The early years agenda in Scotland's Parliament has advanced rapidly in recent years.  Early childhood is now recognised as the formative time in a person's life for future health and well-being. Yet while policies such as 'Getting it Right for Every Child' have received wide acclaim for their focus on early childhood, there are concerns for their effective implementation in practice, which may not support the natural abilities of younger children.

This programme aimed to develop philosophical, scientific, and practical understanding of the needs and virtues of babies and young children in their families and communities. It drew on multi-disciplinary academic scholarship to support and improve practices in all early years agencies in Scotland and for all our youngest children.

Based on new philosophical and psychological research about the nature of early childhood, the seminar series addressed the importance of relations between younger children and their social, artificial and natural environments, and drew implications for multi-agency work in the early years sector.  It aimed to stimulate cross-disciplinary discussion helping agencies and institutions working with the early years in Scotland to compare their practices. By clarifying the nature of children's development it sought to encourage common understanding and coherence of purposes across the bodies committed to strengthening services for early years.