Families in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, can attend a free National Literacy Trust storytelling session at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music on Saturday 7 February 2026 (11:00–13:00). The Glasshouse event listing also shows a session that ran on Saturday 24 January; the storytelling listing does not advertise sessions ‘throughout February’.
The activity is a partnership between The Glasshouse and the National Literacy Trust and forms part of the National Year of Reading 2026 — a Department for Education-backed campaign supported by the government to boost reading for pleasure across the UK. The Glasshouse listing describes interactive storytime sessions that include sound- and music-based activities (for example, making shakers and rainmakers) and an opportunity to use and borrow library books.
The National Literacy Trust storytelling sessions take place in a public area of The Glasshouse (the Concourse) and are listed as free with ‘no ticket required’. While The Glasshouse hosts many family events across February — some ticketed and some not — the specific NLT Storytelling Sessions are listed for 24 January and 7 February; the event page does not list sessions on 14 or 21 February.
The venue rebranded from Sage Gateshead to The Glasshouse International Centre for Music in 2023. Gateshead Council and the venue’s messaging say the rebrand reflects a wider mission to be accessible and welcoming to a broad range of music lovers and local communities.
The National Year of Reading has been described by Jonathan Douglas CBE, chief executive of the National Literacy Trust, as ‘a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvigorate the UK’s relationship with reading and change people’s life stories.’ The Glasshouse–NLT sessions are presented as an easy, free way for local families to support young children’s development through shared stories and creative, relaxed activities.
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