For years, we know so much more about the importance of early years. Young people are able to flourish and grow and it's his commitment and advocacy on this issue and many years, listening to expert, practitioners, and parents and make a long, long term commitment to this work has been really inspirational. Welcome, as a teacher. Chair for such a distinguished career in the White House. In 2012, inspired by educational models in the States, I set up the school Richard Branson, which has grown for support for young people, and I'd like to introduce our panel so we have Professor Adrian McCrory and professor of developmental neuroscience and psychology, and we have Dr truly Sen apne, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and Perinatal psychiatrist at the most reaction. We have to have programs that teach and then and then join us correct yes and distinguished guests from the United States, Marian Calderon, who's the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department of Education, Miranda Smith is the policy at the department for Health and Human Services and Katie Hahn, the deputy assistant secretary earliest developments at the Department of Health and Human Services. So, before we get to my guess, I want to hand over to your lines to say thank you. I hope you'll enjoy.
I want to say thank you to everybody for this program today. Thank you to the academy. I met some wonderful teachers and principals and most of all the children who were so inspiring is so well behaved. I couldn't get over it. And I want to thank the press for covering this because early childhood education is so important to, to lay the foundation for all of our students so thank you for having me everybody very special place I can see that
as we sit in this lovely school as a career educator myself, I see the challenges, very often and not stops but I also see the impact in my own community and providing a holistic support right to professionals. And I do think that speaks to your inquiries that she shows for communities and for families providing space, integrating services and scientific support is available. Amen. I want to continue Could you could you tell us a little more about the first five years ago. What we know is happening in children. Sure.
And so I've been saying that in the last 20 years we've learned a huge amount about the importance of areas of life, and I probably highlight two key areas, one are funding from both the students and the second track children right from birth, and those studies are reaching individuals when they're babies and adults. And they show really robust associations between early development and long term lifetime so physical and mental health outcomes as well as education, and that romantic theory experiences such as maltreatment or brand mental health problems can really be reimbursed to Jack recent life. So development doesn't stop at five, but there's no doubt that those early experiences relationships environments influence our adult selves in a defined way, and the secondary if I could just be my own area of research is on developmental neuroscience, I know this is really of interest and your visitors to UCL focuses on understanding that in Haiku we understand the link between early experience and long term outcomes. We know that during that period, children are going through massive maturation, the brain reaches 80% of adult size by the age of two connections are being formed neural connections are being formed, Megan's every manager in that area, But talking about brains poking about synapses, you can think that that's a really biological process but actually what we know is that humans are exquisitely social animals, and it's really the social experience that drives that process, The ordinary Manchego reciprocal consistent interactions between the caregiver between the father and mother and the child really drives and strengthen those neural connections forming the basis of secure attachment and entry I think this really fits with the kind of work that you did.
He has the stories, absolutely started the beginning and that's because he stopped from preconception onwards, we'd love to get to teenagers to educate them about wanting to have babies in the first place
at conception, that's where
it has to start,
as you said, decades of research project directed by but so critical. On the short and longer term that
we don't. We just need to take them forward certainly absolutely critical. And you know also Global's that tells us at least a quarter of farms have been wanting to be much more pompous and have mental health problems, but we know that stigma. Stigma mental health problems stops us from seeking, seeking help, that's really critical and he says, fantastic work on the Big Five insights that was one of the factors that, as you may have heard said,
mental health effects, didn't
exactly say,
you know, huge amounts are on
a mission to intervene
on the rest of the night waiting to be released, teenage mothers abolish
chemical diversity is that some unit that starts. That's one station, and I'm really proud actually that we've had some expansion, and we need to do more parallel services
to the UK, for example, and the doctors said, one of them at least has seen for himself what happens in the modern day.
And that's again, that's at the worst end of the spectrum, the ones that really was actually, we want.
And I think the final part which again speaks to what they were going to say is that we need to really give her a suite of tools, they let their parents, a suite of tools that really help parents to understand the importance really is important to the social, emotional, and cognitive, as well as the development community, too much. Without you parents forms it can really teach you consuming
building up that relationship with relationships with child. Delay really interested to hear from the web, whether you're doing around working with that specifically around this.
Some things.
We've been particularly working with other sectors in the charity sector and everything. Hunt is really important to me. 15 years now to be able to translate some of the messages that come from academia about talking
to folks that we support antenatal program. Sometimes, especially for those who are marginalized and more challenging that they maybe don't have the just pathway in the habit of making sure farmers men and women, mothers in the positive impact
of positive,
beneficial aspects of that can happen to chocolate remains just like an
adult shed.
It is possible to change the theory. There are many different models of families in the modern age but I think whatever the Founding Fathers really taken
into consideration decision
about who should be in schools and exceptionally the effort to reach out to kind of great. People should be excited to share
your time with Vincent
stepping up to the plate and
the benefits not only to the children but to you as well with your own understanding of how I think. Yeah, I'd love to hear briefly from colleagues over in the States, any reflections you have anything that strikes you about the remarks that you've heard.
Yes, I'd love to jump into this conversation really appreciate the important dialogue. You know the brain science is something that we're all following, and it really makes a strong case for the critical importance of early intervention to influence the developing brain and start children on the road to healthy development, due to their rapidly developing brains young children are very vulnerable to adverse life factors and events that might occur during that time, such as poverty systemic racism and experiencing trauma. For example, we know that children living in poverty are more likely to experience developmental gaps in cognitive language and social emotional skills compared to their peers, from higher income families, but those poor outcomes when their children experienced challenges are not inevitable, nurturing relationships with responsive caregivers including parents, teachers and other adults who foster resilience, and we understand from the research that stable, secure and responsive interactions with adults and relationships build and strengthen young children's brain connections and support their development. We also know that early childhood education can improve children's development can counteract some of the disadvantages that some children face, and act as a protective factor against the future onset of adult disease of disability. So, we find that it's really important to have a strong early care workforce that is skilled and culturally responsive and well compensated to match that incredible responsibility that they take on in this critical period in a child and family's life.
And I just wanted to pick up on something that was said earlier around the importance of bringing families to the table and just really underscore that point, we know that when we think about families with young children, it's a very diverse group, their needs are changing the non traditional work hours, irregular schedules, and so having parents at the table from the beginning to make sure that the program works for them meets their needs, like Miranda said is culturally responsive I think is really important and something that needs done in the Headstart program which is our federal preschool program for young children in low income families, parents are on policy councils, they were really inserted into the DNA of the program and we're actually working on updating our parent engagement framework and we have a parent steering committee so I would just underscore how important that is to the programs that we're thinking about as well. Yeah, thanks,
I would just jump in and, and kind of, I think pick up on this idea notion that was discussed about how you really can't detach the well being of the of the parents and the family from a friend of the well being and the outcomes that we want to see for young children in this incredible, incredible period of of human development and that sort of first 2000 days. I'll mention a survey that has been conducted during the last 15 months a period of the pandemic in the United States, a weekly survey of families with young children. And what we've seen there is that in the findings have showed us that you know that the pandemic has taken a tremendous tool on caregiving and particular material hardship. And it's specifically affecting black and Latino families most in our country, or greater numbers but that that material hardship has led to increased stress for families, emotional distress and then that has impacted on children's behavior, but one of the findings that also showed up in the data, is that for families that had more emotional support that acted as an important buffer from some of the most negative effects and consequences of the material hardship, so this isn't at all in any way shape or form. To diminish the consequences of, of not being able to pay your bills, or, you know, to not be able to put food on the table I
think that opens up,
I think a whole range of ideas and possibilities. If we can think about how we wrap ourselves around families right and and set as a goal, really making families feel supported and
having that emotional support in their roles. Yeah I think so much of that resonated with voices piece and I can say for my own organization.
It has been transformative, I was really challenged, and I was asked how often I had a conversation without an agenda. And I realized that I very strongly sympathize, but actually when you start to listen. And I think that's been such an important part of your of Your Highnesses were really strengthening that parental voice, and, and making sure that exactly the cultural responsiveness that Miranda was talking about, is part of all of the services that we're offering I think that's really critical.
Yeah. So can I ask suppose, so obviously this is all evidence based, you know all your surveys
and your findings. So how do we get this information out to the parents, or is it through faith based communities is the responsibility of government isn't the responsibility of the schools, who should be carrying on this campaign.
I think God provided us the capacity basically when we're struggling with in this country, the lack of real leadership and the sanctity of a sense of collaboration to bring together the extra needs that have an instant data and provide an accessible form for parents, for teachers to understand what we're learning from research, and I think there's that translation gap. It's not clear at the moment, we really can do that if you've got an education you've got healthy preparing to write like math teacher, to be thinking about how we can convene a set of a set of framework created to bring data together and forge relationships between these parts of the sector, but really ensure that transformation is the information gets renewed and I think that's a big challenge that we currently face at least in the UK.
I don't think maybe we have started that story at you so transformation occurred in our services, mental health services actually feeds into that why you know the universe's agenda so today compared to 30 years 25 years ago, but it means that integration pieces of parents say for the rest of the world. Morning. I've heard about certain instructions I've carried on talking about it for a long time, and it's been a really lovely discussion but I'm pretty close and a million questions. We'd love to have that we'd love to hear any closing remarks.
Oh my gosh.
No, well, I'm sorry so sure if that's my first comment, because there's so much to talk about and to dialogue about and. And so I, you know, I just don't know where to begin, but as a, as an educator myself so much of what you're saying, has certainly touched my life in that I taught in a psychiatric hospital for five years and so I see, you know, I've seen, you know what the children's environment, and what that you know it's negative, the effects that that has and I saw that with all the children that I saw in that psychiatric hospital the problems that they were dealing with. And, and I have to say, I love that you're educating dads and fathers because it's, you know, it's been so long that for the longest time, it was always the mother, right, who was doing the caregiving. But I think one of the things, one of the positive parts of this pandemic is that now we've seen both of the parents because they've both been home and the fathers are saying, Hey, this is hard work. And then I know things are changing from, you know when our kids were little, but I think that the pandemic has also had a positive effect in that. I think teachers are now working more closely with parents because that relationship had to had to open up right because there were so many areas where teachers were helping parents and parents were helping teachers. And so it's just such a fascinating discussion, but I think we're moving in the right direction. And I also wanted to ask about food security and so
many things I wanted to ask about, I guess I'll have to just come back to this but just to get home on, I suppose.
And I suppose my own journey into looking at, you just touched on issues around supporting because I'm really interested that how could we best prepare the next generation to come. I suppose isn't parenting itself actually having babies, raising their children. And when we've created the education system. In terms of my agenda yes it is. It's been about prevention, and I just I really started advocating this work so that we can do to help social challenges prediction. And, you know, I've heard time and time again from practitioners. Just, unfortunately. And I suppose Elizabeth. That's, I suppose that's why this was an important place for me to come together with his parents. Neuroscientists academics, the parents themselves but just to really raise important ideas, because I really do for the future.
And to your point. Only by working at the Institute, and by working together,
we get to achieve
his education system,
it is working to translate the science or the parents to make accessible musical, and making sure her mental health is supported
and respected investigations.
But ultimately, my hope is that we tend to be ready for generations to come. And I'm committed to this for the long term. I hope, a few countries can be sharing
their knowledge and best practice. Thank you. Thank you so much on the personal level, about four years ago we sat down and had a conversation about
character was very transformative for us. What you just said very resume. A huge thank you for your time. Thank you so much for colleagues, we hope that one day we might meet you personally, it feels like a long way off, so much everybody for joining us to start the conversation. Do you have any wishes for your new niece. I can't wait to meet you. Have you FaceTime with her out the back door, go straight back at the store. Hold on. Sorry, sorry. I wish her all the very best was that.