Early Learning and Development Standards for Children from Birth to 7 (ELDS) and Early Childhood Development Teacher Standards are coupled to reinforce a holistic approach to child learning and development through child-centered practices. The ELDS, along with traditionally addressed physical and cognitive domains, bring into the foreground the socio-emotional domain, language and communication, as well as attitudes towards learning. All five domains are interrelated and each domain is explicated through standards and indicators.

The document is structured around 4 developmental periods - 0-18 , 19- 36, 37-60, and 61-84 months. The indicators are specific to the age of children and are hierarchically organized depending on their complexity. For each indicator there are suggested relevant activities and learning contexts that adults can use to support the achievement of the expectations formulated by standards. The documents states that the indicators should NOT be considered an exhaustive list of steps to be followed by exactly and in the same way/at the same rate by every child, it is NOT to be used as an evaluation document either with children or teachers.