Businesses urged to support young families and boost economy – Princess of Wales's taskforce

Prioritising early childhood for a happier, healthier society sets out how a greater focus on early childhood would create a happier and more productive workforce, and transform the health and wellbeing of the UK economy and society for generations to come.

It calls on businesses to invest in supporting families with young children by providing flexible working hours and supporting families with childcare challenges, such as offering childcare benefits packages.

Alongside the launch of the report, the Taskforce of eight leading businesses including IKEA and Deloitte, is investing in new initiatives, including funding for early years apprenticeships and leadership programmes; increased support for baby banks and free LEGO® Education Emotions resources for early years providers.

The taskforce, launched by the Princess of Wales last March, sets out critical role that businesses can play in this ‘transformative opportunity’.

It estimates savings of £12.2bn from equipping people with improved social and emotional skills in early childhood; £16.1bn from reducing the need to spend public funds on remedial steps for adverse childhood experiences and £17.2bn from supporting parents and caregivers of under-fives who work.

Some of the most vulnerable groups stand to benefit the most, including the 36 percent of children under five years of age who are living in relative poverty, and 59 percent of parents who have left or are leaving their job due to personal mental health and wellbeing-related issues.

The report acknowledges the economic impact of un‑ and underemployment of parents and caregivers of under‑fives, citing it as ‘attributable to a lack of access to suitable early care and education services’ and describing it as ‘one of the key elements of the total economic opportunity for the UK’.

It says that the impact of better supporting women with dependent children under five to work their preferred hours is estimated to be ‘approximately £17.2 billion in value added each year’.

Business leaders from the Royal Foundation Business Taskforce at a meeting in January

As part of the ‘first tranche of action’, taskforce members have committed to the following:

• The Co-operative Group has created an early childhood fund as part of its apprenticeship levy share scheme, committing to raising £5 million over the next five years and creating more than 600 apprenticeships. NatWest Group, Unilever UK, Ikea UK and Ireland, and Iceland Foods have joined The Co-op in sharing a combined £1million over the next 12 months.
• Deloitte is focusing its ongoing investment in Teach First to include the early years sector for the first time, supporting 366 early years professionals in 2024.
• NatWest Group is extending its lending target for the childcare sector to £100 million, launching an early years accreditation scheme to its staff and producing a financial toolkit for childcare providers to help them grow and succeed.
• IKEA UK and Ireland is expanding its contribution of support, design expertise and products for babies and young children to six new locations across the UK to help families with young children experiencing the greatest disadvantage and The Co-operative group is supporting the Baby Bank Alliance by promoting its work to its five million member-owners. 
• The LEGO Group is donating 3,000 LEGO® Education Build Me “Emotions” sets, supported by training materials, to early years providers in the UK, helping children to explore emotions in a fun and engaging way.
• Iceland Foods is providing learning, awareness and support in all 1,000 Iceland and The Food Warehouse stores by featuring emoji posters at a child friendly height - a practical tool to help customers with young children and to create a space of understanding and support in stores.

A joint statement from eight founding taskforce CEOs calls on ‘businesses of all sizes, across the UK, to join us and help build a healthy, happy society for everyone’.

Christian Guy, executive director of The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, said, ‘Today marks another milestone moment in our work to make early childhood a priority across society. Some of the most significant businesses in Britain have joined forces to deliver a major rallying call to their fellow business leaders to prioritise young children and those who care for them – for the good of our society and economy.

‘There is such enormous potential. We urge all businesses, no matter what their shape or size, to join us – the eight founding members, the Centre for Early Childhood, and The Princess - to help transform the way our country supports the vital early years.’

Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said that it was ‘extremely positive’ to see the businesses in this taskforce come together and highlight ‘just how far reaching the benefits of early education truly are’.  

He adds, ‘On top of this, we welcome the initial steps that businesses within the taskforce have taken to ensure that early education is prioritised both within the workplace and the economy and we hope it inspires others to follow suit.’

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said, 'We are delighted that the Royal Foundation has got so many employers and organisations on board to emphasise and prioritise the crucial nature of early childhood.

'Measures in the report show some innovative approaches to supporting the sector from big employers and companies such as NatWest and Co-Operative including apprenticeship levy contributions that could help to bolster the workforce who are instrumental in educating and supporting the development of our youngest children.' 

• A new business-focused area on The Centre for Early Childhood’s website contains practical information and resources.