Early years must never become sole focus of early intervention

The Labour government, the coalition government and now the current Conservative government have all expressed commitments to ensure children get the best start in life. New developments in brain research - and particularly current understanding about the rapid changes in brain physiology and chemistry in the first three years of life - have reinforced the arguments for greater investments in parenting education, childcare and early education.

However, there has been an unmanaged risk in this emphasis on the early years: a failure to acknowledge that while a good start in life is protective of future risks, it is not inoculation. A good start in life does not guarantee a good adult life, nor does a poor start in life guarantee poor outcomes in the future. In the case of a good start, it lowers the odds on future problems, but cannot eliminate future risks. Likewise, a poor start rarely predicts with 100 per cent accuracy future disadvantage. It just reduces the odds on good outcomes.