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Why quality childcare is vital for young brains

A toddler draws at Puddleduck nusery in South London. Early Years education is a key factor in children's development.
A toddler draws at Puddleduck nursery in South London. Early Years education is a key factor in children’s development.

We’ve been working with experts to highlight how important the first five years in a child’s life are to their future prospects, and to call for more investment in quality childcare in England to support children’s development.

From learning how to smile, to beginning to crawl, walk and run, to making their first friends, this is a really amazing period in a child’s life.

Incredible findings

The briefing paper we released on 30 March highlights some of the incredible findings from neuroscience that shows how changes in the brain underpin these first steps.

Did you know, for example, that when a child is born they already have most of the 86 billion neurons that help the brain transmit information formed in their brain?

Or that by the age of three the connections that are being formed to help process information are happening at about twice the speed of an adult’s brain?

Or that by the age of five the amount of energy that a child’s body is using to fuel the brain is at about twice the rate of an adult?

Sign our petition calling on the government to give children the best start in life

A vital phase

A child’s brain during these years goes through rapid change – from an explosion of growth and connections, to a period of refinement and growing efficiency and complexity.

We know that parents and carers play the most important role in a child’s life during this vital phase. By providing the core relationship in a child’s life they help them to explore the world around them, take their first steps in life and support their early development.

But almost every three and four-year-old child in England today also spends at least some of the week in a childcare setting.

And while childcare can play a really crucial role in a child’s early development, it’s critical that the childcare a child get is of a really high quality.

Early Years the key

So while we’ve welcomed the government’s move to expand access to free childcare, and the focus on children’s life chances, more must still be done to create high quality childcare in England today.

That’s why we’re calling on the government to ensure that there’s an Early Years teacher in every childcare setting in England by 2020.

Early Years teachers are specialists in a child’s development who can support not just a child, but also provide advice and support to parents on their child’s development.

By doing this we could have a real impact on the lives of thousands of children in England today.

Please take a minute to sign the petition for investment in our nurseries now. Together, let’s show the government that we want every child to have the best start in life.

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