European Commission Thematic Group on ECEC Quality (2014), European Quality Framework: Research Evidence, Document presented at the Conference of the Greek EU Presidency in Athens (19-20 VI 2014)

The document is a consensus on ECEC quality that involved 25 EU countries. Diversity and inclusion play a crucial role in it. The document aims to support Member States in their efforts to improve access to and quality of their early childhood education and care systems.

The document states that diversity is a reality in our services today, and that we should value it by investing in competent staff within competent systems.

In particular, the quality framework identified 5 key components of a qualitative system:• access to early childhood education and care;• training and working conditions of staff in charge of early childhood education and care;• definition of appropriate curricula and governance;• funding;• monitoring and evaluation of systems.

The Quality Framework already supported reforms in many countries and helped improving the offer of early childhood education and care.

More specifically, the policy document underlines the importance of investing in initial and in-service training with a focus on reflective and relational competences, within an educare holistic approach. This is especially important because we live in a super-diverse society, in which standard solutions to specific situations don’t exist, and ongoing reflection and contextualization are needed.

Focus of the publication:

- ECEC quality;

- staff competences;

- inclusive ECEC