The importance of early years education

International definitions vary, but there is general agreement that early childhood consists of the time from birth until at least entry into primary schooling, although a number of states include children up until the age of eight years in the definition. Early childhood services are also subject to variations in definition, and are often given the name Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services to reflect their holistic nature. The United Nations argues that 'ECEC services and programmes support children's survival, growth, development and learning - including health, nutrition and hygiene, and cognitive, social, emotional and physical development...' (UNESCO, 2010, p. 3). This is a broader view than that taken traditionally, where early childhood was often positioned as: "a contentious add-on to education, rather than an integral part of it; and even more so for childcare because it is intimately tied with cultural notions of women's roles and rights, as well as with views about the robustness of young children and what they might need." (Penn, 2009, p. 22)