This event took place on Wednesday 8 May. You can watch the recording below.

Disadvantage gaps emerge early and persist. The different types of disadvantages children face are key to understanding childcare needs and yet have remained relatively understudied. A new report from Nesta and the University of Oxford provides evidence on the relationship between different forms of early life disadvantage – economic and non-economic – children's cognitive and socio-emotional development and the impact of early education and care.

Sarah Cattan, Director of Nesta’s fairer start mission, was in conversation with to Professor Edward Melhuish, co-author of our new report, to explore the relationship between early life disadvantage and children's cognitive and socio-emotional development, and reflect on the impact of early education and care.

Why you should watch the recording

This recording is for anyone interested in how we can improve childcare services and tackle inequalities in the early years – whether you work in childcare, government, think tanks or are a researcher specialised in early years.

The opinions expressed in this event recording are those of the speakers. For more information, view our full statement on external contributors.