The Princess of Wales visits the University of East London as education leaders commit to embedding Foundations for Life.

To mark the launch of Foundations for Life: A Guide to Social and Emotional Development, Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales visited the University of East London to meet families, researchers and students, alongside leaders in further and higher education from across the UK.

During the visit, The Princess met representatives from a group of University and Further Education College leaders, who have committed to embedding the new guide within their teaching, training and professional practice. By doing so, they aim to strengthen understanding of social and emotional development across early years education and help ensure that those entering the workforce share a consistent foundation of knowledge.

The Princess met families with babies and young children to discuss new research from The Centre, The First Five Years: A Parent Perspective. The research highlights that parents value opportunities to speak with knowledgeable, trusted practitioners and want clear, authoritative information from formal sources, particularly at a time when reassurance and consistency matter most.

Her Royal Highness also visited the University of East London’s Institute for the Science of Early Years and Youth to see how the University’s researchers use pioneering, state‑of‑the‑art wearable technology and brain‑recording techniques are being used to study how the diverse early living environments and relationships experienced by babies influence early stress, both for children themselves and for their parents and caregivers.

The Princess met students on early years courses to hear how social and emotional development is taught in practice, including through the use of resources developed by the Centre for Early Childhood. These resources support a shared, accessible understanding of how warm, loving and responsive relationships can lay strong foundations for children’s future health and wellbeing.

During the visit, Her Royal Highness later joined Vice Chancellors and Further Education College Chief Executives who have publicly committed to embedding this foundational knowledge into early years training. By ensuring the next generation of the early years workforce enters practice with a strong understanding of social and emotional development, there is an opportunity to place this knowledge on an equal footing with physical and cognitive development.

The visit underscored the Centre for Early Childhood’s ambition to work closely with leaders across the early years system to embed this understanding into education, training and professional development, helping to create the conditions in which love can flourish, and children can thrive.