Giving every child the best start in life

‘Giving every child the best start in life’ outlines how the government will improve child development and ensure that all children have the chance to achieve and thrive. 

This will be achieved by:

• improving family services, providing high quality support to parents and children from pregnancy to age 5
• making it easier and cheaper for families to access early education and care
• improving the quality of education and care that children receive in:
  • early years settings
  • childminders
  • reception classes

The early learning goals in the ‘Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework’ are used to assess whether children have a good level of development.

This command paper was laid in Parliament on 7 July 2025.