Authors
Overview
Early childhood is a period of transformation – from a baby’s first babbles, their tentative first footsteps, to mastering the key physical, cognitive, social and emotional skills to embark upon school. Early childhood, from birth to the age of five, matters in itself – a time of joy and discovery for many – and a time when the building blocks for later development are laid.
But being a small child now is a strikingly different experience from twenty years ago. Young children today are much more likely to be in formal childcare and to start school earlier. Most are communicating and playing using the latest digital technology. Their families are changing, with mothers having children at a later age and being much more likely to be in paid work. They are likely to have fewer siblings and a greater chance of experiencing a variety of family relationships if parents separate and re-partner. They are more likely to be living in precarious financial and housing situations and particularly so for the younger generation of parents.
The emerging evidence also shows that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young children and families across the UK is likely to be significant, particularly for those who are already disadvantaged or vulnerable.
Understanding how and why young children’s lives are changing, and how to respond effectively, is vital if we want the youngest in our society to thrive and flourish.
What will this series do?
The changing face of early childhood will help researchers, policymakers and practitioners navigate the relevant research funded by the Nuffield Foundation, alongside other key studies and inform the next steps for research, policy and practice.
Our approach is designed to be holistic by bringing together perspectives from different disciplines and vantage points. Over the course of 2020/21 we will:
- Publish a series of robust and accessible reviews of research on early childhood.
- Explore controversies in the field and draw out policy and practice implications from the research.
- Stimulate debate through convening stakeholders and seeking input and response on the series.
- Propose evidence-informed recommendations for policy makers and practitioners.
- Identify gaps in the evidence to help inform our research funding priorities.
- Capture and distil what needs to change to improve outcomes for young children.
In this introduction, we provide the context for our Changing face of early childhood in the UK series and a summary of the research projects funded by the Foundation that underpin it.