ABSTRACT
The experience of early year's practitioners and what they can offer to the children in their care is influenced by many different factors outside the immediate work setting. From being ignored by governments over many years, childcare for young children, including in the first three years, has become a hot political issue. Early childhood policy develops within a historical, cultural and ideological framework which changes over time. The present shape of early year's provision in England was set nearly fifty years ago by the report of that committee, Children and their Primary Schools. Tax and welfare systems in France are designed to encourage people to have children and to provide resources to families. In Nordic countries, childcare is regarded as a matter of equal opportunities for women and a citizen right. The Childcare Act 2006 obliges local authorities in England and Wales to ensure that there are sufficient childcare places to meet the needs of working parents.
