According to the Scottish Government’s Early Years Framework “the early years provide the first and best opportunity to set children off on the right trajectory and reduce the need for later interventions that are more costly in both financial and social terms”. We strongly support the need for early years interventions as advocated by Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer Sir Harry Burns.

Tackling school exclusion should also be a key priority, as it represents one of the strongest indicators for the likelihood of ending up in custody. For example, Apex Scotland runs an Inclusion Unit at Dunfermline High School that has reduced school exclusions by over 70%.