Michael Pettavel: Why 'Shaping us' makes for reassuring reading...

Currently there's a strange juxtaposition happening in the world. With the news that America enters new territory by electing the first ever felon in their history, the sudden change in direction is startling. Pugnacious, bullish (I did spell that right) and hitting the headlines daily. A swathe of new executive orders aimed at crushing the debilitating ‘woke’ revolution and firmly imprinting a ‘no-nonsense’, binary zeitgeist on an unsuspecting world. Inclusion, tolerance and empathy are out, the race to the bottom may have begun in earnest.

You could almost say: ‘Modern society is complex. It can feel like the world is filled with mistrust and misunderstanding, leaving many people feeling isolated and vulnerable during difficult times.’ The words of Kate Windsor, no less. Pushing a different agenda through the Royal Foundation's ‘Shaping Us’ framework, it made for reassuring reading. It aims to prioritise the earliest years of our lives and showcase the connection between personal, social and emotional learning and mental wellbeing, collating well-regarded research and carrying some weighty backing. There is nothing to disagree with here, in fact this is what we have always aspired to in the early years.