Launching her campaign, The Princess of Wales said that the early years ‘fundamentally shape our whole lives’.

Shaping Us was launched in to raise awareness of the unique importance of early childhood and change how people view those first crucial years of development at nursery.

Speaking on the campaign, The Princess of Wales stated:

“These are the most preventive years. By focusing our collective time, energy and resources to build a supportive, nurturing world around the youngest members of our society and those caring for them, we can make a huge difference to the health and happiness of generations to come.

“All of society has a role to play in this, even if you are not directly involved in a child’s life, because we are all responsible for building a more compassionate world in which our children can grow, learn and live.

“In these difficult times, it is more important than ever to help support parents and caregivers provide loving safe and secure homes for their babies and young children to survive.”

A 90 second video is then shown depicting how a girl’s development from birth to five is constantly shaped by her surroundings, environment and company.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance said:

“We welcome the Royal Foundation’s ‘Shaping us’ campaign and would like to thank The Princess of Wales for her unwavering commitment and dedication to raising awareness of the importance of the early years. 

“As this campaign shows, the first five years of a child’s life is absolutely pivotal to their future development and life chances, and the role of early education in this is crucial. And yet all too often over recent years, the early years has been de-prioritised when it comes to education policy – and crucially, funding – with a disproportionate focus placed on the later years of a child’s education and development. 

“As such, we hope that the next stage of The Princess’ campaign will prompt conversation – and more importantly, action – from both society and government when it comes to valuing the early years sector and the importance of early childhood.” 

Purnima Tanuku chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said: “The Princess of Wales has been a committed and powerful advocate for the importance of early years so it is fantastic to see the Royal Foundation continue this work with a campaign aimed at raising the profile of our crucial sector.

“The first five years count when it comes to children’s future opportunities but we know that only one in five adults appreciate the vital development that happens before children even start school. This campaign gives us all the opportunity to shout about the difference that investing in children’s early years can make.

“The research, evidence and impact of good practice is there for all to see. We now need the investment to follow so that early years professionals have the resources they need to support families and give every child the best possible start in life.”