We were delighted to welcome HRH The Princess of Wales to Leeds as she visited Leeds Market as part of the launch of The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood’s ‘Shaping Us’ campaign.
Her Royal Highness was in Leeds to launch the campaign – a city that has the ambition to be the best place in the UK for children and young people to grow up in. The city launched Child Friendly Leeds in 2012 with the belief that by investing in and supporting children, young people and their families, the whole city will see immediate and longer-term social and economic benefits.
During her visit, Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales enjoyed a market tour and spoke to traders and members of the public about early childhood. We hope you enjoy these pictures. The Princess of Wales is welcomed to Leeds by the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Ed Anderson CBE, The Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Robert W Gettings MBE JP, Mason Hicks, Children’s Mayor of Leeds, and Deputy Leader of Council and Executive Member for Economy, Culture and Education, Councillor Jonathan Pryor.
To mark the launch of #ShapingUs, The Princess of Wales brought the Shaping Us campaign to Kirkgate Market in Leeds, where she spoke to vendors and the public about their experience of early childhood, and what Shaping Us means to them. pic.twitter.com/ALvmKNpKJN
— The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood (@Earlychildhood) January 31, 2023
Her Royal Highness then visited the University of Leeds, where she joined students on the Childhood Studies degree programme. Childhood Studies places childhood at the centre of study and uses a multidisciplinary lens to gain a holistic view of the child and childhood. Students move on to a range of careers following graduation, for example social work, early years settings, therapeutic professions, the civil service, and the charity sector.
Students at the University of Leeds have the opportunity to take ‘Discovery modules’ outside of their degree programme and therefore some students present will be undertaking undergraduate degrees in other subjects, for example in education, psychology and sociology. The Princess joined lecture on the “Psychological Approaches to Understanding and Supporting Children’s Learning” module.
This is a second-year module where students examine current understandings of children’s learning and development, including attachment theory. The module covers key areas of cognitive development as well as social and emotional aspects of learning and examines these within a range of social contexts including learning through play.
Chatting early childhood at @UniversityLeeds #ShapingUs is all about the role our first five years play in making us who we are. Students here are exploring just that on the innovative Childhood Studies programme, focusing on early childhood development. pic.twitter.com/xKkP3RILYx
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) January 31, 2023
Her Royal Highness then sat down with a group of students to discuss the “Shaping Us” campaign, how it overlaps with the degree they are undertaking and their perspectives on its potential impact for society. HRH The Princess of Wales said:
“The way we develop, through our experiences, relationships, and surroundings during our early childhood, fundamentally shapes our whole lives. It affects everything from our ability to form relationships and thrive at work, to our mental and physical well-being as adults and the way we parent our own children.
“These are the most preventative 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 thrive.”
“Shaping Us” is a new long-term campaign from The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, spearheaded by The Princess of Wales, which aims to transform the issue from one of scientific interest to one of the most strategically important topics of our time. “It is essential, to not only understand the unique importance of our earliest years, but to know what we can all do to help raise future generations of happy, healthy adults.”
The 90-second claymation film shows how a little girl named Layla develops from pregnancy to age five and how she is shaped by her interactions with the people and environment around her.
“The early years are not simply about how we raise our children. They are about the society we will become.”
— The Princess of Wales
Our early childhoods, the time from pregnancy to five, fundamentally shape our whole lives. Through research, campaigns and collaboration we’re working to change the way we think and act on the early years so that together we can build a happier, healthier, more nurturing world www.centreforearlychildhood.org
