EXCERPTS
European research has found that countries with the lowest levels of child poverty and the
highest levels of child wellbeing are defined by having universal, high quality and integrated
systems of Early Childhood Education and Care. The basis for this investment is a
recognition that high quality universal services are the best means to improve the lives of all children, with the understanding that some children and families will need additional support above and beyond that possible through universal provision.
The European countries that have blazed the trail for Scotland have done so using a
universalist, rights-based approach. This briefing should be read in conjunction with Children in Scotland’s special report on how integrated Early Childhood Education and Care can be achieved in Scotland and Early Years Briefing No. 6.
This briefing focuses on the legislative and investment approaches used to develop early
years provision in Slovenia and Norway, in order to inform the Scottish Government’s
consideration of legislation to ”increase childcare support in Scotland to match the best elsewhere in Europe.”