Kate calls for ‘action at every level’ to rebalance society’s social skills

The Princess of Wales stressed the importance of early years development as she delivered the keynote speech at the Shaping Us Symposium.

The Princess of Wales speaking at the Shaping Us National Symposium (Richard Pohle/The Times/PA) (PA Wire)

The Princess of Wales has called for “action at every level” to help to rebalance and restore society’s social and emotional skills as her early childhood foundation released new research on the issue.

In a keynote speech at a symposium convened by Kate to discuss the findings, the future Queen said the skills are the “human wiring we need”.

She stressed the importance of the early years development of children and said those she had met at a “crisis point” in their lives had said that, for others to avoid their journey, a safe and loving childhood is needed.

Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair was invited to the event and took part in a Q&A with his former Commons dispatch box opponent ex-Tory leader Lord Hague to discuss the importance of early years development.

Kate’s Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood Kensington Palace has conducted a global listening exercise, involving experts from 21 countries, with the results described as “almost a manifesto for social and emotional skills”, by the centre’s director, Christian Guy.

Speaking at London’s Design Museum, which hosted the event, the princess said: “Nurturing skills that enable us to know ourselves, manage our emotions, focus our thoughts, communicate with others, foster positive relationships, and explore the world are just as valuable to our long-term success as reading, writing or arithmetic.

“These skills are the bedrock, not only for helping children to thrive, but also for restoring, protecting and investing in humankind.

“So, to rebalance and restore calls for new thinking and action at every level. Because the future for our children is something we all build together, through the actions each of us takes every day.”

Kate launched her early years Shaping Us campaign in January, which aims to highlight the significance of the formative years of a child’s life.

The long-term project is said to be her “life’s work”, which she hopes will influence attitudes towards children in the early years period of their lives.

Before her speech, she briefly met TV presenter Fearne Cotton, a Shaping Us champion, who hosted the event, and she confessed to being “nervous” but “excited” ahead of her address.

She also revealed that her youngest child, Prince Louis, is being taught in an environment at Lambrook School in Berkshire that nurtures his wellbeing.

Kate told Cotton: “Louis’ class, they came back with a feelings wheel, it’s really good… these are five or six-year-olds, and going with names or pictures of a colour that represents how they feel that day, so there is a real keenness in school particularly to get involved in conversations.”

In her address, Kate said she wants the new research to “discover how we help people to grow, think, and behave throughout life”, uniting different groups from health systems to businesses and scientists to consider a question.

“What are the key skills we develop in early childhood, but continue to grow beyond it, that help establish the core foundations for life and allow us to go on to thrive as adults?” she asked.

“The task was to find a common bridge and distil a set of core skills that could be equally applied to children and adults.”

Sir Tony and Lord Hague were questioned on stage by Cotton, and the former prime minister said: “I don’t think there should be any great political divide about the importance of early years; wherever you sit in the political spectrum, you should accept it, and people do.”

He added: “The question is what’s the best way of getting the right policy in place that this can be a reality? And, by the way, those countries that have focused a lot on early education, particularly some of the Nordic countries, you can see the results there in later educational attainment.”

In a lighter moment, the former Conservative Party leader joked about Sir Tony’s flirtation with pop music with his band Ugly Rumours while at university.

Lord Hague, chairman of trustees for the Prince and Princess of Wales’s Royal Foundation, who resigned as Tory leader after Sir Tony led the Labour Party to a 2001 general election victory, quipped: “If you had become a rock star, I would have had such an easier career.”