Who gets in, what they get: a cross-national comparison of ECEC accessibility and availability through the Family Model Method

While research shows stratification in early childhood education and care (ECEC) provision, less is known about how policy design shapes differential accessibility and availability across different family types. Adapting the Family Model Method (FMM), we analyse 16 hypothetical family configurations in Spain, Sweden, and England to analyse who can access services and what is provided. Results show distinct logics. Sweden achieves the highest overall accessibility and availability through near-universal access and comprehensive provision, though families with irregular migration status remain entirely excluded and unemployed parents face reduced hours. Spain offers uniform but low accessibility and availability: no family has legal entitlement for children under three, and prioritisation criteria only marginally benefit vulnerable groups. England’s dual-scheme system generates the sharpest inequalities – employed families enjoy moderate accessibility and extended hours, while unemployed or irregular-status families face exclusion; only children with special needs gain priority. Across cases, administrative status is the strongest exclusion mechanism, employment the main differentiator, and disability the most consistent inclusion factor. This application of the FMM proves valuable for service-based policy analysis, offering an approach that captures cross- and within-country variation and exposing how policy design shapes differential ECEC access and availability.