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Early childhood development

in Greece

70.9 per cent of children 0-3 years old did not receive any formal childcare; only 20.4 per cent received formal childcare for 30 hours or more per week (2022).
39.2 per cent (EU 47.4 per cent) of children 0-3 years are cared only by their parents, while 44.4 per cent (EU 22.7 per cent) participate in other, non-formal types of childcare (2022).
Only 9 per cent of Roma children up to 3 years old attend pre-school education (2021).
32 per cent of Roma children more than 3 years are in formal ECEC (2021).

Other

Roma children up to 3 years old residing in settlements of type I, II and III have lower rates of enrolment to pre-school education (7 per cent) compared to children residing in scattered houses (15 per cent) (2021).

Enabling Environment

Legislation, policy, resources, coordination, data

Early childhood development strategies are not comprehensively linked to healthcare and social services to ensure that measures and activities are holistic.
Lack of national standards regulating the running of both public and private nurseries, including a common curriculum.
Limited continuous professional development to enhance teachers’ skills, including through in-service training, reflective practice and on-site coaching.
Lack of a harmonized ratio of professionals and children based on studies and EU practices.

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Conduct a full sector review, including strengths, weaknesses and capacity gaps in access and quality of early childhood services.
Establish with involved actors comprehensive standards for service quality in nurseries, including standardized data collection processes and appropriate tools, which form the basis of quality assurance.
Secure sustainable funding for early childhood programs and services, recognizing the long-term benefits of investment in early development that address the specific needs of vulnerable populations, ensuring equitable access.
Expand the ‘harmonization of family and professional life’ programme to increase the number of families accessing services.
Provide continuous training of professionals and establish national ratio of professionals per number of children in nurseries.
Initiate policies that secure safe and clean environments, access to nutritious food, and adequate housing for every child.
Encourage urban planning that prioritizes safe play areas and green spaces accessible to all children.
Ensure that that all nurseries have appropriate outdoor spaces and that recreational activities are part of the curriculum.
Build the capacity within the early childhood development sector to engage with families and communities effectively in order to strengthen services, family practices and children’s learning and development.

Adequately staffed services, facilities, information, commodities

Public nurseries do not have the physical capacity to cover the demand and needs of all families.
Limited support services unclear accountabilities and referral pathways across the different sectors such as health, education, social services.
Absence of tools and methodologies for early identification of developmental issues and response.
Specialized care is mostly available in the private sector and is often accompanied by exorbitant costs, placing a significant financial burden on families.

38(j) Ensure the right of all children to rest and leisure and to engage in recreational activities and maintain a sufficient number of certified playgrounds for young children and spaces for adolescents.

Develop a results-based national programme with clear deliverables to enable broad engagement across industries to mobilize financial and in-kind support for children.

Financial access and social behavioural drivers

The public largely views early childhood services as a responsibility primarily of the family instead of the State.

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