Thrive at Five has established a new Scotland Startup Group to support the design and early development of our programme in Scotland. The group brings together academic experts in the early years and tackling child poverty, system leaders and CEOs from across the voluntary and community sector. Members will act as a critical friend throughout the 12 months, helping ensure the programme is rooted in robust evidence and well adapted to the legal, policy and delivery context in Scotland.
Members of the group include:
- Professor Aline Wendy Dunlop MBE, Emeritus Professor in the School of Education at the University of Strathclyde
- Dr Eileen Scott, Head of Public Health Science and Analytics at Public Health Scotland
- Glenn Carter, Head of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists Scotland
- Jacqueline Lamb, CEO of the Indigo Childcare Group
- Jean Carwood Edwards, former CEO of Early Years Scotland
- Professor John McKendrick, Professor in Social Justice at Glasgow Caledonian University
- Dr Leah Cronin, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Lead at NHS Ayrshire and Arran
- Merle Davies, previously Director for the Centre for Early Child Development
- Satwat Rehman, CEO of One Parent Families Scotland
Together they bring deep knowledge of early childhood development, child poverty, public health, service delivery and community centred practice.
The group met for the first time in Glasgow in October. Members reviewed Thrive at Five’s Theory of Change and endorsed proposals for measuring impact by combining health visitor data at 27 to 30 months and at four to five years with literacy and numeracy data collected in primary one. There was discussion about the importance of building on the strengths of Scottish early years policy and practice, including the recent passing of the UNCRC into Scots law, and the need to communicate our work in a way that resonates with families and practitioners working under significant pressure. Members also reflected on how best to bring people with lived experience into the governance of the programme.
The Scotland Startup Group will meet again in 2026 when we have secured a partner council. At that stage the group will help shape the discovery work that takes place in the first months of programme delivery. This will focus on understanding local strengths, opportunities and challenges, and will inform the development of the full programme plan.