I spent this Sunday afternoon with my great niece, now 11 months old, watching her investigating the world around her with great curiosity, determination and pleasure. Sitting in a high-chair, enjoying lamb, red cabbage and roast potatoes with gusto, ‘chit-chatting’, crawling at speed, her face breaking into huge smiles – she engaged with and entranced us all.
The period from pregnancy to the age of five is one of rapid transformation - from a baby’s first babbles and tentative first footsteps, to mastering the key physical, cognitive, social and emotional skills to get ready for school. It’s a time of joy and discovery for many, but it can also be challenging, with unique pressures and stresses, particularly in the context of the very tough economic times faced by many, falling hard on the heels of the Covid pandemic.
Today sees the launch of “Shaping Us”, a long-term campaign led by the Princess of Wales, to highlight and champion the unique importance of early childhood, as having a profound influence on our later lives. At the centre of this campaign lies a powerful film which shows the development of a little girl named Layla from pregnancy to the age of five, and how her interactions with society and the people around her, shape the young person she becomes.
This campaign rests on a long-standing body of international research and evidence across different academic disciplines which shows that this is a foundational stage of development and that inequalities begin very early.
In the Nuffield Foundation’s Changing Face of Early Childhood series we bring much of this research together into one place. The series also explores how the lives of families with young children have changed rapidly over the last twenty years, with society not adjusting to those changes.
Despite the power of the research, policymakers place less weight on the early years. This is reflected in the stark difference in public funding per child for early years education compared to those of school age, and the lack of value we place on the care provided by parents and the early years workforce.
Why is this the case? The needs and interests of babies and young children are often overlooked in research, policy and the wider public conversation. Young children cannot as readily speak for themselves, and they are nested in the private domestic world. And as the Royal Foundation’s own research shows, around one in three adults report knowing little or nothing about how young children develop in their first five years.
Families are increasingly experiencing uncertainty and hardship and need support from wider society. That might be people like the neighbour we see in the film offering their help, wider members of the community creating supportive environments, and professionals such as healthcare workers, social workers and early years practitioners with training and expertise to help. It also includes systems and structures that are designed with young children and their carers in mind, such as quality early education and childcare, safe and affordable housing and accessible local parks.
Working together to get the fundamentals right in early childhood is part of creating a more just, resilient and productive society. Today is an important step in changing the public conversation by increasing awareness of the first five years and catalysing change.
- Carey Oppenheim is the early childhood lead at the Nuffield Foundation. Formerly chief executive of the Early Intervention Foundation, she is one of eight experts advising The Princess of Wales' work through her Royal Foundation for Early Childhood.