A rosy future for our society?
Do you believe in progress? I once asked this question of an A Level history group which I was teaching. In our discussion of Tudor history, there had been a very ready acceptance amongst the boys and girls of the idea that human society has always made progress and would continue to do so. They were appalled that people in the sixteenth century engaged in bloody conflict over religion and were grateful that we had developed a more liberal approach based on tolerance and individual liberty.
My goal was to encourage them to question their unspoken but clear conviction that individual freedom trumps all other values and consider the idea that people in the past, while different from us, were not necessarily morally inferior. One of the students responded by stating that the world was now surely more peaceful. I pointed out that the world’s two most destructive conflicts had taken place that century – our lesson was taking place in the mid-1990s. These, I was told, had happened long ago and we had learned from them. When I referred to the horrible conflict taking place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, I was informed that this was happening a long way away. Reference to the civil strife in Ulster brought the retort that Ireland was different! The school we were in is on the Surrey-Hampshire border and I could not resist pointing out that their concept of progress was restricted to a fifty miles radius of Farnham!!
I wonder if young adults today have the same rosy view of their society. We are living through some of the darkest times many of us have experienced with the world still affected by Covid, suffering on a massive scale caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and fearsome oppression in China and Iran. Here in the UK, there is a case for arguing that it is the youngest and voiceless who are most in need of attention.
During the Covid pandemic, schools and nursery schools were closed for more than two terms and children’s lives were adversely affected by Covid regulations for well over a year. There are many people, including Nadhim Zahawi, the former Secretary of State for Education, who now say that it was a mistake to close schools. Despite this, the draft terms of reference for the public inquiry into our management of the Covid pandemic referred only to ‘restrictions on attendance at places of education’. This prompted some criticism and the final terms of reference now identify ‘the impact on children and young people, including health, wellbeing and social care’ and ‘education and early years provision’ as meriting attention. Nevertheless, you would have to be an incorrigible optimist to anticipate anything of substance concerning the needs of the young emerging from this inquiry.
Yet there is much which has emerged recently to indicate we should be giving much more attention to the needs of our youngest children. The Ofsted report into the education of the very young, which was published on 14 November, carries the title Best start in life and opens with a key statement: ‘A high-quality early years education is vitally important…The education and care that they receive affects not only future educational attainment but also their future health and happiness’. It goes on to emphasise the benefits of a good early years’ education for children from disadvantaged backgrounds who ‘need more chances to develop their language and communication and to learn the knowledge they need’. The report also points out that the pandemic meant young children ‘have had fewer opportunities for social interaction beyond their immediate family because of lockdowns and social restrictions’.
This analysis has been supported by the report, also published this month, from the Institute for Health Visiting and the First 1001 Days Movement. Casting Long Shadows (https://ihv.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/F1001D-Casting-Long-Shadows-FINAL-NOV-22.pdf) is co-authored by Sally Hogg, who spoke at the What About the Children? Conference in October, and Georgina Mayes. They make the point that, as a result of the pandemic, ‘More babies’ and children’s outcomes are falling behind where we would expect them to be, and many services are reaching a crisis point where they are unable to meet families’ needs’. Their research shows that ‘Babies are at greater risk of harm caused by abuse and neglect’, more of them are living in poverty and their ‘health and development, particularly their communication and social skills’ have been adversely affected by the pandemic. In response to this crisis affecting the very youngest in our society, the authors set out a four-point strategy and their most important recommendation is that ‘There should be clear leadership within the UK Government to ensure cross-government focus on their needs’.
All those concerned with the needs of babies and infants will have been heartened by the words of Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales in the Telegraph on Saturday 26 November: ‘I am determined to shine a light on this issue and to do everything I can to secure much greater focus on those first crucial few years for the youngest members of our society – they are, after all, our future’.
Whether or not you believe in ‘progress’ as a general principle within human society, if we want a rosy future for all in the UK, we must make the needs of early years children a priority. Careful thought and sustained action are vital.
Gerard Silverlock, November 2022.