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Early Years


"The Next Generation: Final Report from the Early Years Commission"

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Getting in Early: Primary Schools and Early Intervention

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Co-published with the Smith Institute, edited by Jean Gross, this paper continues the joint work between Iain Duncan Smith (CSJ Chairman) and Graham Allen (Labour MP for Nottingham North) promoting cross-party consensus on early intervention. This paper focuses on primary schools and the need to intervene as early as possible in order to break the circle of disadvantage in a child’s life.

The level of stimulation, nurture and empathy an infant receives profoundly shapes a person's ability to enter into all future relationships. This report emphasizes the importance of these years and advocates an intervention strategy which requires helping parents to get it right at the antenatal, postnatal and infant stages, long before such help is typically available.

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Click here for the Early Years Report
Click here to read the Executive Summary

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The report demonstrated that outcomes at 3 years are often indicative of outcomes at 26 years.[i]As argued in Breakdown Britain, a secure attachment to a carer improved the chances of a baby flourishing both physiologically and psychologically,[ii]and their later ability to make close relationships. Research also showed that “insecure” attachment can contribute to high levels of separation anxiety; low expectations; poorer communication skills and a lesser ability to empathise with others.

Theory

  • The group was informed inter alia by key concepts including attachment theory and findings from neuroscientific research.
    • Attachment theory was considered to characterise aspects of human behaviour from the cradle to the grave and strongly indicated the importance of careful nurture and maintenance of the child from its very early years.[iii]
    • Neuroscience research attested to the importance of the first three years of a child’s life to his or her future healthy development.

The findings strongly supported the need for early intervention including the cost benefits of supporting the well being of children as early as possible. Examples of such benefits are as follows:

Future Dividends

  • James Heckman, the Nobel prize-winner for economics, demonstrated that pre-school intervention programmes have an economic payback 3 - 6 times higher than similarly intentioned programmes post-school.[iv]
  • USA early intervention studies showed the returns to society for each dollar invested extend from $1.26 to $17.07.[v]
  • Early intervention reduces future spending on health, social work, policing and criminal justice, social security, training and preparations for employment – and it produces higher future tax yields from higher lifetime earnings.[vi]
  • In the American Nurse-Family Partnership home visiting program, the return for each dollar invested was $5.70 for the higher-risk population served but only $1.26 for the lower-risk population.[vii]Targeted intervention is thus essential in order to assist the most deprived and to make most effective use of the resources available.

The early intervention policy group re-examined the proposals made in Breakthrough Britain, including the introduction of Family Service Hubs within the community, the importance of the health visiting role and the need for greater numbers, intensive home visiting programmes such as the Nurse Family Partnerships, and proposals to provide parents with flexible child benefits so a larger proportion of the total entitlement would be available during the first three years.

[i]Feinstein, L., Very early evidence: How early can we predict future educational achievement?, August 2003, <http://cep.lse.ac.uk/centrepiece/v08i2/feinstein.pdf>, accessed 25/10/2007

[ii]Breakdown Britain, p.74.

[iii]Bowlby, J., 1969, Attachment (Attachment and Loss Series Volume 1), Hogarth Press, p. 208

[iv]Allen, G., June 2007, <http://www.publicfinance.co.uk/features_details.cfm?News_id=30650> accessed 23/10/2007

[v]Lynn, A. Karoly, M.,Kilburn, R. and Cannon, J., Early Childhood Interventions - Proven Results, Future Promise, p.27, <http://www.rand.org/news/press.06/01.12.html>, accessed 23/10/2007

[vi]Allen, G., June 2007 accessed 23/10/2007

[vii]Lynn, A. Karoly, M.,Kilburn, R. and Cannon, J., Early Childhood Interventions - Proven Results, Future Promise, p.27 <http://www.rand.org/news/press.06/01.12.html>, accessed 23/10/2007

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