Early childhood education and care settings in England and the people who work in them constitute an important sphere of influence, shaping young children's characters and values. But the values and dispositions expected of the early years workforce are missing from statutory policy documentation despite its clear requirement that practitioners will espouse and promote particular "universal" values in their work. The expectations for young children's achievement by the age of five also reveal a complex approach combining a structuralist and postmodern duality of individualistic and collectivist values. These present challenges and dilemmas for the sector. (Contains 2 tables and 4 notes.)