Another step forward for the business case in prioritising early childhood

The business breakfast brought together a range of organisations, including the Henderson Group, one of Northern Irelands biggest employers, the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce, Chartered Accountants Northern Ireland and the Institute of Directors. 

Christian Guy, Executive Director of The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, laid out Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales’ vision for a healthier, happier society transformed by our collective approach to early childhood.  

Christian said: “The science is increasingly telling us is that first five years of our lives are so fundamental to our future, both as individuals and as a society...we must recognise their importance and prioritise early childhood to ensure future generations are equipped with the vital life skills they need to thrive.  

“Since we published our business case for investing in early childhood, we have been working with companies of all shapes and sizes to talk about how they can get involved and play their part. It was a pleasure to be in Belfast talking to people from across the Northern Irish economy, as we look to mobilise this movement right across the UK.” 

Christian set out the economic incentive for business investment, alongside the social arguments, including a potential £45.5billion added value to the economy, a more productive workforce today, and a future workforce equipped with the skills needed to navigate the complexity and challenges we know they will face.   

The group heard from Belfast Healthy Cities, the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland about the challenges and opportunities in Northern Ireland and the vital importance of early intervention and support for families with babies and young children. 

Cat McCusker, Regional Market Leader and Education Consulting Lead for PWC in Northern Ireland, made clear that businesses have a significant role to play in transforming the way the whole of society approaches early childhood.  

Cat said: “Early years is such a critical issue for Northern Ireland and there has been some fabulous work done to date. But the time is now for us as a region to really lead on that, bring together and collaborate across the business sector to make a real difference. It is an exciting time, but we must not lose momentum, and we must seize this opportunity.” 

She also highlighted the importance of small and medium sized businesses in this movement, referring to them as “the heart of the Northern Ireland economy.”  There was widespread recognition that, although it may be more difficult for smaller organisations to offer the sort of employee benefits some of the larger corporates do, there are still many ways in which they can both contribute to and benefit from this work. 

Further events are planned in Scotland and Wales in the new year.