Improving the quality of early childhood education and care for all children

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Improving the quality of early childhood
education and care for all children

• Nora Milotaypolicy officerSchool education,
   Comenius DG Education and CultureEuropean
  Commission

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Policy framework smart, sustainable and
inclusive growth

• Headline targets in the EU 2020 strategy
• The share of early school leavers should be under
  10
• 20 million less people should be at risk of
  poverty
• At least 40 of the younger generation should
  have a tertiary degree
• Youth on the move

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Policy Framework
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(No Transcript)
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Equitable access

• The Barcelona targets (2002)encouraging Member
  States to supply full-day places by 2010 to
  formal childcare arrangements to
• at least 90 of children aged three to the
  compulsory school age and
• to at least 33 of children under three years of
  age.
• European benchmark
• by 2020 at least 95 of children between years of
  4 year old and the age of starting compulsory
  primary education should participate in ECEC

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Quality on the agenda since 2006

• Efficiency and equity in European education and
  training systems (2006)
• Improving competences for the 21st century An
  agenda for European cooperation on schools (2008)
• An updated strategic framework for European
  cooperation in education and training (2008)

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Focus on quality improvement

• Quantity without quality is of little merit
• What does quality mean?
• Possible areas for European cooperation might be
  
• Accessibility/affordability
• Quality
• Curriculum
• Staff
• Governance integration of care and education

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Forthcoming

• Presidency Conference
• Ensuring early acquisition of literacy study on
  parental support
• Study on competence requirements of staff in
  early childhood education and care

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Tools

• Reflections
• eg Communications on University reform,
  Efficiency/Equity, Adult Education, Schools
• Exchanges of good practice
• Expert / practitioner networks Peer Learning
  Activities Conferences
• Data and studies
• eg Eurydice, Cedefop, Benchmarks and Indicators,
  cooperation with other bodies eg OECD, UNICEF