Foreword
The Government is committed to improving the lives of children, young
people and their families. Every Child Matters sets out the five outcomes
that we have acknowledged are key to well-being in childhood and later life
- being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive
contribution and achieving economic well-being.
We recognise that it will be hard to ensure the achievement of this ambi-
tion for some children because of their vulnerability and poor prospects for
the future unless we can provide timely help. In order to give every child the
opportunity to develop to the best of their potential, we need to ensure that
all staffworking with children fully understand the influences on children's
development and the needs of those children whose development has been
impaired or impeded in some way.
The Government has recognised that we require the development of a
competent, confident and valued workforce, as a critical part of its reform
agenda to improve children's outcomes.
A fundamental starting point for improvement is that all staff know
how to assess, plan and provide services that will give vulnerable children
the opportunity to become resilient adults.
It is evident that every step along the way in growing up is important for
each individual child and young person. That is why the Department for
Education and Skills commissioned The Open University and its partners to
produce resource materials about children's development. It is intended that
they should provide a robust understanding of child development to help

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