Playing with Poetry – National Poetry Day 2025

Poetry is nothing if not playful – because, rooted in the imagination, poetry is simply playing with words! And Playing with Poetry has been designed to take the sometimes intimidating sting out of poetry by letting children experience for themselves the power and ease of playing with language.

Playing with Poetry: Primary Schools

Playing with Poetry can accommodate the whole of up to a two-form entry school in a single day: an assembly at which a member of our team shares a favourite poem, workshops culminating in collaborative poems and, if time allows, a second assembly, too – in which classes share and celebrate their poems.

EYFS and KS1 / P1 – P3: children are introduced to a number of wild animals from around the world and imagine what it takes to play at being some of them. They then harvest the fruits of their imaginations to create a collaborative rhyming a poem: “Playing at being a …”.

Years 3 & 4 / P4 & P5: pupils discover for themselves ways in which randomness can enrich poems by letting “chance” take the lead and inspire collaborative and completely unique Dada Poems!

Years 5 & 6 / P6 & P7: people find out about Edward Lear, the “father” of nonsense poetry – and follow some of his approaches to craft collaborative limericks about people who come from – well, anywhere, really!

We will send you designed and illustrated versions of all the collaborative poems.

“The girls at Glendower LOVED the workshops! - they enjoyed the workshops immensely and thought the facilitator was fantastic! - they gained confidence around poetry, in addition to understanding the freedom attached to the concept of creating their own poem. We can’t wait to have you back!" Glendower Prep School

“I wanted to take a moment to express our gratitude for your incredible delivery of National Poetry Day workshops. Your passion for poetry was clear, and every single one of the teachers spoke highly of you and your sessions. Similarly, the children were buzzing with excitement- I have received messages from parents about pupils’ enjoyment as well. It was a great day, and I look forward to your next visit." Thomson House School

Playing with Poetry: Secondary Schools

Playing with Poetry can accommodate up to 30 KS3/4 / S1-S5 students at a time, in workshops lasting from a single lesson, allowing a member of our team to work with a large number of students in just one day. It’s also possible, too, to deliver longer, more in depth workshops to fewer groups. 

After a quick, poetry-based game exploring “rhyme”, students are introduced top three playful poets, working together to select one. They then learn more about their selected poet, through an immersive, drama-based activity before being guided through a process harvesting and crafting what they have found out to create a collaborative verse written in one of the most playful forms of poem, a daisy chain poem!

The poets that students choose from are …

Carol Ann Duffy – the first (and so far only) woman to hold the post of Poet Laureate …

Levi Tafari – the Liverpool-born cordon bleu chef turned storyteller and dub poet …

Ian MacMillan – the “Bard of Barnsley”, and a key player in the City of Culture 2025’s celebrations.

We will send you designed and illustrated versions of all the collaborative poems.