Nursery pupils are benefiting from Curriculum for Excellence and the play-based approach to learning in the crucial early years of their lives, according to Education Secretary Michael Russell.

Speaking during a visit to the Meadows Nursery School in Stirling, Mr Russell stressed how important a single coherent curriculum covering all pupils from 3 to 18 is from Scotland, the Scottish Government website reported. He said that action to improve the early years of children's lives is a key priority for the Scottish Government, because evidence shows that every pound invested during the formative year years of a child's life, saves the taxpayer up to £7 later on.

"In nursery this means our youngest pupils starting to build literacy skills through word based games or perhaps beginning to understand team work skills through group-based play" explained Mr. Russell. "This can only benefiot our youngest pupils as they start on their learning journey."

Not everyone is happy with the new curriculum which some have described as 'scotch mist'. Teachers are concerned at the 'one size fits all' approach to series of lessons and the level of autonomy given to staff.

After the holidays, schools in Scotland are expected to be operating the new "Curriculum for Excellence.

If you are worried about changes to the curriculum, try these factsheets:

• Responding positively to change
• Positive & negative organisational characteristics
• Stress - understanding stress and dealing with it