Since the First Edition was published, there have been considerable social and political changes: increased demand for day care for babies and children under three; and increased early admission to infant school; desirable outcomes for fourr-olds supporting The National Curriculum for fiveto seven year-olds; and baseline assessment at five years. Victoria Hurst sets out how practitioners can structure and organize their thinking about early education and the curriculum, so that they can support and extend children's learning and development. She also shows how practitioners can judge the effectiveness of their educational provision and learn more about the education of young children.