Early learning key to realising improvements in children’s mental health and wellbeing

Prof Jon Jureidini, child psychiatrist and research leader of the Critical and Ethical Mental Health group.

Earlier this year, announcements on childcare in NSW, Victoria and at the federal level, represented an unprecedented investment in early learning. However, in the public debate, they have been seen almost entirely through an economic and workforce participation lens.

This ignores what will undoubtedly be the biggest dividend for our nation: direct benefits for our children, and in particular their health, well-being and ability to thrive.

If the states and federal government are able to work together on the nation-building reform of an early learning system that is truly universal and seamlessly connected with our health and education systems, it will plug a gaping hole in our national mental health strategy. A hole that few people understand that early learning can fill.

It was only late last year that the Federal Government’s National Mental Health Commission released its long-awaited National Children’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy. This world-first Strategy aims to provide “a framework to guide the development of a comprehensive, integrated system of services to maintain and support the mental health and wellbeing of children aged 0-12 and their families” (Hunt, 2021).

There was something missing. While the strategy recognises the importance of support for families, it does not adequately address social determinants of health and the health-promoting role of education.

Social disadvantage – financial, accommodation and food insecurity, lack of community resources, transport, vocation and education and inequality -  are powerful determinants of children’s mental health and wellbeing. A 2016 study of low-income families provided assistance with rent assistance and counselling to support them moving out of high-poverty neighbourhoods (Moving To Opportunity) benefited children’s wellbeing. Clearly, addressing social determinants can have a powerful impact.

Despite this, social determinants appear only eight times in the Strategy document (with four of those mentions being in footnotes). The only substantial mention is an unelaborated acknowledgment that ‘Increasing attention on social determinants is expected to reduce the number of children and families vulnerable to poor mental health [p6]’.

This is followed by a disavowal of responsibility – “addressing all social determinants of child mental health and wellbeing is beyond the scope of this strategy” [p41] –  and a wish that someone else should do something about them – “they should remain key considerations as part of community-driven approaches”  [p41].

Unfortunately passing acknowledgement of social determinants is what we’ve come to expect in documents pertaining to mental health. It is time they formed the heart of such strategies, rather than being  acknowledged and put aside.

Second, the Strategy lacks sufficient recognition of the positive effects on mental health of good experience in early learning, pre-school and school. To focus on early childhood education and care (ECEC), the strategy recognises that early childhood learning is a good thing, and currently some children miss out on it. It notes “early childhood education can be an avenue to address social disadvantage, including as a way of helping vulnerable children reach their full potential” (p76).

There is a paragraph that highlights “lifelong benefits of early childhood education … with flow on effects on learning and academic progress, school completion, and employment and income outcomes … increased productivity and reduced need for spending on remedial education, justice and health services. There are also immediate economic benefits from parents, particularly mothers, being able to increase their participation in the workforce” (p70).

This is fine as far as it goes, but it doesn’t go far enough. Instead of elaborating on ways this vital role for ECEC can be strengthened,  the emphasis is instead on ECEC as a vehicle for identifying children with mental health problems by implementing “professional learning courses/modules specifically designed for educators that focus on key mental health and wellbeing topics” (p76); and  promoting “supports and services to children and families”, and implementing “evidence-based wellbeing programs” (p74).

The next National Children’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy needs to address what the current Strategy is silent on – the need to properly fund and support ECEC to do what matters, which is to provide a safe and stimulating environment in which children can play, develop relationships, and grow. It has already been established that a positive relationship with an adult and good experience in care and educational environments have a protective effect against damage done by adverse childhood experiences. It’s time we also recognised that good educators and good ECEC do much more – they facilitate support during the critical 0-5 years when children need it the most, helping them to have the best possible start in life.

National Cabinet, including those states that are yet to move on early learning, the federal government and our national mental health strategists must re-examine early childhood education as the key to realising improvements in children’s mental health and wellbeing.

References

Australian Government. 2021. "The National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy". Australian Government. https://www.mentalhealthcommission.gov.au/getmedia/5b7112be-6402-4b23-9….

Chetty, Raj, Nathaniel Hendren, and Lawrence F. Katz. 2016. "The Effects of Exposure to Better Neighborhoods on Children: New Evidence from the Moving to Opportunity Experiment." American Economic Review, 106 (4): 855-902.DOI: 10.1257/aer.20150572

Ministers of the Education Portfolio, 24 Jun 2022. "Government extends childcare support services". https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/government-extends-childcare-s…;

Minister for Health and Aged Care, The Hon Greg Hunt. 12 Oct 2021. "Australia launches world’s first children’s mental health and wellbeing strategy". https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-greg-hunt-mp/media/australi…

Premier of Victoria, 16 Jun 2022. "Best Start, Best Life: Early Childhood Education That Works". https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/best-start-best-life-early-childhood-edu…

The Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Education and Early Learning, Minister for Women; NSW Government, 14 Jun 2022. "Unprecedented childcare boost for families". https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/budget-2022-affordable-childcare