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All children are entitled to engaging, diverse, relevant and challenging learning environments that celebrate their culture and background while valuing individual learning styles and needs.

'The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the International Covenants on Human Rights, proclaimed and agreed that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status' (United Nations. General Assembly, 1994)

Everyone has the right to be treated equally, this also included children. In Early Childhood programs diversity, differences and individual need should be embraced. This plants the seed of accepting attitudes in young people and assists them gain a better understanding of their world.

In the context of inclusion Correia et al. discusses the child's right to participation versus the right to be protected from harm or abuse (Correia et al., 2021). I believe this brings an interesting perception to the discussion as risk of harm can look very different depending on where you are looking from. For example, a fire pit in a playground could be seen as putting a child at risk of harm but could also be a great opportunity to participate in lifelong learning.

Fleer discussed the right for inclusion in terms of the cost to access to early years services. The right to an education should automatically be represented by the funding or subsidized education system. For some families the cost of early years services may prohibit a child's access to that education during key stages of development (Fleer, 2002).

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Q1 - Parents/ Families. Can you tell me about your home and where you came from? 

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Q1 - Parents/ Families. Can you tell me about your home and where you came from? 

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Justification: I'm asking this question because it's important for educators to understand the context of the child's world outside the service. Understanding the space, they live in, who they are and what the families background is can give great insights into ways we can enhance the child's learning be it through the environment or the way you approach certain topics and more.

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Q3 Parents/ Family. What is calming and soothing to this child when they are upset?

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Q3 Parents/ Family. What is calming and soothing to this child when they are upset?

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Justification? I'm asking this as many children have unknown fears or trauma that can come up when attending early childhood for the first time. Having positive and personalized tools that assist the child can make this transition much smoother. It may be as simple as a toy or a song that a parent might sing to the child at sleep time. Creating a calm and relaxed environment increases the child's ability to engage with the program fully and expands the child's ability to take in the learnings from any experience.

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Q2 - Parents/ Families. Are there any particular words or non-verbal cues that would be helpful for us to know? 

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Q2 - Parents/ Families. Are there any particular words or non-verbal cues that would be helpful for us to know? 

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Justification: I'm asking this question to assist with communication with the child. Communication is key to building a strong positive relationship with both the child and family. Many people choose different ways to communicate e.g. In remote aboriginal communities in NT families taught me a whole range of body language that the children use almost more than words. If i hadn't asked i would have been completely unaware of the multiple layers of communication that was happening between children and other educators.

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Q4 Child. What are your favorite things to do? 

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Q4 Child. What are your favorite things to do? 

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Justification: I'm asking this question to build a better understanding of the child. Knowing what interests them or motivates them to be engaged can help educators create a positive and engaging environment. Understanding motivations and using them to invite children to be curious in a space can expand experience not only for that child but for others who may not have been exposed to certain, materials, topics or ideas.

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Justification: I'm asking this question to ensure that as educators we create space places for children to learn. If we acknowledge our fears we can mitigate the risk of traumatic experience for children in the early childhood setting.

Depending on the community you are in you may need to frame this question. I have had experiences in remote NT where children had exposure to high levels of observing cultural practices including physical violence at young ages and this would often play out in the home corner or through role play in the service. There was also generational trauma in many forms that we needed to be aware of on a daily basis to ensure a safe environment for children.

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Q6 colleagues, supervisors, and school administrators. How can we best support the child? 

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Q6 colleagues, supervisors, and school administrators. How can we best support the child? 

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Justification: I'm asking this to expand and challenge how are we catering to each child on a daily basis. Thinking of the child as an individual with needs and wants allows us to create a flexible environment full of experiences that expand the opportunity for learning.

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Q7 colleagues, supervisors, and school administrators. Does our program reflect our community? 

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Q7 colleagues, supervisors, and school administrators. Does our program reflect our community? 

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Justification: I'm asking this question because in the past 10 years i have seen many early childhood settings that could be modelled on a set of Pinterest pictures. The change in families perception of 'quality' programs has evolved overtime and I'm now seeing some early years services that are more focused on the clean natural look of a service rather than the content of the learning environment.

As educators and service providers its easy to create a perception of quality that families are looking for to increase enrolments. It takes a lot more time and effort to explain to families why the room may look messy at first site or why the mud pit out the back is a valuable sensory space to families.

As advocates for children's rights its our job to ensure the service reflects the community it is in so that the children who are from that community can build on the learning from home in a seamless manner and build on their own understanding of themselves as a competent community member of society.

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adverse childhood experiences (ace) score

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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Score

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The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Score screens for adverse childhood experiences.

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United Nations. General Assembly. (1994). Declaration of the rights of the child. Ediciones Pailler.

Correia, N., Aguiar, C., & Amaro, F. (2021). Children’s participation in early childhood education: A theoretical overview. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 24(3), 146394912098178.

Fleer, M. (2002). Early Childhood Education: A Public Right and not a Privilege. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 27(2), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1177/183693910202700202

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https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=f26335a441f79607JmltdHM9MTcwMTA0MzIwMCZpZ3VpZD0yZWU1NTE1OC1lM2E3LTY0MTMtMzAyMi00MzZiZTdhNzZhZWEmaW5zaWQ9NTIyMw&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=3&fclid=2ee55158-e3a7-6413-3022-436be7a76aea&psq=noah%27s+ark+inclusion+vic&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly9ub2Foc2Fya2luYy5vcmcuYXUv&ntb=1

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FKA Children's Services | FKA - Children's Services

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FKA Children's Services (fkaCS) advocates for children's cultural and linguistic rights and provides support to education and care services in the provision of culturally rich environments that support a civil society.

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ECA is committed to the inclusion of every child in early childhood education and care. Inclusion means that every child has access to, participates meaningfully in, and experiences positive outcomes from early childhood education and care programs. Inclusion resources are an important part of how we support high quality early childhood education and care. You can access these resources and links from this page.

Inclusion in early childhood - free resources and professional learning

The ECA Learning Hub, in collaboration with sector experts, has developed a collection of free inclusion resource for educators at every stage of their career. The Access, participation and positive outcomes: Inclusion in early childhood resource includes a series of short animations in accessible language, a 12-episode podcast series, a collection of online self-paced professional learning courses and a set of downloadable e-books with practical approaches to supporting children's development.

These resources have been designed to support increased knowledge, skills and confidence in the inclusion of children with a diagnosed disability, but also children with other factors that may affect their general wellbeing and engagement in early
learning.

Explore these free inclusion resources on the ECA learning hub.

This project was funded by the Department of Education's Inclusion Support Program.

Statement on the inclusion of children in early childhood education and care

Inclusion ensures that all children participate meaningfully while learning and interacting in programs that acknowledge each child's strengths and interests, so that they are supported to be active members of their community. Inclusion is important for many reasons. It implements current thinking about child development; supports children's rights; implements the legal standards for early childhood education and care; and is good professional practice. Inclusion fosters diversity and overcomes any barriers that might exist to ensure that every child experiences quality early childhood education and care.

This statement explains inclusion. It outlines why inclusion is important, and it sets out what is required from everyone involved in the delivery of early childhood education and care to ensure inclusion of every child.

View the Statement on the inclusion of children in early childhood education and care .

Please also find the accompanying Factsheet on The experience of inclusion and exclusion in early childhood education and care available for download here .

Statement on inclusion of children with disability

In 2012, Early Childhood Australia (ECA) collaborated with Reimagine Australia (formerly known as Early Childhood Intervention Australia) to produce a Joint statement on the inclusion of children with disability in early childhood education and care. This joint position statement by ECA and ECIA set out our shared commitment to inclusion in early childhood education and care (ECEC). Its purpose is to create a vision for high quality inclusive practices in early childhood education and care. It will assist everyone in ECEC services, as well as support professionals, to fully include children with a disability and to achieve high quality outcomes for all children. It will also provide a framework for the development and implementation of policy and programs designed for all young children. The inclusive practices promoted by the position statement are characterised by the strong collaborative partnerships between children, families, early childhood educators and support professionals that are widely recognised as a cornerstone of high quality inclusive practice in ECEC programs.

View the Statement on inclusion of children with disability .

Useful links
Reimagine Australia
Useful resources

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ECA is committed to the inclusion of every child in early childhood education and care. Learn more about our work.