Young Poet Laureates to inspire peer-to-peer creative writing.

Educators and participating institutions can access the full archive of learning materials, sign up for training updates, and track event announcements directly through the National Literacy Trust and National Poetry Day digital portals.

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