Materials to help day nurseries and pre-schools across Scotland with the Curriculum for Excellence are to be made available by the Scottish Government.

A DVD training resource, Curriculum for Excellence: Supporting the Early Level, is to be produced in the autumn to help early years practitioners and teachers to apply the new approach.

The DVD will cover such areas as learning and teaching, improving transitions and involving parents. It will also have training and discussion materials to help early years practitioners and teachers embed the new curriculum.

The teaching guidance outlines from the perspective of a child or young person what they expect to have learned at appropriate stages in their education. These will guide teachers in their lesson planning.

Curriculum for Excellence aims to achieve a transformation in education in Scotland by providing a coherent, more flexible and enriched curriculum for children and young people aged from three to 18.The curriculum includes the totality of experiences which are planned for children and young people through their education, wherever they are being educated.

It is underpinned by the values inscribed on the mace of the Scottish Parliament – wisdom, justice, compassion and integrity.
Like the five outcomes in England’s Every Child Matters, the purpose of Curriculum for Excellence is encapsulated in the four capacities – to enable each child or young person to be a successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen and an effective contributor.

Speaking at The Early Years Framework: Putting the Vision into Action conference in Glasgow, Adam Ingram, Children's Minister, said, "This government recognises that the early years represent a golden opportunity, when action taken has the biggest influence on chances throughout a person's life.

"That's why we're driving forward with an unprecedented focus in this area, intervening early to tackle the big social issues facing Scotland like deprivation and lack of opportunity through the Early Years Framework.
"We are continuing this focus as we move to implement Curriculum for Excellence, the new approach coming into Scotland's classrooms which will help fully prepare our young people for life in the 21st Century through active teaching and learning that meets their needs in a modern, dynamic world.
"By ensuring the values, purposes and principles of Curriculum for Excellence are embedded as early as possible we can help children get the best start to their education and improve their chances of future success."

The Curriculum for Excellence guidance, known as Experiences and Outcomes, was published in April. It puts literacy and numeracy at its heart with all teachers equally responsible for teaching and an emphasis on cross-curricular teaching.

Last December the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) launched the Early Years Framework to improve the life chances of Scotland's children and tackle inequalities by targeting the early years.