The Government is committed to supporting children through a policy of early intervention

The Scottish Government aims to improve the life chances of all Scotland’s children and their families by giving them the best start in life and a helping hand towards a happy and prosperous future.

As a government, our ambition for children and youngsters is much the same as we all want for our own children, i.e., ‘healthy happy bairns’. That’s youngsters who are safe, loved, enjoy their childhood and achieve their potential; youngsters who grow into responsible, caring adults, capable of making a positive contribution to our society.

The early years are hugely important and impact on the rest of a child’s life. As such, we’re committed to supporting children through a policy of early intervention, making sure our youngsters get the best possible start and avoid problems later on. In short, investment in young Scots and their families today is an investment in a better future for us all. It also makes good financial sense with every £1 invested in a child’s early years generating an eventual saving of £9 for the taxpayer. To this end, the Scottish Government has contributed £50m to the new Early Years Change Fund – part of the preventative spend activity announced in the recent spending review.

Other examples of this strategic investment in early years can be seen in initiatives such as our £6.8m Early Years Early Action Fund, which supports projects designed to help vulnerable children and families.

And through the likes of the national Play Talk Read campaign which encourages parents and carers to take simple steps such as playing, talking and reading more with their children to enhance their development.

This type of early intervention is key, especially when considering the potential benefits, with research showing that by three years of age, 75 per cent of a child’s brain growth is complete and 50 per cent of language is in place. We also know children whose parents talk to them frequently have better language and development skills, with babies of more talkative parents knowing (on average) 131 more words than infants of less talkative parents.

In achieving our ambitions for children and families we have a strong base to build upon via the Early Years Framework which has received good buy-in from relevant partners across Scotland.

A key element of the framework is supporting children, families and communities to help themselves. Our recent manifesto built on this by committing to the development of a national parenting strategy to support new parents and help build their resilience and confidence.

The strategy will essentially aim to raise the value of parenting and provide a national direction for the years ahead.

The Rights of Children & Young People Bill, announced by the First Minister in September, is another demonstration of our commitment in this area. The bill will place new obligations on ministers to take into account the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child when exercising their functions. It will also increase transparency in terms of our approach to children’s rights in Scotland. Currently under consultation, the bill precedes our Children’s Services Bill which will further strengthen our commitment to children’s rights in Scotland.

It’s also crucial that we continue to support the thousands of dedicated champions of young people across Scotland – parents, teachers, nursery staff, career advisers, social workers, lecturers, etc – to invest in all our children and young people.

Getting it right for every child in the early years will help move our children along a positive road and improve their readiness to learn and develop in school as they continue their journey through life.

Curriculum for Excellence – the programme designed to transform Scottish education – is the vehicle to make the school journey more innovative, ambitious, relevant and supportive of each child’s talents. It will also provide a strong platform for youngsters to then move confidently onto college or university, or undertake vocational training.

Initiatives such as our recently announced ‘Opportunities for all’ – designed to ensure every 16 to 19 year old has a place in learning or training and our moves to reform post-16 education and training will also ensure our youngsters receive the chance to flourish and contribute positively to Scottish society.

Put simply, if we’re to realise our aspirations for a successful and prosperous Scotland, we have to get it right for our children and families. Investment here today is an investment in a better future for us all. And that’s something we all want to see.