illustration for the drivers of inequality

Driver Category 3.5

Unequal access to childhood development opportunities in the early years

This driver covers the important stage of the early years and access to appropriate nutrition, stimulation and nurture and the fact that a child’s social background can be an important determinant of cognitive development and ability to learn before starting formal schooling.

Guiding Questions

General questions

  • Does the government have a national policy and strategy regarding early childhood development?
  • What public policies and programmes are in existence in relation to early years’ education, health, social protection, child protection and in relation to aspects such as good parenting?
  • Is there adequate political support for early years’ interventions and for public spending on programmes that benefit and protect the young?
  • Does a system exist to provide accreditation to childcare providers, kindergartens, pre-schools etc. and to monitor standards?
  • Is the government’s vision to provide significant public childcare options or is childcare viewed as a private matter?
  • What is the nature of public debate in this area?
  • Is good quality, affordable childcare for all viewed as desirable, and as an effective inequality-reduction strategy, or an area where state intervention is unnecessary?

Childcare options

  • Are childcare options (for babies and children under 3) affordable, convenient and of sufficient quality?
  • Does the government offer any kind of financial support (e.g. voucher systems, or fully subsidised care for poor families, or through tax exemptions) to help families access childcare facilities or is childcare left entirely to the family to pay for at market rates?
  • Is there evidence that poor families are forced to select low quality childcare options?
  • Are there any programmes targeted specially at improving the health, learning and social and emotional development of young children from deprived areas?
  • Do any large employers offer childcare options (such as crèches on their premises)?

School-readiness programmes and early years education

  • What programmes exist to help develop school readiness (e.g. of children aged 3-6)?
  • Do children have access to pre-schools, pre-primary school or other ECE options established across the country?
  • What is the mix of provision between public and private providers?
  • What fee structures are in place for public and private providers?
  • Are any subsidies provided (e.g. amount of free hours) to enable higher attendance rates?
  • What modes of delivery of ECE are being used (expansion of primary system to provide pre-primary options for younger children, centre-based such as in ECD centres, family or community-based provision)?
  • What is the mix of provision between public and private providers? What fee structures are in place for public and private providers? Are any subsidies provided (e.g. amount of free hours) to enable higher attendance rates?
  • What fee structures are in place for public and private providers?
  • Are any subsidies provided (e.g. amount of free hours) to enable higher attendance rates?
  • What are the most urgent quality challenges in relation to early childhood education?
  • Are there clear standards in place around the qualifications necessary for staff working in crèches, community-based centres, pre-schools and pre-primary classrooms etc.?
  • Is there sufficient provision for (and investment in) training of teachers and caregivers?
  • Are appropriately designed curriculums used in ECE settings?
  • Is learning child-centred with an appropriate focus on learning through play? Are adequate play materials and equipment provided?
  • Are adequate play materials and equipment provided?
  • Is there an adequate quality assurance system and efforts to monitor standards within the classroom?

Parenting

  • Is there public recognition of the contribution of parenting to child well being?
  • What has been documented about the knowledge and practices of parents with regard to the stimulation and interaction necessary to promote positive cognitive and socio-emotional development of young children?
  • Are fathers included in parenting training programmes?
  • Is positive fatherhood a recognised concept that is fully integrated into parenting programme content?

Nutrition

  • Are children in ECD centres, community-based childcare centres, pre-primary classrooms or pre-schools provided with appropriate nutrition?
  • Do parents have to pay for food or provide the food themselves?
  • Are there any publicly funded feeding programmes to ensure access to appropriate nutrition in centres and in the early years of primary school?
  • Are programmes of sufficient coverage and quality, universal and/or properly targeted?

Social protection and early childhood development

  • Is the social protection system designed to sufficiently support early childhood development?
  • Is there financial support available to subsidise childcare costs and to enable children from poor families to benefit from high quality childcare and access early childhood education options?
  • Does the public works programme provide childcare options for mothers of young children who need to access public works programmes?

Budget and costs

  • What is the level of public investment in early childhood development?
  • Is budget information available on the different programmes including nutrition interventions and expenditure in areas such as early childhood education?
  • What proportion of the most relevant programmes is funded by the government and how much is reliant on donors?
  • What is spent on early childhood education as a share of the education budget?
  • Is spending increasing – including on a per student/capita basis - or is it under pressure?
  • What are the different levels of expenditure per child on ECE in different regions in the country?
  • Is there pronounced inequality between locations?
  • If ECE coverage is low and significant scale-up needed, have options been properly costed for consideration by the relevant ministry?

Indicators

Potential indicators to monitor the drivers of inequalities in this main driver category

  • % of national budget / GDP spend on provision of childcare services; amount of budget spent on childcare subsidies
  • % of parents earnings spent on childcare or ECE services (disaggregated by relevant characteristics)
  • % of education budget spent on early childhood education (pre-schools; pre-primary schools)
  • Amount spent per child at pre-primary level compared to primary and secondary levels
  • Amount spent per child at pre-primary level (per region)
  • Number of children enrolled in public pre-schools/kindergartens vs enrolled in private facilities (national and per region)
  • Ratio of (qualified) caregivers to children in early childhood education centres (nationally and per region; in different ECE settings; in public and private systems)
  • Numbers attending parenting education programmes (mothers/fathers and disaggregated by relevant characteristics)
  • Ratio of community health workers to population (national and per region)

Candidate Policies

To see related Candidate Policies in this main driver category please click here.