The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood has announced a new partnership with Scouts to launch a Shaping Us blanket badge, marking a further practical rollout of Princess Kate’s early childhood work.
The announcement was made via a joint social media post from the Centre for Early Childhood and Scouts, alongside an image of the new embroidered badge.
The post stated: “We’re excited to announce the Shaping Us blanket badge, created in partnership between Scouts and The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.”
The statement continued: “Based on the Shaping Us Framework, the badge recognises volunteers, parents, carers, and young people who are helping others build the social and emotional skills they need to thrive.”
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The Shaping Us framework sits at the core of Princess Kate’s early years initiative and is intended to increase understanding of how early childhood experiences shape mental health, emotional resilience, relationships, and behaviour later in life.
The Centre for Early Childhood was established as part of The Royal Foundation and has increasingly focused on partnerships that embed early years principles into everyday settings.
Scouts, one of the UK’s largest youth organisations, said the badge will be worn on Scout blankets and will recognise engagement with the Shaping Us framework.
The initiative is aimed not only at children and young people, but also at adults supporting them, including volunteers, parents, and carers.
Princess Kate's foundation joins forces with Scouts for important update
|GETTY
The collaboration represents a shift away from awareness campaigns alone, instead translating early childhood research into a tangible reward within a nationwide organisation with deep community reach.
Scout groups operate across the UK, working with young people from a wide range of backgrounds.
The announcement was met with an immediate positive reaction online. On Instagram, one user commented: “How special to earn one of these as a scout,” while others responded with applause and heart emojis.
Several commenters praised the collaboration between Scouts and the Centre for Early Childhood, describing it as meaningful and long overdue.
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The news also prompted discussion on X, where royal watchers highlighted the significance of linking early childhood development with youth organisations.
One user wrote: “YES! This is the collaboration I want!!!! Helping the phrase ‘it takes a village’ and ensuring children are instilled the values at a young age too.”
The same post added: “I really hope there’s an engagement for it or some bigger promotion,” reflecting hopes that the initiative could be formally highlighted through a future public appearance.
Another royal-focused account responded by writing: “Defo an engagement coming!” while a further reply said: “I pray!” accompanied by a skull emoji, signalling both enthusiasm and impatience among supporters.
Princess Kate on a Scouts engagement in 2022
|PA
No public engagement has been announced in connection with the badge.
However, the partnership aligns closely with Princess Kate’s long-term approach to her early childhood work, which has prioritised collaboration with organisations that already operate at the community level rather than launching standalone programmes.
The Shaping Us framework has previously been supported through business taskforces, public-facing campaigns, and educational resources. The Scouts badge represents one of the clearest examples yet of the framework being integrated into an existing national structure.
Further details on how Scout groups will deliver the framework, or when the badge will be available to earn, have not yet been released.
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