This commentary draws on the body of multidisciplinary research produced using the Young Lives Dataset, a 20 + year, mixed-method longitudinal cohort study in four countries in the Global South. In summary, inequality of opportunity in education had been falling over 20 years since the turn of the Millennium, but progress has been reversed by recent global crises. Longitudinal evidence shows that the home and community environment prior to entering the education system is crucial for future learning trajectories, and schooling either reinforces or remediates pre-existing inequalities depending on context. The life-course perspective shows the importance of co-ordinating policies across sectors, including education, to support children’s learning, and how policies to support children to stay in education at crisis points during their childhood can complement investments in education systems in order to prioritise inclusion and equity to fully reach SDG4.