The Government must kick-start an Early Years Revolution to
improve support and services for children, parents and families,
says the Health and Social Care Committee, in a new report on the
first 1000 days of life.
The first 1000 days of life, from conception to age 2, is a
critical phase during which the foundations of a child’s
development are laid, with more than a million new brain
connections made every second. If a child’s body and brain
develop well then their chances of a healthy life are
improved. Exposure to adversity during this period can have
lifelong consequences. A study in The Lancet in 2017 found that
people who experienced at least four adverse childhood
experiences (ACEs) were more likely to get heart disease, cancer
and many mental health problems than those with no experience of
ACEs. They were also thirty times more likely to have attempted
suicide.
The Committee is asking the Government to produce a
long-term, cross-Government strategy for the first 1000 days of
life, setting demanding goals to reduce adverse
childhood experiences, improve school readiness and reduce
infant mortality and child poverty. This should be led by
the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with the support of a small
centralised delivery team.
The Committee then wants all local authorities to develop plans -
with the local NHS, communities and the voluntary sector -
to implement this strategy, bringing improved support for
children, parents and families in their area. Funds should be
pooled to deliver shared, agreed actions.
Dr (practising GP and
father), who led the Committee for this inquiry, says, “There is
a crisis in children’s mental health in this country. But all we
are seeing are cuts to health visiting, children’s centre
closures and increasing child poverty. Government must now show
inspiring leadership to help children get the best possible start
in life. If our country is serious about prevention and reducing
health inequalities then we must make massive investments and
drive coordinated action right at the start of life.”
The report also calls for the Government’s Healthy Child
Programme to be revised, improved and given greater impetus. The
Committee recommends that the programme should be expanded to
focus on the health of the whole family, begin before conception,
deliver a greater continuity of care for children, parents and
families during this period and extend visits beyond age 2½
years. Under the current programme, all families are entitled to
5 visits from health visiting services up to age 2½ years. The
Committee recommends that an extra visit should be introduced at
age 3-3½ years to check children are on course to achieve the
level of development deemed necessary to start school.
Some children, parents and families need extra, more intensive,
support if their child’s development is off track. The Committee
recommend the Government should develop a programme which
children and parents in need of targeted support can access,
building on the Flying Start programme in Wales and the Family
Nurse Partnership in Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of
England.
The Government must use the Comprehensive Spending Review in 2019
to shift public expenditure towards intervening earlier rather
than later and thereby secure long-term investment in prevention
and early intervention to support parents, children and families.
Dr says “Quite simply, I
want this country to be the most supportive and caring place in
the world that a child could be born into.”
