Publications & Reports
Browse editions of our journal, Early Childhood Matters, and our Early Childhood in Focus series of briefing notes, along with other selected publications and reports. All are free to download or read online.
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty: Whole Family Approach
This new report from the Bernard van Leer Foundation and Ascend at The Aspen Institute develops a “two generation” approach to reducing poverty and improving child development by improving services… Read more
Early Childhood Matters 2016
The 2016 edition of Early Childhood Matters features contributions from UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake; WHO Assistant Director General Flavia Bustreo; Alice Albright and colleagues at the Global Partnership for… Read more
Annual Report 2015
This edition of the Bernard van Leer Foundation's Annual Report shares highlights from our work in 2015 and explains the thought processes that led us to the three new solution… Read more
The State of Young Children in Israel 2015
Prepared by the Israel National Council for the Child, this report presents data on children aged 0-6 in Israel - such as parental religion, poverty rates, kindergarten attendance, immunisation, and… Read more
Invest in young children
This report summarises a two-day national conference held in Gopalpur in Odisha, India, in January 2016. Policy-makers, researchers and practitioners discussed strategies to scale up the implementation of mother tongue… Read more
A good start: advances in early childhood development
A special issue to mark the 50th anniversary of the Bernard van Leer Foundation's first grant in early childhood, this edition of ECM surveys the state of the early childhood… Read more
Counting on Quality: Measuring and Improving Quality in Early Childhood Environments
This is a report on the International Consultation convened in Leiden, the Netherlands, in September 2014. To protect children’s rights and promote their development, quality in early childhood settings is… Read more
Small Children, Big Cities: Impact through design intervention
This is a report on the national conference ‘Small Children, Big Cities: Building Smart Child-Friendly Cities for 21st-century India’, held on 28 and 29 November 2014 in New Delhi, India. Read more
Annual Report 2014
As the Bernard van Leer Foundation approaches the halfway point of its ten-year strategic plan, the Annual Report for 2014 shares facts, figures, lessons learned and stories detailing the progress… Read more
Small children, big cities
With the world rapidly urbanising, more and more childhoods are being lived in big cities. This ECM explores issues ranging from playground design, "public parenting", and children's voices in urban… Read more