High-quality services are essential to improve education outcomes and to give a fair start to all pupils, especially those coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. For this reason, the European Pillar of Social Rights underscores that children have the right to affordable early childhood education and good quality care.

The recommendation establishes a framework to:

• Develop a common understanding across the EU of what constitutes good quality service provision with regard to early childhood education and care. This in turn will support national reforms and promote social inclusion by facilitating the exchange of experience and best practices.        
• Support EU Member States in their efforts to improve access to and the quality of their early childhood education and care systems. This includes making EU funding available for improvements to the availability and quality of services, and reviewing benchmarks and targets.