The document discusses the UK government's increasing focus on early childhood development and parenting in social policy under the coalition government since 2010. It notes initiatives like the establishment of an early years education program called "The Foundation Years" covering conception to age 5, as well as the expansion of parenting programs and regular assessment of preschoolers' social-emotional development. The document also critiques this approach as reflecting a 19th century view of blaming the poor for poverty, and argues it represents an unprecedented medicalization and invasion of family privacy.

1. Prejudice masquerading as research: brain science and British social policy Dr Ellie Lee, Reader in Social Policy, University of Kent [email_address]

2. The new politics of the brain