SparkSpace has launched: A new online learning platform

SparkSpace is our new, free online learning platform, co-created with young people, to support library professionals and volunteers to better engage, include and empower children and young people. It brings together practical learning, tools and ideas that library teams can use in their day-to-day work, whether they work directly with young people or support services across their organisation.

Co-created with children and young people, SparkSpace reflects their experiences and what they value from library services, making the training practical, relevant, and immediately useful for library teams. Hear directly how SparkSpace came together and what it can offer by watching the video here.

What SparkSpace offers library teams

With SparkSpace, teams can:

• Build confidence in engaging and communicating with children and young people
• Create inclusive spaces, including support for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
• Strengthen youth participation so young people have a genuine voice in shaping services
• Use outreach and social media in relevant and creative ways that directly engage children and young people
• Support professional development across staff and volunteers

The platform includes short online modules, videos, interactive activities, and a downloadable workbook to help teams embed learning in their services. Plus, teams receive a certificate on completion, recognising professional development.

Co-created with young people

Developed in collaboration with youth engagement specialists Participation People, SparkSpace has been led by children and young people from the very beginning. 

They were involved at every stage  – identifying what library staff need to understand, shaping content, providing feedback and ensuring the training feels relevant, authentic and grounded in lived experience.

One young person who participated was fifteen-year-old Will, who found the experience empowering.

I’ve never done something like this before, but it was amazing. As a young person, it’s great to be involved in these changes.

Our Chief Executive, Tabitha Witherick-Macaulay said:

Co-creating this training with children and young people has been absolutely key. If we want young people to engage with libraries, they need to feel they are spaces where they truly belong.
Recognising the evolving role of libraries as community spaces, SparkSpace supports staff and volunteers with the tools and confidence to respond positively and inclusively. By embedding participation into everyday practice, SparkSpace will help libraries strengthen their role at the heart of communities and create environments where young people feel genuinely included. For public spaces to work for young people, we have to work with them, not just develop spaces for them.

Who can access SparkSpace?

Thanks to generous support from The Foyle Foundation, SparkSpace is completely free. That means cost is not a barrier, and teams can share the training across staff and volunteers alike.

SparkSpace reflects a wider shift in how libraries are evolving  – positioning them as collaborative, youth-inclusive spaces that respond to the realities young people face today.