Speaking at the Shaping Us National Symposium, part of the Princess's campaign to raise awareness of early childhood, she said that if these building blocks are not in place when we are young, it is ‘much harder’ to manage ourselves, communicate and connect to others and engage with the world around us in adulthood. ‘This leaves us vulnerable to isolation and adversity,’ she adds.
The Princess initiated a ‘global listening exercise’ earlier this year, focusing on the importance of developing a ‘social and emotional skill set’. She engaged with 100 leading experts from 21 countries around the world, posing the question: what are the key skills we develop in early childhood, but continue to grow beyond it, that help establish the core foundations for life and allow us to go on to thrive as adults?
The symposium brings together cross-disciplinary leaders, child and adult specialists and global thinkers to ‘unite thinking’ and agree on the ‘key foundational skills we lay in early childhood’ that can help establish ‘happy, healthy adult lives’.
Launching details of the findings, she said, ‘The latest science clearly indicates that early childhood development must focus on more than just the physical and technical skills of our children – we also need to prioritise their inner worlds too.
‘How they manage anxiety, low mood, tantrums, self-loathing or anger; these are the things that will shape their future lives, and without solid foundations in childhood, they may become vulnerabilities later. No matter how outwardly successful they may be.’
She adds, ‘Nurturing skills that enable us to know ourselves, manage our emotions, focus our thoughts, communicate with others, foster positive relationships and explore the world are just as valuable to our long-term success as reading, writing or arithmetic.’
Social and emotional skills are ‘the bedrock’ for helping children thrive and for ‘restoring, protecting, and investing in humankind’. But rebalancing and restoring calls for ‘new thinking and action at every level’, she concluded.
Scientific, economic and social cases
Mental health and well-being advocate and Shaping Us Champion, Fearne Cotton (pictured below with the Princess of Wales), hosted the event.
PHOTO Andrew Parsons/ Kensington Palace
The day featured talks from experts making the scientific, economic and human cases for prioritising early childhood and social and emotional development.
Professor Jack Shonkoff, director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard (pictured right), who the princess previously met during a visit to Boston last year, spoke about how early experiences shape the architecture of the developing brain.
He said, ‘What everyone needs to keep in mind is that what happens early is very important but it’s not highly deterministic. It doesn’t mean exactly that this is the way it’s going to be for the rest of your life.’
Sara Rajeswaran, chief of staff at Aviva, a key member of the Business Taskforce for Early Childhood, which the Princess launched in March, told attendees that business has 'a vested interest in spearheading and supporting this movement' and that 'if children can't reach their full potential, nor can our businesses or the wider economy’.
She added, ‘In the New Year, the taskforce will be calling on more businesses across the UK to act on early childhood and social and emotional development.’
Sara Rajeswaran, chief of staff at Aviva speaking at the Symposium PHOTO Andrew Parsons/ Kensington Palace
Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, spoke about the benefits of good relationships in ‘staying happier and healthier’ throughout life. Speaking about one of the longest-running studies of adult life ever conducted, he said, ‘When we looked back at the data, we found that the people who were more connected to others stayed the healthiest and lived the longest.’
National priority
Tony Blair and William Hague PHOTO Andrew Parsons/ Kensington Palace
Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair and Lord William Hague took to the stage to discuss the social and emotional skills that helped them succeed in their careers.
‘Emotional resilience is rooted in early childhood,’ Hague said. ‘It’s not something you can learn suddenly as an adult. It’s an absolute key skill of leadership.’
Blair said that his parents were important in helping him cultivate the skills needed to succeed, along with a succession of teachers who were prepared to ‘take the time to teach me things’.
Speaking about the importance of early childhood and his time in Government when he drove forth policies in this area, Blair said, ‘The interesting thing that we’ve heard from people today is that the evidence today is stronger than it was back then. There’s an even stronger case for acting on this today.’
He added, ‘Early education, however they get it, is critical to children’s development and if they don’t get it, they are always playing catch up. The evidence is there, the rest of it’s just political will and policy.
‘I think you need to get policy in this area that’s really imaginative. I don’t think there should be any great political divide about the importance of early years. I think wherever you sit in the political spectrum, we should accept it and people do.
‘The question is, what’s the best way of getting the right policy in place that this can be a reality.’
Hague said that it is going to ‘very important’ in the political sphere because all the political parties are ‘more and more interested in this and developing policies to do it’.
Panel discussion
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, was joined on a panel with broadcaster Ashley John-Baptiste, clinical psychologist and author Sophie Mort, and Beverley Barnett-Jones, associate director of the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory.
Chaired by Professor Eamon McCrory, the experts discussed what social and emotional skills are in the context of early childhood.
Leitch said that there is ‘no ambiguity’ about the importance of developing relationships in the early years sector. However, he stressed that ‘we run the risk’ of removing the opportunity from our educators to spend time developing one-to-one attachment because they are ‘exhausted, feel undervalued and are underpaid’ – and they are ‘leaving in droves’.
He added, ‘Twenty years ago, in 2003, when Tony Blair was in Government, there was an initiative launched called Every Child Matters. I would just like to say, in 2023, so too do the people who care and educate our children.’