Bio
Kate Shelley is the founder and creator of Tales Toolkit, an award-winning, child-led storytelling approach designed to build communication, creativity, and resilience in early years settings. Tales Toolkit was born from Kate’s own experience as an early years teacher and evolved through her leadership roles as a Children’s Centre Locality Lead for Play and Deputy Head of a nursery school.
In 2015, Kate took the leap to run Tales Toolkit full time - a scary decision at the time, but one that’s paid off in countless ways. Today, Tales Toolkit reaches thousands of children worldwide and is recognised for its unique approach that empowers practitioners without adding to their workload, combining quality interactions with children's agency in creative play.
Tales Toolkit has received numerous awards, including the Bett Award for Best Early Years Product (2025), the Teach First Innovation Award (2015/16), and two Gold Nursery World Awards, among others.
Research by Goldsmiths University of London found that Tales Toolkit had a positive impact across the curriculum and helped close the gender gap in literacy - particularly improving outcomes in boys’ writing.
Kate and her team have been supported by organisations including Teach First, UnLtd, The Mercers’ Company, Goldsmiths University of London, The LEGO Foundation, ChangeX, the Department for Education, the Education Endowment Foundation, the Institute for Employment Studies, and the Education Policy Institute.
