Key Details
The OECD’s TALIS Starting Strong 2024 report examines how the organisation of early childhood education and care systems influences access, quality and equity for children under age three, highlighting the importance of ensuring that expanding participation is matched by consistent service quality across providers.
Key Area | Finding | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
ECEC Expansion | Participation in ECEC for children under age three has increased across many countries | Reflects growing recognition of the importance of early childhood development |
Access Gaps | Children from disadvantaged families remain less likely to participate | Risks widening developmental inequalities before formal schooling begins |
System Fragmentation | Provision is often divided across public, private, home-based and centre-based settings | Can create differences in quality, resources and learning experiences |
Quality Variation | Learning environments and service quality frequently vary across provider types | Children’s outcomes may depend on where they receive care |
Vulnerable Children | Disadvantaged and special-needs children are often concentrated in specific settings | Can reinforce existing social inequalities |
Resource Differences | Private providers often report stronger material and workforce resources than public settings | Resource disparities can influence service quality |
Home-Based Care | Home-based providers frequently face heavier workloads and fewer support staff | May affect educator well-being and quality of care |
Workforce Development | Professional development, coaching and collaborative learning improve quality | Staff capability is central to child-development outcomes |
Quality Assurance | Monitoring systems and targeted support can reduce disparities across providers | Helps ensure more equitable early-learning experiences |
Summary
Expanding Childcare Systems Must Deliver Quality and Equity, Not Just More Seats
The OECD report, Building Quality Education and Care for Children under Three, based on TALIS Starting Strong 2024 survey argues that as countries expand early childhood education and care (ECEC) for children under age three, policymakers must focus not only on increasing enrolment but also on ensuring consistent quality, adequate resources and equitable access. The report finds that fragmented childcare systems can create significant differences in children’s early learning experiences depending on the type of provider they attend.
Participation Is Rising, but Access Remains Unequal
Across participating countries, enrolment in ECEC services for children under age three has continued to expand, reflecting growing recognition of the role of early childhood care in supporting both child development and parental workforce participation. However, the report finds that children from disadvantaged households remain less likely to access formal childcare services, while unmet demand continues to exceed available capacity in many locations.
The findings suggest that expanding coverage alone may not guarantee equitable access unless barriers related to affordability, availability and social disadvantage are addressed simultaneously.
Fragmented Childcare Systems Often Produce Uneven Learning Experiences
A central finding of the report is that ECEC fragmentation can generate substantial variation in quality across different settings. Childcare services are frequently divided among public and private providers, home-based and centre-based care, and separate administrative systems serving different age groups.
While this diversity can increase parental choice and service availability, it can also lead to uneven quality standards, inconsistent regulatory oversight and differing learning environments. As a result, children may receive significantly different developmental experiences despite being enrolled within the same broader childcare system.
Resource Differences Shape Service Quality
The report highlights that staffing levels, material resources and working conditions vary considerably across provider types. In many participating systems, private providers report stronger workforce and infrastructure resources, while home-based settings often operate with fewer support staff and heavier workloads.
These differences influence the quality of interactions, learning opportunities and care environments available to young children. The OECD notes that resource disparities can become particularly significant when vulnerable children are concentrated in settings that already face staffing and capacity constraints.
Vulnerable Children Face Greater Risks of Unequal Outcomes
The survey finds that children from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special education needs are often overrepresented in specific childcare settings. Where these settings have weaker resources or poorer working conditions, fragmentation can reinforce existing inequalities rather than reduce them.
At the same time, the report identifies examples where targeted funding, specialised support services and quality-improvement programmes have helped mitigate these risks, demonstrating that fragmented systems can still deliver equitable outcomes when supported by appropriate policy interventions.
Workforce Development Emerges as a Key Quality Lever
The OECD identifies the early childhood workforce as one of the most important determinants of service quality. It argues that improving outcomes requires sustained investment in professional development, coaching, mentoring, collaborative learning networks and continuous quality-improvement systems.
As participation continues to expand, the report suggests that strengthening workforce capabilities may be as important as expanding physical infrastructure. Building high-quality ECEC systems increasingly depends on ensuring that all providers have access to the training, support and resources needed to deliver consistent early learning experiences.
What is ECEC Fragmentation?
ECEC fragmentation refers to the division of early childhood education and care services across different provider types, governance arrangements and service models. These may include public and private providers, home-based and centre-based settings, and separate systems for childcare and pre-primary education.
In India, fragmentation is reflected in the coexistence of Anganwadi centres, private preschools, daycare providers, NGO-run programmes and state-level delivery models, often operating under different regulatory and funding arrangements.
What is TALIS Starting Strong 2024?
TALIS Starting Strong 2024 is an OECD international survey that examines the quality, organisation and workforce conditions of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services for children under age three. Rather than measuring children’s learning outcomes directly, it focuses on the environments, staffing, resources and practices that shape early childhood development. The survey helps policymakers understand how childcare systems can improve quality, equity and access as participation expands.
Policy Relevance
Highlights the need to reduce quality disparities across Anganwadi centres, private preschools, daycare centres and other early-childhood providers, ensuring that children’s developmental outcomes do not depend primarily on provider type or household income.
Strengthens implementation priorities under NEP 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage, which seek to create more coherent early-childhood learning systems across India.
Supports greater coordination between the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Ministry of Education, particularly as early childhood care and foundational learning become increasingly interconnected.
Reinforces the importance of upgrading the Anganwadi workforce through continuous professional development, mentoring and coaching rather than relying solely on one-time training programmes.
Suggests that future investments under Poshan 2.0, Saksham Anganwadi, and related early-childhood initiatives should focus not only on infrastructure and enrolment but also on service quality, staffing and learning environments.
Highlights the need for stronger quality-assurance and monitoring systems capable of assessing developmental outcomes across different provider types and states.
Indicates that children from low-income households, remote regions and vulnerable communities may require targeted funding and support to prevent inequalities from being reproduced during the earliest years of development.
Supports India’s broader objective of increasing female labour-force participation, given the growing link between access to affordable, reliable and high-quality childcare and women’s employment opportunities.
Follow the Full Report Here: Building Quality Education and Care for Children under Three