Early investment is acknowledged to have high social rates of return and help prevent more costly interventions later in life (OECD, 2009 and 201 lc, Heckman and Masterov, 2007, Heckman et al., The family environment plays a key role in a range of child outcomes and it is important that public services should seek to account for “market failures” (e.g. parents under-investing in their children). Investing early in children helps contain inequality between rich and poor with positive short and long-term consequences.