At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, despite the one-hour’s outdoor exercise permitted by the British Government and the best efforts of Joe Wicks, many families struggled to get out and about, let alone provide nutritious meals and keep up with dental appointments and routine vaccinations. Without access to protective factors such as early childhood services, the physical development of many young children was affected.
An evidence review by the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) of the impact of the pandemic on physical development in the early years (see Further information) found, among other things:
Writing for Nursery World, the head of early childhood education and care at the EIF, Max Stanford, warned that for the youngest children, the pandemic has created such significant changes to their living situation that it poses a ‘meaningful risk to their ability to grow up healthy and to reach their full potential’.
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