What is Inclusion in relation to early childhood?

The idea of inclusion is strongly grounded in the principles of social justice. It refers to the idea that children of all ability levels, cultural and socio economic backgrounds should be offered the same opportunities for participation, acceptance and belonging in children's services. As a recent (2007) report from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University puts the case, “the need to address significant inequalities in opportunity, beginning in the earliest years of life, is both a fundamental moral responsibility and a critical investment in (our) nation’s social and economic future.

Early childhood settings have a unique opportunity to narrow rather than widen the inequalities of opportunity. Inclusion for all children in quality child care services provides a rare opportunity to mitigate the effects of disadvantage on the future of many of our community’s children.   Indeed, research from a wide range of countries suggests the inclusion and early intervention programs contributes significantly to putting at risk children on the path to development, transition to school and school readiness.

Inclusion Support Agencies

The role of Inclusion Support Agencies is to provide child care services with advice, resources and access to a range of practical supports so that those services can provide quality inclusive environments for all children.

CHILD Australia manages 6 of the 8 Inclusion Support Agencies in Western Australia. These programs are funded by the Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) to support the inclusion of children with additional needs in Australian Government Approved Child Care Services (AGACCS).

“Additional needs” are defined as:

• children with disabilities;
• children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, including humanitarian refugee background; and
• Indigenous children.

Inclusion of children with additional needs is achieved through a capacity building approach by which Inclusion Support Facilitators work with services to identify both their strengths and those areas in which extra support may be required.

Inclusion Support Facilitators work directly with eligible child care services to:

• respond to requests and referrals for inclusion support from child care services, PSC and IPSU;
• identify practices that facilitate inclusion of children with additional needs in child care settings;
• assist child care services to develop Service Support Plans;
• provide or source information in response to identified needs;
• assist services to link with relevant community groups, services and organisations
• support child care services to identify their professional development needs and opportunities; and
• support services to engage in ongoing reflective practices and continuous improvement.

CHILD Australia Inclusion Support Agencies cover the following regions:

North Metropolitan: (08) 9270 6607
Pilbara: (08) 9143 1551
Great Southern: (08) 9842 3163
South West: (08) 9535 1936
Central: (08) 9021 3679 (Kalgoorlie) / (08) 9923 2840 (Geraldton)
Kimberley: (08) 9249 4333

Who can access Inclusion Support?

Child Care services which are eligible for Child Care Benefit can seek support from an ISA. This includes:

• Long Day Care
• Outside School Hours Care and Vacation Care
• Family Day Care
• Occasional Care
• In-home Care

Inclusion Support services are free and can be accessed by contacting the local ISA or the PSCWA Helpline on 1800 783 768.

For further information, please contact CHILD Australia on (08) 9249 4333.

Address: 5 Carson Road
MALAGA WA 6090

Telephone: + 61 08 9249 4333

Facsimile: + 61 08 9249 4366

Email: admin@childaustralia.org.au