Transformation is a powerful word, and when it is used by someone as high profile as the Duchess of Cambridge, it has the potential to make an impact.
The launch of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood (RFCfEC) and its accompanying report was, on the whole, welcomed by the sector. The transformation it speaks of is to shift the stubborn, wider societal perception that the first five years of life are not as important as later educational and developmental stages – and to show that they are, in fact, ‘pivotal’.
According to the findings of the Duchess’s Big Five Questions report in 2020, more than 70 per cent of the 500,000 people polled did not recognise the first five years of life as necessarily being the most important for determining positive outcomes in adulthood. As long as this consensus exists, there is little incentive for the Government to prioritise early years and the sector stays on the back foot. Clearly the science is not being heard, which is something the RFCfEC seeks to address; it likens the crisis in child mental health to climate change.
Coverage in this issue of Nursery Worldreflects the many challenges that practitioners are encountering in the area of children and families’ mental health. On page 32, we look at the rise in paternal antenatal mental health problems due to the isolating effects of Covid, and on page 39 provide a guide to safeguarding in the wake of three damaging lockdowns. We also explore the impact of adverse childhood experiences on gender relations and the positive role that best practice can play.
The need to prioritise children’s wellbeing as a thread in all areas of learning also runs through our practice coverage – including our guide to how maths is changing in the revised EYFS (page 14).
This is hard and important work that is crying out for more support. Achieving wider recognition remains the lever that the early years desperately needs.