Early Years story telling journey

Embedding the learning of twelve traditional stories as a core part of our Early Years curriculum, from age two through to five, is vital because it supports children’s language, cognitive, social and emotional development during the most formative years of learning. Repeated exposure to well-known traditional tales helps children build a rich vocabulary, develop listening and attention skills, understand narrative structure, sequencing and cause and effect. These stories provide familiar patterns, repeated phrases and memorable characters, which build confidence, comprehension and early literacy skills over time. Traditional stories also introduce important values, emotions and moral understanding, supporting children’s social development and empathy. By revisiting and deepening children’s understanding of these stories as they grow, we create a shared cultural literacy, strengthen memory and recall, and lay strong foundations for reading, writing and storytelling. This strong grounding also prepares our children for their ‘Twisted Tales’ topic in Key Stage One, enabling them to confidently recognise, compare and creatively adapt familiar stories, ensuring continuity, progression and a love of storytelling beyond the Early Years.