European Trade Union Committee for Education

Eurydice has published a new Report on Early Childhood Education and Care Systems in Europe. The report provides national information sheets on the current situation of early childhood education policies in 28 EU Member States and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Turkey.

Focusing on developments in 2014 and 2015, the national information sheets provide information on the main elements of the organisation on national systems in each country surveyed. This includes information on country by country early childhood education structure and provision, the maximum number of children per member of staff/group, educational guidelines, fees for full-time provision and current reforms undergoing, as well as access issues such as age range for place guarantee and participation rates and fees. For example, in Slovenia, public early childhood education institutions foresee fees to access, and only 4.4% of children can attend early childhood education for free. Yet, in the French community of Belgium, Luxemburg and Poland, children aged over 2½ and 3 years old can attend pre-primary education for free, but parents are expected to contribute to the cost of meals and of any additional hours of provision.

Download here the full Eurydice Report: Early Childhood Education and Care Systems in Europe: National Information Sheets – 2014/15.