Early Intervention in the UK

MARTHELLA RIVERA ROIDATUA, 1590069

03 FEBRUARY 2016
What does the policy talk about?
 Essentially build children aged 0–3 the social and
emotional bedrock they need to reach their full potential;
and to those which help up to 18 children become the
good parents of tomorrow
 A key finding is that babies are born with 25 per cent of
their brains developed, and there is then a rapid period of
development so that by the age of 3 their brains are 80
per cent developed (Dr. Bruce Perry, 2002)
 The outcome: short term – children are ready to school;
long-term – lower cost of remedial actions and better
workforces
From Late to Early Intervention
 ‘Late Intervention’ – UK childcare policies in the social, emotional
and mental health spheres are based on the principle of waiting
until matters go seriously wrong, and then intervening with too
little, too late.
 Pilot project in the Nottingham North (2005) by the MP Graham
Allen proved that current policy of ‘late intervention’ was ineffective
to tackle dysfunction. The book of Early Intervention (2008) gave
stronger evidence of the needs of change.
 There were two reviews of Early Intervention in 2011 requested
by the government to see more evidences and effective way in
spending the budget of childcare and early years education.
Current Related Programmes
 Troubled Families
 Nine billions pounds per year!
 Life Chances Strategy
 Frank Field’s reports, 2010
Sure Start Local Programme
 finding in National Evaluation, 2010
Next: Parenting Class?
 Policy Types (Knill and Tosun, 2012)

 Use of public funds to assist particular societal groups

 Redistributive policy (Lowi, 1972)
 Cost diffuse, benefit concentrated  Clientelistic
policy (Wilson)
 Government is a central role to spread the information
and source  Nodality and Organisation (Hood)
How the issue got onto top of agenda?
The policy problem was identified by policy networks.
o Public: legislature; insider entrepreneurs (Graham Allen & Duncan Smith)
o Private: US influential psychiatric (Dr. Bruce Perry)
o Think Tanks: Early Intervention Foundation & Centre for Social Justice
o Seminar participants: academics, philanthropists, campaigners, and politicians
Networking skills resulted not only the privileged access to go on, but also the genuine interest
from policy-makers.
Why does early years so important?

The quality of child’s early environment and the availability of appropriate experiences at the right stage
of development are crucial in determining how well the children able to think and regulate their
emotions (NSCDC, 2007).
Policy Effects: Saving while Caring

Interpreting the Effects: bounded-rationality; stock and flow; economic and social investment in a box
Implementation Issues:
Good for people, good for economy
 Success story from Croydon, Manchester,
Nottingham to reduce the cost of remedial actions
 The current national programme to provide free
early education is extended to reach all
disadvantaged 2-year-olds (around 130,000) from
2013
 The establishment of Early Intervention
Foundation (EIF) to stimulate the potential local
areas (as side table) implementing Early
Intervention
 Debates between practices: extreme case of
Oxana Malaya (Ukrainian ‘dog’ girl) could not be
generalized as the emergence in the UK context.
Multiple Stream Analysis (Kingdon, 2003)

PROBLEM STREAMS POLICY STREAM

- Failed implementation of late intervention policy - Late Intervention
- Huge cost, low result  need an alternatives - Early Intervention Review #1 (beginning 2011)
- Early Intervention Review #2 (late 2011)
POLITICS STREAM - Statutory Framework for EYFS (2014)
- Prime Minister David Cameron speech (2008)
- Two different politicians wrote a book of Early
Intervention (2008) – Secretary of State of Work
and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith & MP Graham
Allen
- Children’s Minister, Sarah Theater
- HM Treasury
 Summary
There is a paradigm shift away from the failed policies of late
intervention, which have produced the catalogue of problems, to a
new approach of investment in early intervention.

Giving the children their essential social and emotional foundation

is not only right in principle, as recognition of their basic human
and legal rights, but also makes the best possible economic sense
for the country as a whole.
References
Allen G. (2011) Early Intervention: The next steps. An independent report to Her Majesty’s Government. London: HMSO.
Allen G. (2011) Early Intervention: Smart Investment, Massive Saving. An independent report to Her Majesty’s
Government. London: HMSO.
Field F. (2010) The Foundation Years: Preventing Poor Children Becoming Poor Adults. Report of the Independent Review
on Poverty and Life Chances, 2010. London: Cabinet Office.
Kingdon, J. (2003) Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies. New York: Longman.
Knill, C. and Tosun, J. (2012) Public policy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Knudsen, E, et.al, (2006) Economic, Neurobiological, and Behavioral Perspectives on Buildng America’s Future Workforce.
US: FNAS.
National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, (2007) The Timing and Quality of Early Experiences Combine to
Shape Brain Architecture: Working Paper No.5. US: Harvard University.
Perry BD (2002) Childhood experience and the expression of genetic potential: what childhood neglect tells us about
nature and nurture. Brain and Mind, 3: 79–100.
Shonkoff, J and Philips, D, (2000) From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development.