The earliest years of life are crucial to a child's development. It is increasingly evident that inequalities in health, education and employment opportunities are passed from one generation to another. The move to develop an early years framework signals local and national government's joint commitment to break this cycle through prevention and early intervention and give every child in Scotland the best start in life.
A joint policy statement between the Scottish Government and COSLA on early years and early intervention was published on 18 March 2008. The work on developing the framework has been articulated as a list of tasks set in a context of early intervention. These tasks are now being taken forward by four task groups, each focusing on one of the themes of the framework: building parenting and family capacity; creating communities that provide a supportive environment for children and families; delivering integrated services that meet the needs of children and families; and developing a suitable workforce to support the framework.
The framework will cover the interests of children pre-conception to the age of 8 years and will have a 10 year horizon.
