National Poetry Day

Resource type: Event

Price band: Free

Key stage: KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4, EYFS

Region(s): All of UK

National Poetry Day is a nationwide celebration of poetry that takes place on the first Thursday of October. National Poetry Day 2026, falls on 1st October.

For 2026, National Poetry Day is partnering with Hot Poets – the UK’s leading climate and literature organisation – and poet Michael Rosen to explore climate science and action through poetry under the theme of Wonder.

The National Poetry Day website provides a range of free resources to support schools. Resources for National Poetry Day 2026 include:

A National Poetry Day Assembly featuring 30 minutes of poetry, performance and participation with Michael Rosen alongside Hot Poets Liv Torc and Chris Redmond and two Young Poet Laureates. Thursday 1st October at 10:00am
Themed poems with accompanying teaching resources: The poems and creative activities explore environmental themes, including climate change, biodiversity, climate justice and the natural world. Designed to promote curiosity and critical thinking, they encourage young people to explore and express their own thoughts and feelings. Suitable for pupils in KS2 – KS5.
An ‘Ignite the Wonder’ teacher pack explaining the What, the How and the Why of this year’s theme.
A downloadable poster for National Poetry Day 2026.
An online event map to help you identify opportunities to celebrate poetry in your local area.

Cost: Resources are free with registration.

About the Forward Arts Foundation: National Poetry Day is organised by the Forward Arts Foundation, a charity committed to promoting public knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of poetry in the UK and Ireland. Other programmes include the Forward Prizes for Poetry and the annual anthology of the year’s best poems, the Forward Book of Poetry.

Supporting resources:

Watch and listen

Explore this year’s National Poetry Day theme of Wonder through author conversations, readings, creative challenges and film with Mr Dilly’s The Wonder or Poetry online event. Suitable for pupils aged 8-13 and available to view live on 28th September and on demand throughout the week of National Poetry Day.
Join poet Alan (Kurly) McGeachie on 29th September to explore the emotional and historical significance of Remembrance through poetry with two National Literacy Trust workshops aimed at pupils aged 7-9 and 9-11. Supporting teaching resources also available to download with free NLT membership.
Listen to Michael Rosen and MC Grammar as they explore rap, rhyme and collaborative writing, sharing practical ideas to help pupils create their own raps on the latest episode of podcast Author in Your Classroom. Suitable for pupils aged 7-11. Free teaching resources available to download with registration.
Book a 1-day workshop or 3-day residency with a Hot Poets poet facilitator for pupils aged 9-14 at a subsidised price during 2026 and 2027. For more information contact Hot Poets.
Poets in Schools and Book a Poet can help you organise an in-school or virtual visit with a poet or spoken word artist to inspire your pupils.
Get tips from Michael Rosen on how to create a Poetry Friendly classroom and explore his YouTube channel to find performance videos of your favourite Michael Rosen poems, including a recording of his 2024 Big 50 Year Show at the Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich.
Explore the library of Poetry Prompts created by former Waterstones Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho. The bitesize videos are designed to celebrate and demystify the reading and writing of poetry.
Listen to poets reading their own poems on the Children’s Poetry Archive.

Get involved

Sign up for this year’s Poetry By Heart Competition, an annual poetry speaking competition for pupils in KS2 – KS5 in England that launches on National Poetry Day.
Submit entries to one of this term’s poetry competitions from Young Writers. There are competitions for pupils aged 5-18 and they all come with free teaching resources.

Teaching and learning

Get practical, creative tools to help start informed conversations about climate change in a hopeful and inspiring way with the Hot Poets Ignite Teacher Led Digital Pack. Aimed at teachers in KS2 and KS3, the digital pack includes a CPD video and 4 x video lessons with poet Michael Rosen, lesson plans, printable poems and curriculum-aligned climate fact sheets. Cost: £150 per school licence.
CLPE is the National Poetry Centre for Primary Schools. Their website provides free access to a comprehensive bank of recommended poetry books, poet videos and teaching sequences to support the teaching of poetry, including their Poetry in Primary Schools: What we know works guide to effective, evidence-based approaches.
Explore a selection of poems on the theme of Play from poetry magazine Tyger Tyger. The poems are available to download as posters and there are six lesson plans exploring individual poems. The free Poems about Play pack is available from the Tes website.
Explore the range of National Poetry Day 2026 teaching sequences from the National Literacy Trust. There are playful poetry activities to share with pupils in EYFS and a collection of 5-minute challenges to inspire young poets aged 7-14. All resources are free to download with the NLT’s free membership.
Explore Brian Moses’ blog, Welcome to the Ssssssnake Hotel, to find new poems, tips on how to get children writing poetry and articles from children’s poets.

Reading recommendations

Explore the poetry recommendations for pupils in EYFS through to KS2 from primary experts Books for Topics.
Find recommended poetry collections and verse novels for teenagers from the team at Scottish Book Trust.

Professional development

Sign up for CLPE’s Choosing and Using Poetry in the Classroom webinar to explore creative ways to use poetry to support key oracy, reading and writing skills. The webinar is pre-recorded and is available to view for six weeks from 19th December, 2026. Cost £60.
Read the National Literacy Trust’s 2024 report examining children and young people’s engagement with poetry. Among the findings, the report highlights the potential of poetry to provide a gateway into reading and writing for pleasure for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, as children and young people who receive FSM consistently show higher levels of engagement with poetry than their non-FSM peers.

More to explore