Publications & Reports

Browse editions of our journal, Early Childhood Matters, and our Early Childhood in Focus series, along with other selected publications and reports. All are free to download or read online.

Playground ideas for 0-3 years

Playground ideas for 0-3 years

Available in English, Turkish and Portuguese as part of the Istanbul95 programme, this new guide shares practical ideas for designing playgrounds that work for children aged 0-3 and their caregivers. Read more

Early Childhood Matters 2019

Early Childhood Matters 2019

Anyone working to make life better for babies, toddlers and their caregivers will find knowledge and inspiration in this 2019 edition of Early Childhood Matters. Authors of the 32 articles… Read more

The City at Eye Level for Kids

The City at Eye Level for Kids

The City at Eye Level develops and shares knowledge about how to make urban development work at human scale. A collaboration with the Bernard van Leer Foundation’s Urban95 initiative, this… Read more

Urban95 Virtual Reality

Urban design and planning have a big role to play in shaping the early years of a child’s life, which are vital for their long-term health and development. But few… Read more

Infant, Toddler, Caregiver-Friendly Neighbourhood (ITCN) Framework and Guidelines

What can cities do to nurture positive early experiences and protect against negative ones? How can neighbourhoods and therefore cities support parents to talk and play with children? How can… Read more

Spotlight on the Many Voices of the Early Childhood Workforce - Solutions Summit Report

This report summarises the insights gained from the Solutions Summit and brings together the concrete solutions to real-world challenges facing the early childhood workforce that were co-created by the attendees. Read more

Annual Report 2018

Annual Report 2018

The Bernard van Leer Foundation’s Annual Report 2018 contains a foreword from the Chair of the Board of Trustees, message from the Executive Director, selected updates from around the world… Read more

Informing design and implementation for early child development programmes

Informing design and implementation for early child development programmes

There is global interest in early childhood development, especially following the launch of Nurturing Care Framework in 2018, which sets out the dream to reach every child, everywhere, and give… Read more

Get ready for data! - A tool to guide data use to serve babies, toddlers and the people who care for them

Get ready for data! - A tool to guide data use to serve babies, toddlers and the people who care for them

Data is vital as cities investigate ways to measure progress and improve outcomes for babies, toddlers and the people who care for them. This tool is designed to help city… Read more

Toolkit - For measuring urban experiences of young children

People moving count, stationary activity mapping, intercept surveys and sensory mapping are among the tools that can be used to gather data on young children and caregivers in cities. They… Read more