Position Statement

Adopted by the NAEYC National

Governing Board February 2025

Early Childhood Program Standards

National Association for the Education of Young Children

By offering clear definitions of quality, NAEYC’s Early Childhood

Program Standards help families make informed decisions about
their child’s early education, and help programs ensure they are safe,
well-prepared, and intentional about fostering the joy, development,
and learning of every child.

A Position Statement Held on Behalf of

the Early Childhood Education Profession Disponible en Español: NAEYC.org/estandares
Relationship Between the Five Foundational Position Statements
NAEYC’s position statements are developed with and for early childhood educators. The “Early
Childhood Program Standards” position statement works with other important NAEYC documents
to help educators and systems leaders (1) define developmentally appropriate practice, (2) set
professional standards and competencies for early childhood educators, (3) outline a professional
code of ethics, and (4) work toward advancing equity. These five foundational position statements
are grounded in NAEYC’s core values and vision.

The revision processes have increased consistency across the includes these six areas, plus three areas related to safety,
position statements. For example, there are six areas of effective the physical environment, and leadership and management
practice outlined in the “Developmentally Appropriate Practice” (See Appendix A: History of the Standards and Crosswalk for
position statement. These are the same areas outlined in more details). All statements help promote children’s right to
“Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood equitable learning opportunities to achieve their full potential
Educators.” The “Early Childhood Program Standards” also as engaged learners and valued members of society.

Developmentally
Appropriate Professional
Practice (DAP) Standards and
Competencies for
Early Childhood
Educators

Early
Childhood
Program
Standards
Code of
Ethics for Early
Childhood Educators
Advancing
Equity in Early
Childhood
Education

Early Childhood Program Standards for Early Childhood Educators

Copyright © 2025 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. All rights reserved.

Permissions
NAEYC accepts requests for limited use of our copyrighted material. For permission to reprint, adapt, translate, or otherwise reuse
and repurpose content from the final published document, review NAEYC.org our guidelines at NAEYC.org/resources/permissions.

Early Childhood Program Standards 2/10

Purpose
Every child benefits from access to high-quality, equitable, These standards are the foundation for the NAEYC Early
joyful early learning opportunities. The purpose of NAEYC’s Childhood Program Quality Assessment and Accreditation
“Early Childhood Program Standards” position statement system, but they are designed to benefit all programs and
is to offer a framework for early learning programs, higher systems, no matter what accreditation status they have.
education institutions, and early childhood education systems
at all levels to use. The standards and key indicators of quality, along with
NAEYC’s accreditation items, provide guidance to ensure
The statement includes nine standards addressing key programs are equitable, safe, well-prepared, and intentional
indicators of quality, and guidance for ongoing development about fostering the joy, development, and learning of
and support of early childhood education programs. every child.

The Position
Early learning programs in homes, centers, and schools of quality to address these systemic gaps. The statement gives
must include features that ensure that every child has access early childhood educators and administrators guidelines to
to joyful, equitable learning opportunities. This statement follow and a way to evaluate their practices. The standards
recognizes the ongoing inequities in access to quality care also empower families to make informed decisions about their
and early learning experiences and offers a clear definition child’s early education.

Design and Structure

This statement outlines the NAEYC Early Childhood Program Simplified: Using as much plain language as possible,
Standards, broad guidelines designed to support effective early each standard provides a brief description of the features
learning programs. These standards will be updated regularly that programs must include to ensure joyful, equitable
to reflect new research and changes in the field. They are based learning for each and every child, including the historically
on research, feedback from the field, and practical experience. marginalized. Each standard includes two to four key
These standards build upon the six guidelines for effective indicators that highlight specific elements of quality. The
practice from “Developmentally Appropriate Practice,” with indicators are supported by a complementary research
three additional standards specific to program operations. review along with detailed guidance through NAEYC’s
A full review of supporting research and links to supporting Early Childhood Program Quality Assessment and
NAEYC resources are available on NAEYC’s website for those Accreditation system.
seeking deeper insight.
Together, these standards offer a clear, research-informed
This revision of the standards was guided by three principles: foundation for early childhood programs to deliver equitable,
high-quality experiences for all children. A glossary of terms
Focused: These standards focus on the core elements
used can be found in Appendix B.
of program quality. They are comprehensive but are not
meant to represent an exhaustive list of what constitutes
quality practice in early learning programs. Licensing
and accreditation bodies may expand these indicators to
address specific needs or contexts.

Aligned: The standards are closely connected with

NAEYC’s Quality Assessment and Accreditation System.
This ensures that accreditation processes reflect the same
holistic approach to quality outlined in the standards.

Early Childhood Program Standards 3/10

NAEYC EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM STANDARDS

PROGRAM STANDARD 1 PROGRAM STANDARD 2

Relationships: Creating a Caring and Families and Community: Engaging
Equitable Community of Learners in Reciprocal Partnerships with
Young children experience their world through relationships. Families and Fostering Community
These relationships affect nearly all aspects of their Connections
development. From birth, children experience rapid brain
development that is shaped by their interactions with their Families and communities are children’s first and most
environment and their caregivers. Culture also matters for important teachers. They play a central role in children’s
learning and development. Adults need to be responsive to learning and development. Early childhood programs must
children’s and families’ cultures as they build relationships recognize this connection and build relationships with families
and identify and address their own biases. Warm, sensitive, based upon mutual trust and respect. This includes engaging
and responsive interactions help children develop a positive families as leaders in ways that respect their cultures and
sense of self and encourage them to respect and cooperate home languages, ensuring they have a voice in decisions about
with others. Positive relationships also help children develop their child’s learning, and embracing them as co-educators.
self-regulation skills and benefit from learning environments Programs should create welcoming environments where
and experiences. Children who see themselves as highly valued families feel encouraged to fully participate and collaborate
are more likely to feel secure, get along with others, feel part of to support children’s educational growth. In addition,
a community, and experience greater leaps in learning. programs must support family well-being by helping families
to access the resources needed to promote children’s healthy
A PROGRAM THAT MEETS THIS STANDARD: development and learning.

› Supports positive relationships with each child and family A PROGRAM THAT MEETS THIS STANDARD:
in ways that promote individual children’s self-worth
› Develops reciprocal relationships with each child’s family
› Takes action to foster children’s sense of belonging as part responsive to culture, language, and individual needs
of a caring community of learners
› Continuously engages children’s families as vital members
› Centers children’s and families’ cultural values, integrating of the learning community
their home languages/dialects/communication needs
› Works to be a positive member of the larger community
› Identifies and addresses potential biases that exist within around it
the staff and program structures
› Draws upon community resources (including both funds
of knowledge and financial resources) to support program
goals

Early Childhood Program Standards 4/10

PROGRAM STANDARD 3 PROGRAM STANDARD 4
Curriculum: Planning and Teaching: Teaching to Enhance Each
Implementing an Engaging Child’s Development and Learning
Curriculum to meet Meaningful Goals Great teaching uses thoughtful strategies to encourage active,
joyful learning. This helps children grow, build confidence,
A curriculum is a plan that includes learning goals, intentional
and develop independence and agency. These strategies build
teaching strategies, activities, and material to help children
a rich, responsive learning environment that supports the
learn and thrive. It guides educators on what and how to
many ways in which young children learn and grow. Effective
teach covering all areas of children’s development, like
educators support how children learn and develop in different
cognitive, social, physical, and emotional growth. A high-
ways by planning activities with clear goals that match the
quality curriculum provides an appropriate scope, and, in
curriculum, while also adapting to each child’s interests,
some content areas, a research-based sequence of skill and
abilities, and needs. Educators should balance both child-led
knowledge development aligned with children’s developmental
and teacher-scaffolded opportunities for play, exploration,
progressions. It is developmentally appropriate and promotes
and learning. This can be done by using open-ended, guiding
an integrated approach to learning. A high-quality curriculum
questions, and fostering positive, encouraging interactions.
is flexible and respects children’s cultural and linguistic
Educators intentionally select materials, tools, and technology
backgrounds, including those learning multiple languages
(if applicable) with discretion to ensure approaches support
or with disabilities. The curriculum also offers an organized
children’s specific learning and development needs.
foundation for teachers with flexible guidance for daily, weekly,
and monthly schedules. It supports rich learning experiences Intentional teaching strategies include activities like
both within and outside of the classroom, through play, interactive read-alouds, small- and large-group instruction,
cooperative activities, and direct instruction. It incorporates and hands-on experiential learning. Activities should
various formats like learning/interest centers (e.g., dramatic incorporate various types of experiences that allow young
play, blocks, classroom library), small- and large-group learners to gather information and create meaning through
activities, and individual activities. Educators use it to create images, drawing, speech, music, song, body movement, and
learning experiences that are age-appropriate, culturally and text. Educators work with families to learn about each child’s
linguistically relevant, and aligned with children’s interests background and culture and design activities that reflect that
and developmental stages. diversity and are aligned with learning goals.

A PROGRAM THAT MEETS THIS STANDARD: Educators should work to create an anti-bias, inclusive
environment where all children feel valued. This helps
› Uses a curriculum based on current research to support children build a positive sense of self, appreciate diversity,
children’s development and learning learn about differences, and work together with trusted adults
against unfairness and injustice.
› Uses a curriculum that includes developmentally
appropriate goals, a scope and sequence aligned with
A PROGRAM THAT MEETS THIS STANDARD:
research in appropriate content areas, and rich content
to guide teachers in all areas of development and content
› Uses teaching practices that are nurturing and inclusive
(literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, and the arts)
› Equips educators to support each and every child’s
› Uses a curriculum that is culturally and linguistically
development and learning through individualized and
responsive and reflective, builds on children’s strengths,
intentional practices
respects their cultural backgrounds, and supports their
identities and home languages › Uses teaching practices that are culturally affirming and
linguistically responsive to the children being served

› Supports learning through play and hands-on activities

Early Childhood Program Standards 5/10

PROGRAM STANDARD 5 PROGRAM STANDARD 6
Assessment: Observing, Documenting, Health: Promoting Health and Well-
and Assessing Children’s Being in Early Childhood Programs
Development and Learning For children to learn and thrive, they need to be as healthy
and well as possible. Their well-being depends upon the
Educators use what they know about each child to plan
adults in their lives—who also need to be healthy and well—to
lessons that match their strengths, interests, and needs.
make good choices for them and to teach them to make good
Regular and intentional assessment helps to identify children
choices for themselves. Although some degree of risk-taking
who may benefit from additional support, whether through
is desirable for learning, a quality program ensures a safe
more intensive instruction, intervention, or who may need
environment that protects against practices and conditions
additional developmental evaluation. To be culturally
that could harm children, staff, families, or communities. Child
responsive, assessments should be child-centered, a part
care licensing agencies are responsible for protecting the basic
of children’s everyday activities, and should take place in
health and safety of all children. This standard goes beyond
children’s natural learning environments. This approach
basic licensing requirements by focusing on fostering the
ensures the program meets its goals for children’s learning and
physical and emotional well-being of both children and staff.
development, while also helping educators grow professionally
It emphasizes creating a safe, supportive environment where
and improve program quality. To reduce bias, assessments
everyone can grow, learn, and succeed while maintaining a
should consider children’s cultures, languages, dialects,
high quality of life.
abilities, and prior experiences. In addition, multiple methods
should be used by educators and administrators, including
A PROGRAM THAT MEETS THIS STANDARD:
input from families, to get a complete picture of each child’s
strengths and areas for growth.
› Promotes the nutrition and health of children and staff and
A PROGRAM THAT MEETS THIS STANDARD: protects them from illness

› Promotes the physical safety of children and staff,

› Uses an ongoing mix of formal and informal assessment protecting them from injury while also encouraging
to monitor children’s development and learning to guide healthy risk-taking that supports learning, exploration and
instruction development
› Uses assessment from classrooms to plan, identify › Nurtures infants’, children’s, and staff’s emotional, mental,
resources, and improve professional development to ensure and behavioral well-being
all children are making progress in their development and
learning

› Conducts assessments in partnership with families,

ensuring open communication and collaboration

Early Childhood Program Standards 6/10

PROGRAM STANDARD 7 PROGRAM STANDARD 8
Physical Environment: Designing Professionalism: Demonstrating
Physical Environments that are Safe, Professionalism as Early Childhood
Engaging, and Accessible Educators
The program’s physical environment is designed and As stated in “Professional Standards and Competencies
maintained to support high-quality activities and services for Early Childhood Educators,” children thrive when
while being safe and accessible for everyone. This includes their educators have formal training and ongoing support.
well-maintained buildings, safe equipment, and clean Educators who have specific preparation, knowledge, and
water and air to promote children’s health and well-being. skills in child development and early childhood education are
A well-organized, maintained, and equipped environment more likely to build and maintain warm, positive, unbiased
fosters learning, engagement, comfort, health, and safety for relationships with children, use rich language, and create high-
children, families, and staff. A sense of belonging is promoted quality, equitable learning environments. Opportunities for
by creating spaces that reflect the diversity of the learning educators to receive supportive supervision and to participate
community. Applying the principles of Universal Design or in sequential, ongoing professional development helps
making necessary adaptations in the classroom environment educators to stay updated and improve their skills as the field
ensures all spaces are accessible, safe, sensory-friendly, and of early childhood education evolves.
encourage exploration, independence, and interaction for
all children. A PROGRAM THAT MEETS THIS STANDARD:

A PROGRAM THAT MEETS THIS STANDARD: › Employs a staff that has education and knowledge, skills,
values, and dispositions to support the development,
› Provides access to appropriate and well-maintained indoor learning, and well-being of all young children
and outdoor spaces for both child-directed and teacher-
› Ensures fair and equitable access to professional
guided activities
development opportunities that help educators deliver
› Ensures indoor and outdoor spaces are adequately sized high-quality early learning experiences and environments
and accessible to all children, including children with
disabilities and those who need individual accommodation

› Offers a physical environment that reflects the languages

and cultural backgrounds of children and their families

Early Childhood Program Standards 7/10

PROGRAM STANDARD 9
Leadership and Management:
Supporting Staff, Children, and
Families Through Effective Leadership
and Management
As stated in “Professional Standards and Competencies for
Early Childhood Educators,” great programs need strong
leadership, effective management, and clear policies and
systems to thrive. To build and maintain strong, continuous
relationships between teaching staff and children, programs
should strive to offer working conditions and compensation
(wages and benefits) that attract and retain a diverse and
qualified staff. Staff, across all levels, should reflect the
community and children served, including race, ethnicity, and
language. Programs should have policies in place that ensure
adequate and safe group sizes and child-to-staff ratios that
meet the profession’s guidelines to provide consistent quality
care for children. The governance structures and leadership
management maintain confidentiality for all matters
concerning children and families.

A PROGRAM THAT MEETS THIS STANDARD:

› Has policies, procedures, and systems that reflect high-

quality HR practices, are aligned with the program’s vision
and philosophy, and ensure developmentally appropriate
experiences for young children

› Maintains financial records that help leaders to make

decisions and contribute to the program’s long-term
success

› Has policies that guide staff, educator, and volunteer

orientation and continuous reflection, setting them up
for success

› Implements policies, procedures and systems that support

confidentiality regarding information about enrolled
children and their families

Early Childhood Program Standards 8/10

Appendix A: History of the Standards and Crosswalk
In the 2005 version of the “Early Childhood Program Standards,” there were 10 standards (shown in the leftmost column below).
To align the standards with NAEYC’s four additional foundational position statements, with a particular emphasis on alignment
to the guidelines embedded in the “Developmentally Appropriate Practice” (DAP) position statement, it was determined that
six of the former 10 standards (shown in bold in the center column below) mapped directly to DAP guidelines. For example, the
former Standard 2 “Curriculum” maps directly to the DAP guideline “Planning and Implementing an Engaging Curriculum to Meet
Meaningful Goals.” The former Standard 7 (Families) and Standard 8 (Community Relationships) were combined to align with the
DAP guideline, “Engaging in Reciprocal Partnerships with Families and Fostering Community Connections.” Historically, in the
NAEYC accreditation system, standards 7 and 8 have been scored collectively for many years, so this merging of standards seemed
quite appropriate. Former Standards 5 (Health), 9 (Physical Environment), and 10 (Leadership and Management) did not map
directly to DAP guidelines, so the standards were renamed such that their new naming would align with the DAP guidelines. From
there, it was decided to reorder the standards so that child-focused standards come first, followed by educator/program-focused
standards. The crosswalk below demonstrates the evolution in naming and ordering the standards from the 2005 version of the
position statement to this revised edition.

2005 Early Childhood

New Titles of Standards New Ordering of Standards
Program Standards

Relationships: Creating a Caring and 1. Relationships: Creating a Caring and Equitable

1. Relationships
Equitable Community of Learners Community of Learners

Curriculum: Planning and Implementing 2. F

 amilies and Community: Engaging in
2. Curriculum an Engaging Curriculum to Meet Reciprocal Partnerships with Families and
Meaningful Goals Fostering Community Connections

Teaching: Teaching to Enhance Each 3. Curriculum: Planning and Implementing an

3. Teaching
Child’s Development and Learning Engaging Curriculum to meet Meaningful Goals

Assessment: Observing, Documenting,

4. A
 ssessment of 4. Teaching: Teaching to Enhance Each Child’s
and Assessing Children’s Development
Child Progress Development and Learning
and Learning

Health: Promoting Health and Well- 5. Assessment: Observing, Documenting, and

5. Health
Being in Early Childhood Programs Assessing Children’s Development and Learning

Professionalism: Demonstrating
6. Health: Promoting Health and Well-Being in
6. Teachers Professionalism as Early Childhood
Early Childhood Programs​
Educators

7. P
 hysical Environment: Designing Physical
7. Families Families and Community: Engaging in Environments that are Safe, Engaging, and
Reciprocal Partnerships with Families Accessible​

8. C
 ommunity and Fostering Community Connections 8. P
 rofessionalism: Demonstrating Professionalism
Relationships as Early Childhood Educators

Physical Environment: Designing Physical 9. L

 eadership and Management: Supporting
9. Physical Environment Environments that are Safe, Engaging, and Staff, Children, and Families through Effective
Accessible Leadership and Management

Leadership and Management: Supporting

10. L
 eadership and
Staff, Children, and Families through
Management
Effective Leadership and Management​

Early Childhood Program Standards 9/10

Appendix B: Glossary of Terms
Administrator: An individual responsible for planning, Inclusive: Embodying the values, policies, and practices that
implementing, and evaluating an early childhood education support the right of every infant and young child and their family,
program, for infants and toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarteners, regardless of ability, to participate in a broad range of activities
or children in primary grades. The administrator’s setting may and contexts as full members of families, communities, and
vary, and may include a child care center, family child care society. The desired results of inclusive experiences for children
home, or school. The administrator’s title may vary, depending with and without disabilities and their families include a sense
on the program type or sponsorship of the program. Common of belonging and membership, positive social relationships and
titles include director, family child care owner or operator, site friendships, and development and learning to help them reach
manager, administrator, program manager, early childhood their full potential.
coordinator, and principal.
Scope: The breadth and depth of the content covered in an early
Bias: Attitudes or stereotypes that favor one group over another. childhood curriculum. It outlines what children are expected to
Explicit biases are conscious beliefs and stereotypes that affect learn, including key developmental domains such as cognitive,
one’s understanding, actions, and decisions; implicit biases social-emotional, physical, and language development. The scope
also affect one’s understanding, actions, and decisions but in ensures that all necessary skills and concepts are included to
an unconscious manner. An anti-bias approach to education support well-rounded growth and learning.
explicitly works to end all forms of bias and discrimination.
Self-regulation: The ability to manage emotions, behavior,
Equitable learning opportunities: Learning opportunities and thoughts in ways that are appropriate to the environment
that not only help each child thrive by building on each one’s and social expectations. It includes skills such as controlling
unique set of individual and family strengths—including impulses, focusing attention, following rules, managing
cultural background, language(s), abilities and disabilities, and frustration, and adapting to new situations.
experiences—but also are designed to eliminate differences in
outcomes that are a result of inequities in society. Sequence: The order in which the content and skills are
introduced, building upon prior knowledge in a developmentally
Family: A child’s family includes a parent, parents or other appropriate way. A well-structured sequence ensures that
adults who are bound together over time by ties of mutual children progress from simple to more complex skills, fostering a
consent, birth, kinship, and/or adoption or placement, and who, logical and meaningful learning experience.
together, assume some key responsibilities for the raising and
nurturing of children. Universal Design: A system that ensures that physical spaces
are usable and practical for everyone, and ideally, individuals
Funds of Knowledge: Essential cultural practices and bodies with and without disabilities can use these spaces without
of knowledge embedded in the daily practices and routines requiring special design or adaptations.
of families.

Acknowledgments
NAEYC appreciates the work of the Early Childhood Program NAEYC is grateful to our funders and supporters who make this
Standards Advisory committee, who participated in the revision work possible, including those who have donated through the
of this statement: Stacey French-Lee* (Chair), Jeffrey Leffler**, Marilyn M. Smith Applied Research Fund.
Jason Sims**, Amber Tankersley**, Reginald Williams* and
the Children’s Equity Project. The committee was primarily Finally, NAEYC thanks the many NAEYC members, non-
supported by staff members Meghan Salas Atwell, Alissa members, researchers, educators, faculty members, advocates,
Mwenelupembe, Lauren Hogan, and Susan Friedman. and others, including the Gates Foundation sponsored Pre-K
Curriculum Technical Advisory Group, who provided input and
feedback on this statement as it was developed.

*NAEYC Governing Board Members (current and former)

**Accreditation Council Members

Early Childhood Program Standards 10/10