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This was further emphasised in For Scotland’s Children (2001) (external link) and Improving Health in Scotland – The Challenge (2003) (external link), which identified the Early Years as one of the four pillars for health improvement.

These policy initiatives identified that children’s early life experiences are crucial to shaping their growth and development and that getting off to the best possible start in life contributes to their health in the long-term.

This is supported more recently by Health For All Children (2005) (external link), which aims to refocus health service support in the early years to ensure that it is concentrated on where the need is greatest.

More recent policy initiatives have identified the need for agencies to work together closely to ensure children are safe, nurtured and healthy. There is growing evidence around the importance of infant mental health and new policy initiatives have been launched to support and protect children:

Getting it right for every child (external link)

Hidden Harm – Next Steps: Supporting Children – Working with Parents (external link)

Using and developing the evidence base

The Early Years team draws on existing evidence and commissions new research to inform gaps in our knowledge and direct future activity of the Early Years programme.

This evidence-informed approach allows us to draw together existing research on health issues relating to children and their families groups (literature reviews), to synthesize the existing evidence around effective interventions (systematic reviews of effectiveness) and to commission new research where gaps remain.

The following research documents represent recent additions to our knowledge around Early Years health and health improvement and are available to download:

Breastfeeding Initiation And Duration – What Works?
Toddler Parenting Resource – A Needs Assessment
Injury In Children – A Research Briefing Paper
Summary of the National Audit of Parent Antenatal & Postnatal Education Provision In Scotland
Evaluation of the MMR Discussion Pack & Preparation of MMR Communication Strategy

Starting well

Additional evidence from Starting Well, the National Demonstration Project for child health, has been used to inform the Early Years Programme, and findings from the evaluation of the first phase of Starting Well are being communicated via the Early Years Learning Network.

Early Years Learning Network

The Early Years Learning Network is of interest to professionals with an interest in the early years and involves policy-makers, practitioners and researchers.

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