This report by Professor Susan Deacon is about children’s Early Years - why they matter and how we can improve them. But it is about more than that. It is about the kind of Scotland we want to live in. The kind of society we are and aspire to be. It is about what goes on in our homes, families and communities as well as what happens in our schools, nurseries and clinics. It is about what matters to us as human beings and what we can do to support one another – as individuals, as well as through our public services and professionals. It is also about Government, politics, public policy and public services – and how, with increasing pressures on the public purse we can try and do the rights things and do them well.