Early Years Learning and Storytelling Programmes

At Helicopter Stories, we believe that every child is a natural storyteller. Our Early Learning programmes and courses are carefully crafted to tap into this innate creativity, fostering an environment where young minds flourish. Guided by the teachings of the renowned Vivian Gussin Paley, we celebrate the magic of storytelling and harness its potential to enrich children’s communication and language development.

Teaching Resources
Early Years Learning
Early-learning
Early Years Storytelling

Helicopter Stories

Interactive Storytelling that gets every child involved

Helicopter Stories is a simple approach to supporting Early Learning Years Education. The practitioner sits with the child, listens to their story, and writes it down word for word. Once all the stories have been scribed, the class gather around a taped out stage, ready to act them out. Helicopter Stories values children’s creativity and imaginative play, whilst supporting language development, storytelling and emergent literacy. 

Helicopter Stories improves children’s:

  • Communication & Language Development
  • Confidence & turn taking
  • Creativity & idea making
  • Ability to listen & understand
  • Teamwork & Collaboration
  • Emotional Intelligence
Teaching Resources

Easy as 1, 2, 3

See it in 30 Seconds!

1.Scribe a Story

Sit with a child and write down their story word for word. Read it back to the child and ask which character they would like to play.

2.Mark out the Stage

Create a stage out of masking tape and gather the children around the outside ready to act out their stories.

3.Act out the Story

The children take it in turns to act out the other characters in the story from their place around the stage.

Our Teaching Programmes

Story Steps

Story Steps is an innovative new programme designed to bring stories to life through movement, storytelling and imaginative play. Suitable for children age 3 to 5 years old. 

Helicopter Stories On Demand

Helicopter Stories On Demand gives up to 4 members of your team, ONE YEAR'S access to this online training. The course includes everything you need to begin delivering Helicopter Stories in...Read More

The Story Basket

The Story Basket is payable by annual subscription. It contains audio only stories, alongside a host of resources, word banks, Helicopter Stories version of each story to act out and...Read More

The Poetry Basket

The Poetry Basket includes 36 lesser-known children’s rhymes from anonymous authors and follows the seasons of the year. Suitable for Teachers, Early Years Practitioners, Parents and Carers of children aged...Read More

Poetry Basket 1: Seasons

Poetry Basket 1: Seasons includes 40 lesser-known children’s rhymes from anonymous authors and follows the seasons of the year. Suitable for Teachers, Early Years Practitioners, Parents and Carers of children...Read More

Poetry Basket 2: Themes

The Poetry Basket 2 is payable by annual subscription. It contains poems, across ten themes: Dinosaurs, All About Me, Emotions, Down on the Farm, Superheroes, Insects and Minibeasts, Space, The...Read More

Helicopter Stories Tales

This programme contains three videos of Trisha Lee reading from her Helicopter Stories Tales picture books. The picture books are included in the price, and will be sent by post,...Read More

Helicopter Stories at Home

Helicopter Stories at Home is a BUY ONCE OWN FOR LIFE programme, containing all the training, information and resources practitioners need to introduce Helicopter Stories to the parents and carers...Read More

The Christmas Basket

Bring the magic of Christmas into your classroom: Engage your EYFS/Year 1 children with festive poems, stories, and songs designed to inspire creativity and foster language development.

Creative Early Years Storytelling

We believe that Helicopter Stories is more important now than it has ever been. Education is changing. The focus on testing and grading our children is creating a culture where regurgitating facts is valued above creativity and where less time is set aside for children’s own imaginative play.

In 2010, IBM conducted a survey of business owners where they asked them what they valued as the most important attribute in the people they recruited. The top answer by far was creativity. We need to be raising creative, innovative children who can think outside the box. That is what the world needs at the moment.  And that is what Helicopter Stories offers to children aged 2 to 7.

Teaching Resources

What Teachers Say

The children are in control. Great to do the course. Very inspiring. We are now using Helicopter stories, story basket and poetry basket in class and the children love them all.
Helicopter Stories On DemandReception Teacher - Sheffield
Helicopter Stories On Demand
We had our face-to-face session with our spring cohort yesterday- and wow, what a buzz! Everyone is so excited by the approach and are already seeing great things. We are all really enjoying the online training too - it is without doubt the most interesting and high-quality training I have accessed online.
Nicola MillardWellbeing Lead - Bedford Local Authority
Nicola Millard
Helicopter Stories are fab The course is simple to follow and the tips are really useful. Our children have really engaged with helicopter stories and can't wait to do it again each week. We have seen them starting to emerge as story tellers
Helicopter Stories On DemandNursery Teacher - Buckinghamshire
Helicopter Stories On Demand
We love the Poetry Basket. The children in my class really enjoy listening to them, and then joining in with the actions. I've now created a Poetry basket retelling space and the children use relevant props to help support them in remembering the poems. Such a great idea for a service, and well organised
The Poetry BasketReception Teacher - Croydon
The Poetry Basket
Best thing we have purchased in a very long time. If you had have asked me to recite a poem this time last year, I would not have been able to think of 1. I'm 38. If you asked the Reception and Nursery children at our school to do the same, they would have over ten they could recite to you. Off by heart!! It is brilliant.
The Poetry BasketEarly Years Lead - Sunderland
The Poetry Basket
Another fabulous addition. Having used the Poetry Basket across the year, I had high expectations for the Story Basket and I haven't been disappointed. Reception class have been very engaged with these beautiful audio stories - a new experience for many children. We are really enjoying the stories and the format is brilliant for helping children build focus and attention.
The Story Basket Reception teacher – North Somerset
The Story Basket
Such a useful resource. We did the Elves and the Shoemaker because it fitted in with our theme. The children found it a novelty to listen - a few looked round in case they were missing a visual and then relaxed and tuned in. The children loved the music and sound effects - it kept them engaged, and the staff just enjoyed being told a story! We will definitely be using more of these stories and activity ideas.
The Story Basket Year 1 teacher – Tameside
The Story Basket
The Helicopter Stories Picture Books take children’s imagination and thinking to greater depths through picking up on the things which really matter to young children. The Teachers Notes are a masterclass in children’s development or what Trisha calls the ‘deeper issues.’ The use of carefully framed reflective questions to stimulate philosophical conversations and other strategies all contribute to an approach which firmly places children at the centre, listening to and respecting their voices.
The Helicopter Stories Picture Books Di Chilvers – WatchMeGrow
The Helicopter Stories Picture Books
the Helicopter Tales will be a great addition to any EYFS or Key Stage One Teacher’s toolkit. The stories and additional resources are the spark which will ignite both your curriculum and your children’s love of storytelling. This series is highly recommended!
The Helicopter Stories TalesAndy Burt – Early Excellence
The Helicopter Stories Tales
We have thrown ourselves into Helicopter Stories this term and the children are loving it. 3 of our children who don't communicate verbally have been able to tell their stories and take centre stage for the first time.
The Helicopter Stories Talesmissnlteach - Instagram
The Helicopter Stories Tales

LA Early Years Staff, 8 Schools and settings trained in Helicopter Stories & The Poetry Basket

LA Early Years Staff trained in Helicopter Stories, 20 Schools & Settings trained Helicopter Stories, The Poetry Basket & The Story Basket

LA Early Years Staff trained in Helicopter Stories, 22 Schools & Settings trained Helicopter Stories, The Poetry Basket & The Story Basket

15 Schools and Nurseries trained in Helicopter Stories

25 schools trained in Helicopter Stories

LA Early Years Staff trained in Helicopter Stories, 27 Schools and Settings trained Helicopter Stories

LA Early Years Staff trained, 36 schools, settings and childminders trained in Helicopter Stories

LA Early Years Staff trained in Helicopter Stories, 18 schools and settings trained in Helicopter Stories, The Poetry Basket & The Story Basket

LA Early Years staff, 20 Schools and 20 settings trained in Helicopter Stories

All schools (74 in total) trained in Helicopter Stories and using The Poetry Basket, funded by the Department for Education

LA staff trained and 74 schools and settings across the local authority in Helicopter Stories

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