Indeed, the miserable performance of Head Start likely accounts for Mr Obama citing a rate of return from specifically "high-quality" early education programmes.
Save the Children chief executive Justin Forsyth said the government should focus "not on changing definitions but on policies that work, like the living wage, affordable child care and on early education programmes targeted at low-income families".
Child and family policy does not exist as a clearly defined policy field in the Netherlands, but is the responsibility of a variety of Ministries: The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is responsible for early education programmes for children, whereas the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment bears responsibility for work care arrangements.
Access to early education programmes has increased considerably in the past decade and Moldova is one of the greatest success stories.
But it also shows that early, cost-effective interventions, such as encouraging breast feeding, or reading and playing with young children, as well as formal early education programmes, all support healthier brain development.
The international expert Anise Waljee presented the results of the independent evaluation study on the development of early education programmes in six countries: Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia and Moldova.
As well as helping with setting the curriculum, the standards will impact the educational transition from crèches and kindergartens, the quality of ECD services and help in evaluating early education programmes.
