Story Hubs
Story Hubs is a school and community program aimed at developing curious, confident and engaged learners. We work with a school to develop a unique co-designed Story Hub - a wondrous and imaginative new space built within the school, providing an opportunity for students and teachers to step outside the boundaries of their classrooms.
In their Story Hub students collaborate and take creative risks in their learning and teachers use the space as a tool to transform their practice and support creativity.
What’s a Story Hub? Find out in this video!
We’re looking for new Story Hub schools!
Ready to apply to become a Story Hub? Fill out the EOI form below.
Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for schools wishing to join the Story Hubs program in 2026 are now open.
Find out more about Story Hubs by downloading our program prospectus for 2026.
You can also read about our outcomes, including independent evaluation reports for the program, in the “Want to Know More?” section on this page.
Not quite ready to apply? Start with a Hub-sultation.
If you’re curious about Story Hubs and want to explore whether it’s the right fit for your school, book a free Hub-sultation with our team.
A Hub-sultation is a relaxed, no-obligation conversation where we can talk through your students’ needs, your school’s goals, and how Story Hubs could support literacy, creativity, confidence and belonging in your learning community.
Whether you’re gathering ideas or planning ahead, it’s a great first step.
The Origins of a Story Hub
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Sparking Creativity
We guide you to build and launch your Story Hub through co-design sessions and a whole-school consultation. We also spark creativity in students and teachers through classroom workshops, professional learning, coaching and reflection.
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Nurturing Creativity
We support ongoing use of the Hub through responsive professional learning, plus coaching and classroom observation for individual teachers. We’ll also help you establish either a Writer’s Notebook program, or a lunchtime or after-school Creative Writing program.
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Sustaining Creativity
We support teachers to create resources, build capacity and use what they’ve learned in yearly plans and curriculum units. This is alongside ongoing coaching, and the sharing of resources with the Story Hubs network.
Case Studies
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South Geelong Primary & Geelong East Primary
Daydream Machines connecting to a world of imagination.
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Carlton Primary
A “Cloudtopia” where students’ ideas fly out of this world.
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Sunshine North Primary & Sunshine College
An observation deck for an intergalactic outbreak.
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Meadows Primary
An inter-dimensional traffic control room.
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Copperfield College
A gateway to a dragon’s den.
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Whittington Primary & St Leonards Primary
Portal-pipes link these Geelong schools to a strange underworld.
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Sunshine Primary
A place of light and dark magic.
Want to Know More?
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An evaluation of the Story Hubs pilot program by Clear Horizon showed improved student and teacher outcomes.
Students showed higher engagement, idea generation, agency and improved attitudes towards writing.
Students were excited about their work and displayed agency and ownership over their writing.
They enjoyed slowing down, using their imaginations and being more creative.
Teachers improved their capacity to support student learning and creativity:
Teachers improved their own confidence and enjoyment of teaching.
Applied various methods to support student idea generation and writing engagement.
Integrated what they learnt into curriculum units and lesson plans.
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The outcomes for children and young people are guided by the Story Hubs Theory of Change which focuses on:
Engagement in learning
Confidence
Literacy and critical thinking
The Theory of Change was developed alongside the Story Hubs Pilot program, with support from our evaluation partner Clear Horizon.
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You can read more about the pilot program and its impact in the final evaluation prepared by Clear Horizon:
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Since 2023 we’ve worked with five new schools to create three new Story Hubs. Below are the evaluations of this program so far, prepared by Clear Horizon.
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Learn more about the original three-year pilot in these reports:
Story Hub Media Coverage
November 2023: To infinity and beyond, Sunshine North Story Hubs launch, Star Weekly
29 April 2020: Space of Wonder, KOS Magazine
19 February 2020: Interview in Backstory, Triple R Radio
10 February 2020: Getting the creative juices flowing, and helping a community, Probono Australia
30 September 2019: Story hub helps build creativity at Meadows Primary School, Star Weekly
August 2019: ABC Radio Melbourne, Afternoons with Richelle Hunt, Interview about creativity in schools
Current Story Hub Partners
Story Hub Pilot Partners (2018-2021)
Supporters
Story Hubs is supported by the Ian Potter Foundation, Brian M. Davis Charitable Foundation, the Ian & Shirley Norman Foundation, the Ross Trust, the Anthony Costa Foundation, the Bank of Melbourne Foundation, and the Victorian Department of Education.