The federal programme „language preschools“ is a governmental initiative in Germany which supports 13 % of all German preschools in improving the language-related pedagogical quality of the settings. Participating preschools receive funding for an additional professional (50 %; the language expert) who is meant to support other members of the team. In addition, the settings receive professional support by consultants. The core themes of the initiative are early language education embedded in daily routines, pre-school-parent-partnership and inclusive education. Over the last two years digital media education was developed as an additional core theme. The evaluation investigates the implementation quality of the programme as well as effects on professionals, pedagogical practices and parents. It is a mixed-method study using quantitative survey data as well as observational measures and qualitative interviews. In the presentation the factors that lead to improved quality as measured by ECERS and SSTEW are highlighted. In addition, the study sheds light on factors that improve parent-preschool-partnership. A sub-study looks into the power of preschool quality to compensate for disadvantages through implementing measures to handle the COVID pandemic. The findings are discussed against the background of findings of other research.