Early childhood education and care (ECEC) staff are central to promoting young children’s development, learning and well-being. ECEC staff work in teams and the staff roles included these teams vary both across countries and within countries, for instance related to the size and location of ECEC centres. Initial education and ongoing professional development of staff in different roles (e.g. teacher compared with assistant) also varies, with implications for children’s daily experiences in their ECEC settings. Creating staff teams with complementary skill sets and fostering collaborative learning among ECEC professionals are policy approaches that can make the most of these different training profiles. In addition, ensuring staff with specific training to work with children with special needs or those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds are present in centres with higher shares of these children can help increase equity in ECEC for all children.
