Kate and Jill join forces to urge new deal for youngsters

THE Duchess of Cambridge and First Lady Jill Biden have written a joint article calling for a ‘fundamental shift’ in the way the US and Britain ‘approach the earliest years of life’.

Published on the website of US broadcaster CNN, it states: ‘If we care about how children perform at school, how they succeed in their careers... and about their lifelong mental and physical health, we have to care about how we are nurturing their brains, their experiences and relationships in the years before school.

‘The evidence from the UK and US and internationally is now overwhelming. Multiple studies show that it is these early years that really matter for lifelong outcomes.

‘It is time to put this evidence at the heart of how we rebuild with boldness and purpose from the pandemic.’

In the article, which is part of Kate’s work to improve children’s life chances, they added: ‘The two of us believe that early childhood care and education should be seen as among the defining, strategic issues of our time.’