in the s and s european governments in particular put in place family and childcare policies to encourage couples to have children and ensure that it is feasible for women to combine work and family responsibilities oecd a oecd a enrolling children in ece helps prepare them to enter and succeed in formal schooling mitigates social inequalities and promotes better student outcomes there is a growing body of evidence that shows that children who have a strong start in their development learning and wellbeing will have better outcomes when they grow older duncan and magnuson