Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to comment on “Early intervention for children with learning disabilities: making use of what we know.” Design/methodology/approach – Narrative review and discussion. Findings – The arguments presented by Nick Gore, Richard Hastings and Serena Brady are fully consistent with the broader scientific literature on prevention and the required future direction of English health policy. Originality value – This commentary places the arguments made by Gore et al. in a broader scientific and policy context.