Help give all of Scotland’s babies a Fair Start in life

15th April 2021

Calling all health visitors in Scotland…sign up to join NSPCC Scotland’s hustings on 26 April (10:00-12:00) to give all of Scotland’s babies a Fair Start in life.

See their invite below:

What?

NSPCC Scotland, supported by Children in Scotland, are hosting a virtual hustings on Monday, 26 April, 10-12noon, focused on safeguarding and support in the early years.

The event will raise awareness of the distinct needs of babies and their families, as we emerge from the pandemic, with parliamentary candidates in advance of the Scottish elections.

The panel will include representatives from all of Scotland’s political parties, including the Minister for Children and Young People, Maree Todd.

They have also invited families, health visitors, midwives, social workers, early years staff, third sector partners, family nurse partnership teams and specialist perinatal and infant mental health services to raise issues from practice with political parties.

Why?

Babies need us to fight for them. They are a uniquely vulnerable group of children; they are completely dependent on adults for their care and protection, and cannot verbalise their needs or seek support.

Around 50, 000 babies will have been born in Scotland since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic[1], born into a society of heightened anxiety and stress. While we might think infants will be too young to remember, we must not overlook the impact the pandemic will have had on them and their families.[2]

There is extensive evidence showing early experiences have profound effects on lifelong development. Yet, last year in Scotland, around half of the children on the child protection register, and over a third of children coming into the care system, were younger than five years old[3].

The Promise[4] has as a key foundation the provision of better and more responsive scaffolding for families. Despite a decade of policy frameworks which recognise the importance of the early years, of early intervention and prevention[5], the scale of ambition is not matched by the scale of investment.

They believe getting it right for families in the early years is the most efficient and cost-effective way to realise Scotland’s long-held aspirations around equality and prevention.

Following incorporation of the UNCRC, they want to hear how political parties will deliver a rights-based approach to budget setting and decision making to ensure early years services are holistic, preventative and integrated to better support families.