with an average of children per teaching staff in ecec programmes belgium was ranked above the average in the oecd where the average childrentoteaching staff ratio is oecd in terms of total expenditure on ecec belgium spent an equivalent of usd per child in compared to the average of usd across the oecd oecd the european commission among others has drawn attention to the importance of focussing not just on the quantity of places but also on the quality and adequacy of ecec provision in responding to the needs of an increasingly diversified population as shown in figures and belgium is among the countries offering the lowest studenttoteacher ratio and class size at the lower secondary education across countries participating in the oecd programme for international student assessment pisa