Expert to present to Council Adult and Children's Services Committee

6th November 2012

Leading expert to present to Council Adult and Children's Services Committee.

Highland Council's Adult and Children's Services Committee, will hear from a leading expert at its meeting on Wednesday 7 November, about the most critical years in any child or adult's development. The meeting will be webcast.

Dr Zeedyk is Honorary Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology at the University of Dundee, and she has worked closely with organisations across the UK to increase awareness about the impact of the decisions we make about the care of children. She presented evidence to the Scottish Parliament Finance Committee's review of preventative spend.

Dr Zeedyk's presentation will assist members in their planning for preventative spend in the early years. Preventative spend is intended to promote positive social outcomes for people, and to prevent negative outcomes. In the early years, it will involve support for parenting, and early intervention where children have difficulties.

This reflects increasing evidence from neurologists who study the brain, that child and adult development is significantly affected by attachment, play and the quality of the care they receive in the very earliest years. Indeed, the evidence suggests that the outcomes for any person through their life course, is often determined by the quality of their experiences before they are 3 years old.

Speaking ahead of the Committee meeting, Dr Zeedyk said: "I look forward to meeting with members of Highland Councillors. It is always very rewarding to work with elected members. I work with organisations in as many different sectors as possible to discover how we can best bring about our early years vision. My aim is to bring the science of the early years to as many people as possible. Every organisation can benefit from a fuller understanding of Early Years Development."

Councilor Linda Munro, Highland Council's Children's Champion said: "I would encourage people from all over Highland who have a professional interest in child development, and others who just want to know more about how a child develops, to watch the webcast of Dr Zeedyk's presentation. People will also be interested to read the Highland Council's proposals for preventative spend."

"Dr Zeedyk will speak about the growing evidence about the importance of early years brain development. By learning about children's early development, and about attachment disorders and what happens when a child is denied the opportunity to form an attachment, we will learn more about how we can better support all children. This is a great opportunity to showcase the good work that is going on in Highland. It's also an opportunity to have more people learn that it's cool to be with kids, and that parenthood matters."

Fuill agend for the committee can be found at -
http://www.highland.gov.uk/yourcouncil/committees/strategiccommittees/acs-comm/2012-11-07-acs-ag.htm