Early years work can feel like flying a plane while you build it. There is so much advice, and not all of it agrees. Today, 6th May 2026, The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood launched Foundations for Life, a clear, evidence-led guide for anyone supporting babies, young children and their families. If you have been exploring ideas on prioritising social and emotional skills, this guide brings that thinking together in one practical place.
It explains why social and emotional development matters from the first months of life and how warm, responsive relationships shape lifelong health, wellbeing and learning. It also sits on a new online resource hub so you can find trusted, useful tools without the noise.
Key Takeaways
- Foundations for Life is a new, practical guide focused on social and emotional development from birth.
- Launched on 6th May 2026 by The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, it is grounded in science and real practice.
- The Princess of Wales emphasises the power of early relationships and environments on lifelong outcomes.
- The Centre’s new research, The First Five Years: A Parent Perspective, shows parents want clear, trusted guidance.
- A new online hub brings the Centre’s evidence-based resources together for easy access.
- Universities and colleges across the UK pledge to embed this knowledge into training and practice.
- Foundations for Life aims to place social and emotional development alongside physical and cognitive development.
What Foundations for Life Means For You
Foundations for Life is a guide to social and emotional development, created with early years experts, practitioners and researchers. It sets out what these skills are, how they emerge, and how daily interactions support them. Think of it as a map and a toolkit in one.
There is a strong focus on relationships. Babies learn to trust, manage stress and feel safe when adults respond warmly and consistently. In simple terms, love teaches the brain how to wire itself. That is powerful science, translated into things we can do today.
Why Social And Emotional Development Matters
The guide highlights just how much the first years shape the future. As The Princess of Wales writes, “While our society often focuses on academic or physical milestones, research consistently shows that it is our earliest relationships, experiences and environments which lay the foundations for our future health and happiness. The quality of our connections – with ourselves, with others and with the world around us – shapes how safe we feel, how we relate, and how we process experiences throughout our lives.”
When we support emotions and relationships early on, we do more than reduce distress today. We build skills for learning, behaviour, health and work later. It is like planting a tree in good soil. The roots spread, and strength follows.
Grounded In Science And Practice
Foundations for Life blends research with practical insight. During today’s launch, Her Royal Highness visited the University of East London to meet families, researchers and students. At the Institute for the Science of Early Years and Youth, the team showed how wearable technology and brain recording are used to study stress in different home environments. This work helps us see what supports calm, connection and healthy development for children and their caregivers.
That mix of lab insight and lived experience runs through the guide. You get clear principles, relatable examples and ideas you can use in everyday settings, from health visits to nurseries to family support sessions.
Inside The New Online Resource Hub
Alongside Foundations for Life, the Centre has launched an online resource hub that brings together its full suite of evidence-based materials. The aim is simple. Make the best guidance easy to find and easy to use across health, education and social care. You can expect concise summaries, visuals, training aids and links to key studies, all designed to support consistent, high-quality practice.
The First Five Years: What Parents Are Saying
The launch coincides with new research from the Centre, The First Five Years: A Parent Perspective. Parents say they value time with trusted, knowledgeable practitioners and want clear, authoritative information from formal sources. When support is limited or brief, many turn to friends, family or the internet. That often leads to overwhelm, just when reassurance and consistency would help most.
This is where Foundations for Life fits in. It gives professionals a shared language and structure, so the guidance families receive is steady and clear. Think fewer mixed messages and more calm, confident support.
How Universities And Colleges Are Responding
The launch also marks a sector-wide step forward. Vice Chancellors and Further Education College Chief Executives across the UK have pledged to embed Foundations for Life within teaching, training and professional practice. The aim is to ensure a consistent foundation of knowledge for everyone entering the workforce, right across the early years system.
Leaders have set out a shared commitment. Here is what they are moving to put in place:
- Embedding social and emotional development within curricula, workforce development and professional training pathways
- Championing the earliest years as foundational to lifelong outcomes, ensuring this is reflected across institutions and networks
- Translating evidence into action, strengthening the connection between research, education and practice
- Elevating the early years workforce, recognising the expertise, value and impact of those working directly with young children and families
- Strengthening cross-sector collaboration with health, education and community systems to support children and families
- Advocating for sustained focus and investment in early childhood, recognising its long-term societal and economic benefits
During her visit, The Princess met a group of university and college leaders who have already begun integrating the guidance. Students on early years courses shared how they are using the Centre’s resources to teach responsive, relationship-based practice.
A Quick Comparison Of Who Gets What From The Guide
| Audience | What Foundations for Life Offers | How To Use It Today |
| Practitioners | Clear principles, observation cues and conversation prompts for families | Build a short check-in routine on feelings, regulation and connection |
| Leaders & Trainers | Shared language, training aids and assessment ideas for quality improvement | Align induction and CPD with the guide’s core concepts and routines |
| Parents & Carers | Simple explanations of stress, safety and responsive care | Try one small daily ritual like name-and-tame feelings before bedtime |
| Students | Evidence summaries linked to real settings and placements | Map a case study to the guide’s principles and reflect with a mentor |
Practical Ways To Use Foundations for Life Today
Start with a quick team huddle. Pick one idea from the guide, such as reading early cues or shaping soothing routines, and test it for two weeks. Keep it small and doable, like a two-minute regulation check after transitions. Tiny habits stack up.
If you lead a setting, braid the guide into what you already do. Link it to your safeguarding training, your key person system and your family engagement plan. Update staff handbooks with the shared language so everyone explains ideas in the same simple way. Consistency builds trust.
For health visitors and community practitioners, use the guide to frame brief conversations. Parents told the Centre they want clear, steady advice. Offer one practice to try, one reason why it helps and one way to notice progress. That keeps things calm when time is short.
For parents and carers, think of Foundations for Life as a friendly co-pilot. Try naming feelings out loud, follow your baby’s lead during play, and keep a steady rhythm to the day. When life gets busy, even 90 seconds of full, warm attention can reset the mood for both of you.
Real-World Scenarios
Nursery example: A toddler finds drop-off hard. Staff use the guide’s ideas on connection before separation. One key person does a short, predictable routine with a favourite song, a cuddle with permission and a visual cue card. Within two weeks, tears fall away faster and play starts sooner.
Health visiting example: A parent worries their baby is “clingy.” Using the guide, the practitioner explains how seeking comfort is a sign of secure attachment in progress. They model a calm response, share a simple feeding-and-rest rhythm and agree a check-in next visit. The parent leaves with relief, not guilt.
College training example: Students practise observation with Foundations for Life prompts. They notice how a gentle voice, soft eye contact and waiting for a child’s response change the whole interaction. The lesson lands because it is felt, not just read.
Frequently Asked Questions About Foundations for Life
Who is it for? Anyone working with babies, young children and families across health, education and social care. Parents and carers will also find it helpful.
What makes it different? It puts social and emotional development on equal footing with physical and cognitive growth. It blends science with everyday practice and gives a shared language for teams and partners.
Where can I find it? On the Centre for Early Childhood’s online resource hub, which hosts the full set of evidence-based materials for professionals and practitioners.
How will it be embedded? The Centre will work with leaders across the early years system in the months ahead to weave this knowledge into education, training and professional practice. Universities and colleges have publicly committed to this work.
Join The Movement For Early Relationships
Foundations for Life is a timely step toward calmer, kinder, more consistent early years support. Explore the guide with your team, test one small change, and share what works. When we bring science and love together, children thrive. Let’s build that future, one warm connection at a time.
You can find the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood Foundation for Life guidance here: https://centreforearlychildhood.org/helps-resources/resource-hub/all-resources/foundations-for-life-a-guide-to-social-and-emotional-development/
And the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood resources hub here: https://centreforearlychildhood.org/help-resources/resource-hub/all-resources/