'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).

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.

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.

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