The Children of the 2020s Study: An overview of the first findings of a new birth cohort study on early childhood development.

Dr Laurel Fish & Dr Livia Bernardi

Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology University College London.

Summary

Evidence indicates substantial and growing disparities in educational attainment and data from a range of studies indicate that these inequalities are established very early in development, long before formal schooling begins. In scientific and policy terms, it is critical to identify malleable risk factors linked to these early inequalities to inform policy and intervention. The Children of the 2020s is a new nationally representative longitudinal birth cohort study of families in England UK, and is a collaboration between University College London, Ipsos, the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford and Birkbeck. It will examine how differences in the early life and home environment influence infant and child developmental competencies, including language, cognition and socio-emotional development. Fieldwork for the first wave of data collection took place between June and November 2022, where over 8,500 families were recruited into the study when their child was nine months old. These families will be followed annually up to when their child is five years. The talk will provide an overview of the study design, methodology,our plans for data sharing, and share early findings from the first wave of data collection.,