Quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC): State of play in the EU Member States based on the European Quality Framework

The current NESET report provides an integrative overview of the state of play and reforms at EU level, in the different EU Member States across five quality areas of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). The European Quality Framework (EQF) developed in 2019, proposes a comprehensive framework to define structural high-quality ECEC in the areas of accessibility, staff, curricula, monitoring and evaluation, and governance and funding. The report addresses these areas, with a main focus on accessibility and workforce. 

The report is grounded in secondary data analysis, complemented by online interviews with key experts in the field. This approach enriched the data and allowed for a more comprehensive and critical analysis. Finally, the report provides recommendations for policymakers, formulated based on the findings.