Hartcliffe Nursery School has developed a comprehensive storytelling policy and approach that places communication and language at the heart of children’s learning.
Communication and language is Hartcliffe Nursery School’s priority and key to enabling every child to be able to express themselves through language and build their vocabulary. One effective way to develop children’s language is through storytelling and sharing books, so the nursery has been developing their telling of stories and core book approach. The books have been chosen by staff as high-quality texts that support children’s communication, language and literacy development whilst reflecting the nursery’s diverse community and the emotional development needs of children.
Hartcliffe Nursery School believes storytelling is important for many reasons. It provides a shared experience, fostering group togetherness and a sense of belonging. Storytelling ignites children’s imaginations, encouraging creativity and critical thinking whilst developing and extending children’s communication and language skills. Through stories, children develop their listening and attention skills, learn new vocabulary in a meaningful way, and build emotional development and emotional literacy. Stories provide opportunities to experience feelings and emotions in a safe way, develop empathy and appreciate others’ points of view, and broaden horizons by supporting children to experience new things, cultures and concepts.
The nursery has developed core books organised into six stages that support the development of children’s communication, language and literacy skills. These stages progress from books that promote participation and enjoyment through sounds and actions, to stories with repeated refrains that build memory and recall, traditional tales focusing on story structure, stories introducing problem-solving and predictions, books focusing on phonics and rhyming, and finally stories that extend the narrative with longer, more complex texts. This thoughtful progression ensures children develop their storytelling and language skills at an appropriate pace.