Commission staff working document - Accompanying document to the Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Implementation of the Barcelona objectives concerning childcare facilities for pre-school-age children {COM(2008) 638}
Date: 2008-10-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Union for the Mediterranean, child protection, primary education, schooling, secondary education

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 3.10.2008 
SEC(2008) 2597 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

accompanying document to the 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE 
COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE 
COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Implementation of the Barcelona objectives 
concerning childcare facilities for pre-school-age children 

{COM(2008) 638} 

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1. 

THE  BARCELONA  TARGETS  AND  AVAILABILITY  OF  CHILDCARE  SERVICES  AT  THE 
EU-LEVEL 

The  first  part  of  this  statistical  annex  focuses  on  the  Barcelona  targets  and 
availability of childcare services across the EU Member States. Tables 1 and Graphs 
1 and 2  provide harmonised figures on the situation in each country with regard to 
the Barcelona targets. This introductory text gives details of how the indicators were 
defined and the corresponding data collected and how they should be interpreted.  

a) Barcelona targets and the indicators developed 

The importance of ensuring suitable childcare provision as an essential step towards 
achieving equal opportunities in employment between women and men is recognised 
explicitly  in  the  European  Employment  Strategy,  notably  in  the  Guidelines  for  the 
employment  policies  of  the  Member  States  (Guideline  18  –  promote  a  lifecycle 
approach to work, notably by means of “better reconciliation of work and private life 
and the  provision of accessible and affordable childcare facilities”). In 2002, at the 
Barcelona summit, Member States adopted the following targets:  

Member States should remove disincentives to female labour force participation and 
strive,  taking  into  account  the  demand  for  child  care  services  and  in  line  with  the 
national patterns of childcare provision, to provide childcare by 2010 to: 

•  at least 90% of children between 3 years old and the mandatory school age and  

•  at least 33% of children under 3 years of age.  

In  collaboration  with  the  Member  States  (Employment  Committee),  since  2002  the 
European  Commission  has  developed  a  methodology  to  collect  data  to  measure 
progress  towards these targets on a basis of  a  harmonised  EU  basis.  The  following 
indicators were agreed in 2004 by the Employment Committee and the EU Survey on 
Income and Living conditions (EU-SILC) was chosen to be the European statistical 
source for measuring them :  

Children cared for (by formal arrangements other than by the family) up to 30 hours 
a usual week / 30 hours or more a usual week as a proportion of all children in the 
same age group. Breakdown by:  

•  Children aged under 3 (0-2 years);  

•  Children aged between 3 years and the mandatory school age; 

•  Children  aged  between  mandatory  school  age  and  12  years  in  compulsory 

primary (or secondary) education.  

The third age group (school-going children) is not covered by the Barcelona targets. 
This statistical annex is therefore limited to the first two age groups. 

b) Definition of formal arrangements 

The  Employment  Committee  has  also  defined  which  childcare  services  are  to  be 
considered “formal arrangements” and, as such, to be counted towards the Barcelona 
targets. “Formal arrangements” means EU-SILC reply categories 1 to 4 (pre-school 
or  equivalent,  compulsory  education,  centre-based  services  outside  school  hours,  a 
collective crèche or another day-care centre, including family day-care, professional 
certified  childminders).  Therefore,  formal  arrangements  include  all  kinds  of  care 

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organised and/or controlled by a structure (whether public or private). Care provided 
by  childminders  without  any  structure  between  the  carer  and  the  parents  (direct 
arrangements) has been excluded from the definition of “formal care” in order to take 
count only childcare recognised as fulfilling certain quality criteria. As regards the 3 
to compulsory schooling age group, it has to be noted that pre-school arrangements 
(that concern a large proportion of children) are included under the heading of formal 
arrangements.  

c) Interpretation of coverage rates 

The  coverage  rates  indicated  below  are  calculated  as  the  number  of  children  cared 
for  by formal  arrangements as a proportion of all children of the same age group. 
They measure the actual use of existing childcare provision in the EU for the two age 
groups  and  not  directly  the  provision  by  Member  States  for  instance  in  terms  of 
number of childcare places.  

When  interpreting  the  coverage  rate's  statistics  provided  below,  account  has  to  be 
taken  of  the  fact  that  the  use  of  childcare  facilities  does  not  directly  answer  the 
question  of  whether  demand  is  fully  met.  The  actual  demand  for  childcare  can  be 
influenced  by  the  level  of  unemployment,  the  use  of  informal  arrangements  inside 
the  family  or  the  possibilities  offered  by  the  maternity/parental  leave  system.  In 
addition, some children do not use child care since the parent is on maternity/parental 
leave  for  a  younger  child.  Therefore,  for  some  countries,  a  relatively  low  coverage 
rate  might  indicate  not  a  shortage  but  an  alternative  way  of  looking  after  young 
children for instance under the form of extended parental leave options. However, for 
most countries, the influence of parental leave systems on the coverage rate is quite 
limited,  notably  due  to  the  limited  period  during  which  the  leave  replaces  a 
significant share of the parent’s income (less than six months in most countries).  

d) Number of hours 

From  the  EU-SILC  data,  it  is  possible  to  calculate  coverage  rates  by  formal  care 
arrangements. However, these coverage rates can differ, depending on the number of 
hours  per  week  during  which  children  are  cared  for.  The  indicators  adopted  by  the 
Employment  Committee  are  broken  down  into  two  main  categories:  1  to  29  hours 
and 30 hours and more. It is important to draw this distinction, since care provided 
for less than 30 hours per week does not necessarily enable the parents to work full-
time.  Moreover,  care  provided  only  five  hours  per  week  should  not  be  put  on  the 
same  footing  as  care  provided  full-time  (for  instance,  40  hours  per  week).  The 
figures in the tables and graphs below are therefore broken down by number of hours 
in order to have a detailed view on the situation.  

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Table 1: Provision of childcare in European countries in 2006. 

Children  cared  for  (by  formal  arrangements  other  than  by  the  family)  up  to  30  hours  / 
30 hours or more per usual week as a proportion of all children in the same age group 

0-2 years  

(Up to 3 years) 

3 years – mandatory 

school age 

1 – 29 
hours 

30 hours 
or more 

Total  

1 – 29 
hours 

30 hours 
or more 

Total  

Admission 
age to 
mandatory 
school 

(pre-primary 
included 

14  

17  

 : 

1  

7  

11  

6  

13  

2  

20  

14  

10  

7  

2  

0  

14  

2  

5  

41  

3  

0  

1  

: 

3  

12 

23 

: 

1 

66 

7 

12 

5 

8 

19 

17 

16 

18 

14 

4 

17 

6 

3 

4 

1 

2 

32 

: 

26 

26 

40 

: 

2 

73 

18 

18 

18 

10 

39 

31 

26 

25 

16 

4 

31 

8 

8 

45 

4 

2 

33 

: 

29 

44  

36  

 : 

28  

16  

66  

7  

80  

41  

47  

52  

24  

50  

4  

9  

42  

21  

32  

82  

55  

7  

9  

 : 

15  

40 

62 

 : 

39 

80 

27 

78 

13 

20 

44 

42 

66 

37 

56 

47 

16 

58 

25 

7 

16 

21 

66 

 : 

66 

84 

98 

: 

67 

96 

93 

85 

93 

61 

91 

94 

90 

87 

60 

56 

58 

79 

57 

89 

71 

28 

75 

: 

81 

- 

6 

7 

6 

7 

6 

7 

6 

6 

6 

6 

6 

6 

5 

7 

4 

6 

5 

5 

6 

6 

6 

7 

6 

Member 
State 

EU-25 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

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SK 

FI 

SE 

UK 

1  

5  

17  

28  

4 

21 

27 

5 

5 

26 

44 

33 

10  

21  

34  

65  

63 

56 

58 

24 

73 

77 

92 

89 

6 

7 

7 

5 

Source: Eurostat – EU-SILC 2006 - Provisional data for BE, DE, EL, FR, IE, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, PL, PT, SE, SK and UK  

Notes:  Child  age  is  calculated  at  the  date  of  the  interview,  except  for  IE  and  FI  where  age  is  calculated  at  31  December  2005.  Some 
countries, like BE, did not collect data for children 12 years old on the date of the interview; CY, LV, PT and SK: no information collected 
for  children  born  between  31  December  2005  and  the  date  of  the  interview;  salary  replacement  for  parental  leave  in  SK:  55%;  FR:  care 
provided by 'assistantes maternelles' directly paid by the parents, without any organised structure between them, is not included but will be 
in the future (reference year 2007) in order to give a better view of the total number of children covered by formal childcare structures. 

Table 1 shows the proportion of all children in the two age groups defined in the Barcelona 
targets  cared  for  under  formal  arrangements  in  2006.  These  coverage  rates  are  also  broken 
down by the number of hours per week for which care is provided.  

For  instance,  on  average  26%  of  the  children  under  3  in  the  EU  are  cared  for  under  formal 
arrangements  (the  target  is  33%).  In  addition,  14%  of  the  children  under  3  use  such  formal 
arrangements for less than 30 hours a week. In the other age group (children aged between 3 
and the compulsory schooling age), 84% of the children in the EU are cared for under formal 
arrangements  (the  target  is  90%).  Some  44%  of  the  children  in  this  age  group  use  such 
arrangements for less than 30 hours a week.  

These figures are provided for all the Member States (except BG and RO for which they will 
be  available  from  the  reference  year  2007)  and  show  the  wide  differences  existing  in  the 
coverage  rate  across  EU  Member  States,  including  in  the  number  of  hours  children  are 
cared for.  

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Graph 1 : Proportion of children up to 3 years cared for by formal arrangements, up to 30 
hours / 30 hours or more per usual week 

30 hours and more

less than 30 hours

%

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

DK NL SE BE ES PT UK FR LU SI

FI

IT EU-
25

CY EE DE IE LV EL HU MT SK LT AT PL CZ

Source: Eurostat, EU-SILC 2006, Provisional data 

Graph 2 : Proportion of children (3 years to mandatory schooling age) cared for by formal 
arrangements, up to 30 hours / 30 hours or more per usual week 

30 hours and more

less than 30 hours

%

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

BE DK FR DE IE SE ES IT UK NL CY EE EU-
25

SI HU FI PT SK AT CZ EL LV LU MT LT PL

Source: Eurostat, EU-SILC 2006, Provisional data 

Graph  1  shows  the  proportion  of  all  children  under  3  cared  for  under  formal 
arrangements in 2006. The coverage rates are broken down by the number of hours during 
which  care  is  provided  (more  or  less  than  30  hours  per  week).  This  graph  shows  the  wide 
differences  in  the  coverage  rate  across  EU  Member  States.  The  distribution  of  children  by 
number of hours also varies to a large extent across countries.  

Graph 2 provides the same data for the other age group defined in the Barcelona targets (from 
3 to mandatory schooling age).  

2. 

OTHER STATISTICAL INFORMATION ON EMPLOYMENT AND CHILD CARE SERVICES 

Graph 3 shows the impact of parenthood on the employment rate of women and men that is to 
say  the  difference  (in  percentage  points)  between  the  average  employment  rate  of  persons 

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aged 25 to 49 with at least one child under 12 minus the average employment rate of persons 
without  any  children  under  12.  The  impact  of  parenthood  on  employment  is  negative  for 
women,  both  as  an  EU  average  (-12.4  points)  and  in  almost  every  country,  whereas  it  is 
positive  for  men  (+7.3  points  on  average).  There  are  big  differences  between  EU  Member 
States  and  there  is  a  link  between  the  availability  of  childcare  services  and  the  impact  of 
parenthood on the employment rates.  

Graph 3 : Employment impact of parenthood for women and men (aged 25-49) in 2007 
difference in percentage points in em ploym ent rates w ith presence of a child under 12 and w ithout the 
presence of any children 

men

women

CZ HU SK IE MT EE UK DE AT LU EU
27

LV

FI BG ES PL

FR IT

EL NL RO LT BE CY PT

SI

i

s
t
n
o
p
e
g
a
t
n
e
c
r
e
p

15

10

5

0

-5

-10

-15

-20

-25

-30

-35

Source: Eurostat, EU-LFS 2007, Provisional data. SE, DK: no data available.  

The indicator is calculated as the average employment rate for persons with at least one child under 12 minus the average employment rate of 
persons without any children under 12.  

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Graph 4 shows public spending on childcare and early education services as a percentage of 
GDP  in  2003.  These  are  OECD  estimates  (Source:  Social  Expenditure  Database)  and 
therefore  do  not  cover  all  EU  Member  States.  This  graph  shows  the  differences  across  EU 
Member States in the share of GDP allocated to childcare and early education services.  

Graph 4 : Public spending on childcare and early education services, 
per cent of GDP, 2003 (OECD)

Childcare-care

Pre-primary education

%

2.0

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

IS DK FI

SE FR NO LU HU PT BE AT UK SK

IT CZ ES NL PL EL DE IE

Source: OECD (2007), Social Expenditure database 1980-2003 

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Graph 5 shows the estimated net childcare costs for a dual-earner family, as a percentage of 
net  family  income,  in  2004.  Net  childcare  costs  are  calculated  as  childcare  fees  (for  two 
children  aged  2  and  3)  minus  tax  reductions,  childcare  benefits/rebates  and  other  benefits. 
These data were calculated by the OECD and therefore do not cover all EU Member States. 
This  graph  shows  the  differences  across  EU  Member  States  in  the  net  costs  of  childcare 
services for parents.  

Graph 5 : Net childcare costs for a dual-earner fam ily (w ith full-tim e earnings of 167% of 
the average w age) in % of fam ily net incom e, 2004 (OECD) 

%

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

BE

PT

PL

EL

LU

SE

HU

FI

CZ

DK

SK

DE

FR

NL

AT

IE

UK

Source: OECD (2007), Babies and Bosses, calculations based on OECD (2007), Benefits and Wages. 

The average wage is understood as the earnings of an average worker (see OECD (2007), Taxing wages, 2005-06) 

Net  childcare  costs  are  calculated  as  childcare  fees  minus  tax  reductions,  childcare  benefits/rebates  and  other  benefits.  For  detailed 
definitions, see OECD (2007), Babies and Bosses and OECD (2007), Benefits and Wages.  

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Table 2: Qualifications of certified childcare workers and main place of work 

Main type of staff 

Initial training requirements 

Age  Main place of work 

Continuous training 

Child/staff ratio 

Erzieherinnen, 
Kindergartenpädagoginnen  
Kinderverzorgster/Puéricultri
ce 

Five-year vocational secondary 

0-5 

Krippen and Hort, Kindergarten 

Three-year 
secondary 

post-16 

vocational 

0-3  

Kinderdagverblijf/Crèches 
assistant in école maternelle) 

(or 

Funding  by  provinces;  3-5  days 
per year 

8.7 

7.0  

Austria 

Belgium  

Czech 
Republic 

Detska sestra 

Four-year secondary nursing school 

0-3 

Crèche 

Denmark  

Paedagog 

Finland  

France  

(social 

Sosionomi 
pedagogues), 
Lähihoitaja (practical nurses) 
Puéricultrices 
Éducateurs 
enfants 

jeunes 

de 

Germany  

Kinderpflegerinnen 

Hungary  

Gondozó (childcare worker) 

Three-  to  five-year  vocational,  or 
tertiary  education  (depending  on 
prior experience) 

0-5 

Three-year secondary vocational 

0-6 

care, 

social 

Educational, 
special needs 
institutions (including day care) 
Päiväkoti(children’s  day  care 
centre), 
Avoin päiväkoti 

+ 

Nurse/mid-wife 
one-year 
specialisation  27-month  post-Bac  in 
training centre 
Two-year 
training 
Three-year 
vocational 
certificate 

post-secondary 
training  or  specialist 

secondary 

vocational 

0-3 
0-6 

Crèches/assistant in école 
maternelle 

0-6 

Kindergarten 

0-3 

Bölcsöde (for children < three) 

Ireland  

Childcarer/child minder 

Wide variation 

0-6 

Childcare centres 

Italy  

Educatrice 

Secondary vocational diploma 

0-3 

Asili nido 

Netherlands   Leidster kinder-centra 

Two-year post-18 training 

0-4 

Kinderopvang 

Portugal  

Educadora de infância 

Four-year university or polytechnic 

0-6 

Crèches, ATL 

Voluntary  –  offered  by  regional 
centres 

Funding 
municipalities  

decentralised 

to 

3.3 (0-2 years), 
7.2 (3-5 years) 

Municipalities have to provide 3-
10 days of 
annual training 

4.0 (0-3 years), 
7.0 (3+ years) 

5.0 (0-2 years), 
8.0 (2-3 years) 

6.0 

3.0 (> 1), 
6.0 (2-3 years) 

Municipality  or  director/inspector 
decides 

7  

Funding 
municipalities  

decentralised 

to 

4 (1 year), 
5 (2 years), 
6 (3 years)  

regional 

Offered  by 
teacher 
centres  and  universities  to  all 
teachers 
Funding 
municipalities 

decentralised 

to 

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5.5 

3 (> 2 years), 
4 (2-3 years), 
8 (3-5 years) 

Sweden  

Barnskötare 

Two-year post-16 secondary 

United 
Kingdom 

Trained  nursery 
Nursery nurse 

teacher, 

Two-year post-16 secondary 

0-7 

3-
11, 
0-5 

Source: OECD, Babies and Bosses - 2007 

Oppen Förskola, Fritidshem 

Nurseries 
assistant) 

(or 

pre-school 

Limited for day-care workers 

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Table 3: Qualifications of pre-school teachers, main place of work and child/teacher ratio 

Main type of staff 

Initial training requirements 

Age   Main place of work 

Continuous training 

Child/teacher 
ratio (% male) 

Austria 

Belgium 

Czech 
Republic 

Erzieherinnen, 
Kindergartenpädagoginnen 
Kleuteronderwijzer(es)/ 
Institutrice de maternelle 

Ucitel materske skoly  

Denmark  

Paedagog  

Five-year vocational secondary 

0-5 

– 

pedagogical 

Three-year 
tertiary 
Four-year 
pedagogical 
tertiary 
Three- to five-year vocational or 
tertiary education 
(depending on prior experience) 

secondary 
three-year 

or 

Finland  

Lastentarhanopettaja 
(kindergarten teachers) 

3-4-5-year  university  or  3-  to  5-
year polytechnic 

0-7 

Krippen and Hort, 
Kindergarten 
Kleuterschool/École 
maternelle 

Provincial funding: 3-5 days per year 

17.0 (0.8%)  

Funding decentralised to schools 

16.1 (1.6%)  

2.5-6 

3-6 

Materská skola 

0-10 

Educational, social care, 
special needs institutions 
(including day care) 
6-vuotiaiden esiopetus 
(pre-school class 
as well as kindergarten) 

Funding decentralised to municipalities 

13.4 (0.3%) 

6.6 (16% 
– 2001 data)  

Funding decentralised to municipalities 

12.5 (3.1%) 

France  

Professeurs d’école  

Germany  

Erzieherinnen  

Greece 

Four-year university education + 
vocational training 
Three-year 
vocational training 
+ one year internship 

secondary 

2-6 

École maternelle 

0-6 

Kindergarten 

Hungary  

Pedagogue  

Three-year tertiary degree 

0-7 

Óvoda (kindergarten 
for children 3-7) 

Ireland  

Teacher  

Three-year tertiary degree 

4-12 

Schools 

Four-year tertiary degree 

3-6 

Scuola materna 

Municipality 
decides 

or 

director/inspector 

Three-year  vocational  higher 
education 
Four-year 
polytechnic 

university 

or 

4-12 

Bassischool 

Funding decentralised to municipalities 

0-6 

Jardim de infância 

Offered by regional teacher centres 
and universities to all teachers 

19.3 (19%) 

13.9 (1.7%) 

12.5 (0.6%) 

10.7 (0.2%) 

13.9 (7.7%) 

12.4 (0.4%) 

(1.7%) 

15.4 (1.8%) 

14.1 (8.7%) 

Italy  

Luxembourg 

Insegnante 
materna  

di 

scuola 

Netherlands   Leraar basisonderwijs  

Portugal  

Educadora de infância  

Spain 

Sweden  

United 
Kingdom 

Förskollärare, 
Fritidspedagog  
Public school teacher, 
Head Start teacher 

Three-year university 

0-7 

Förskoleclass, Förskola 

Funding decentralised to municipalities 

11.2 

Four-year  university,  CDA  = 
one-year voc. tertiary 

3-5 

Most  authorities 
number of hours per year 

require  a  certain 

14.5 (8.4%) 

Source: OECD, Babies and Bosses – 2007 

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