Recognition of the importance of babyhood and early childhood continues to grow. It is widely understood by many ordinary people, as well as experts, that what happens to us when we are very small, and our brains are at their most malleable, has lasting effects. As the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) put it in a study of early years education, “the first five years of a child’s life represent a window of opportunity, but also of vulnerability”.
New Labour’s grasp of this underpinned its pioneering Sure Start programme. Much of this was dismantled under the Tory-Liberal Democrat austerity programme. But despite that loss, England’s results in this year’s OECD Early Learning and Child Well‑being Study were strong. This study does not have the high profile of the programme for international student assessment (Pisa) comparing the academic performance of 15-year-olds. It is newer and relies on a far smaller sample size. But while its findings should not be treated as gospel, it is heartening that England’s five-year‑olds were found to be thriving. On a social-emotional development measure, they came out on top.
