Social Inclusion Support - A Model For Early Childhood Intervention

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1 Parliament of Victoria Family and Community Development Committee Inquiry into the Social Inclusion of Victorians with a Disability SUBMISSION FROM NOAH S ARK, VICTORIA Introduction Noah s Ark Incorporated (Noah s Ark) is a non-government organisation providing early childhood intervention (ECI) and inclusion support (IS) services to children with disabilities and other additional needs and their families and carers. We are the largest early childhood intervention and inclusion support service in Victoria operating from 20 centres in Melbourne and regional Victoria. Last year our programs reached 1,800 families and 2,600 Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services. Noah s Ark receives funding from the State Government (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development) for the delivery of ECI services, Kindergarten Inclusion Support 1, Pre-School Field Officer 2 and Parent to Parent Programs 3. Noah s Ark is also funded by the Australian Government (Department of Education) as an Inclusion Support Agency 4 (ISA) as part of their Inclusion Professional Support Program (IPSP 5 ). Noah s Ark is making this submission to the Victorian Parliament s Inquiry into the Social Inclusion of Victorians with a Disability in order to ensure that the needs of young children with disabilities and their families are adequately recognised and considered as part of the Inquiry. Early Childhood Intervention In Victoria, children with disabilities and/or developmental delays aged from birth to school age (under 6 years) are entitled to receive support through the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development s (DEECD s) Early Childhood Intervention Service (ECIS). ECIS provides support to children and families in their own homes and in other natural environments, such as kindergarten or child care, to support their development and their everyday experiences and activities. ECIS staff are skilled professionals with training in a variety of disciplines including Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Psychology, Social Work, Teaching and Physiotherapy. ECIS staff work in multidisciplinary teams and operate as transdisciplinary key workers offering a consistent contact point for families and carers. Access to ECIS is via a Central Intake process in each DEECD Region. Families are allocated to the next or best available place according to their needs and location. ECIS services are free of charge to the family. Children will remain within the ECIS program until they commence formal schooling. 1 In the North East Region only 2 In the North East Region Swan Hill only 3 In Gippsland only 4 Noah s Ark is the Inclusion Support Agency in 9 of the 17 Dept. of Education Victorian Regions 5 The objective of the IPSP is to promote and maintain high quality, inclusive education and care, for all children, including those with ongoing high support needs, in eligible ECEC settings. This is achieved by increasing the knowledge and skills of educators, and the capacity of education and care services, through providing professional development, advice and access to additional resources as well as inclusion support. 1

2 Inclusion Support Noah s Ark offers inclusion support to Australian Government regulated ECEC services including Long Day Care, (LDC), Occasional Care (OC), Family Day Care (FDC), Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) and Vacation Care (VAC), with to Victorian Government regulated ECEC services though the Kindergarten Inclusion Support (KIS) and the Pre- School Field Officer (PSFO) programs. Noah s Ark s ISA program provides practical advice and support to individual ECEC services on an as needed basis in order to build their capacity to facilitate a child s inclusion in the service. With support from the ISA, Australian Government regulated ECEC services may be able to access the Inclusion Support Subsidy (ISS) which can contribute to the cost of an additional educator when they are including a child or children with high support needs. With funding from the Victorian Government, Noah s Ark provides the KIS program in the North West Victoria Region. KIS aims to build the capacity of kindergartens to support the access and participation of children with a disability and high support needs and/or complex medical needs. KIS packages may allow kindergartens to have an additional kindergarten assistant in their program to raise the staff: child ration and support the inclusion of a child or children. Additional assistants are supplied and managed by nominated non-government organisations such as Noah s Ark. The Pre-School Field Officer (PSFO) program is an early intervention outreach service that is available to State-funded kindergartens and preschools for any child with developmental concerns. The primary role of the PSFO is to provide advice to preschools to support the access and participation of children with additional needs. Referrals for PSFO support can come from staff or parents or others. Issues for consideration of the Committee A number of issues are considered by Noah s Ark to be relevant to the Committee s Inquiry. In summary these are: The importance of inclusion for young children and their families The recognition that young children with disabilities and their families also experience social exclusion and may require specific support to achieve their inclusion in settings where other children and families participate and are active The improved early childhood policy context The importance of adopting universal design The need to adopt broader evidence based practice The impact of discrimination The multiple dimensions of exclusion and inclusion The conflicting purposes in Kindergarten Inclusion The mismatch in policy and practice in state government programs The need for changed policy and practice in kindergartens, pre-schools and schools The impact of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The focus of this submission is on inclusion in children s services and we recognise the importance of inclusion as a concept that includes participation in the broader community. We believe that the principles and challenges we have outlined in this submission have relevance to other settings in the community. As our expertise is in children s services we have chosen to emphasise this dimension of children s inclusion. 2

3 Importance of inclusion for young children and their families For children with disabilities, as for all children, the early years are critical to their development and wellbeing. Like all children, children with disabilities learn from adults with whom they have strong, positive relationships, and from each other, through play and social interaction. Like all children, children with disabilities need time to explore, play alongside others and practise new skills until they achieve mastery. Children with disabilities particularly benefit from the opportunity to develop skills in supportive environments and in the company of typically developing children. If this happens, they are more likely to use these skills in all aspects of their lives and to develop friendships and connections within their community (Buysse and Holllingsworth 2009, Odom 2002). Inclusive practice benefits all children (Odom, Schwartz and ECRII Investigators 2002). Children with disabilities can increase their language and social skills through interaction with typically developing children; while typically developing children can learn about similarities and differences and to be more accepting of difference. Inclusive practice also benefits educators who learn new skills which they are able to apply more generally in their work. Families feel less isolated and more positive towards their child with a disability and towards themselves as parents (Hardin, Wesley and Lohr 1998). The evidence shows that despite the challenges, children with disabilities can and do form meaningful friendships with typically developing children and these connections not only provide enjoyment, but help promote their growth and development (Goldman and Buysse 2008, p2). In fact, there are also strong indications that, when they receive appropriate support, children with disabilities make the same cognitive progress in mainstream services as they do in specialised programs (McLoughlin and Stonehouse 2006) while achieving greater progress in the areas of social competence and communication through their interaction with typically developing peers. (Buysse and Holllingsworth 2009, Odom 2002). Ensuring young children with disabilities are included in settings in which other children and families participate (including both ECEC and informal community settings) is therefore beneficial to their development and to the development and social skills of their typically developing peers. Young children and their families also experience exclusion When families receive advice that their child has a disability or developmental delay they experience a form of grief (Bruce, 2000). Gone is the child they wished for and expected and all of their future expectations for that child and in its place is the child they have - a child with a set of needs and issues that they may not understand or accept at this early stage. For many families the temptation is to hide away, particularly if their child has unusual or attention-grabbing looks or behaviour. Families may isolate themselves from extended family, friends and the community. They may feel and be extremely isolated and excluded from mainstream life. Specific care is needed to make these families feel accepted and feel able to take their place in their community. This care is different to the care needed to support the inclusion of adults with disabilities and needs to embrace the whole family, not just the individual child. The first place where children and families require acceptance is in the ECEC sector. Children with disabilities need to be able to attend ECEC programs alongside other children. Participation in ECEC services not only facilitates the learning and development of the child but also facilitates the social inclusion of their parents (particularly the mother) who is able to work and/or participate in community activities while their child is being cared for. 3

4 Inclusion is not just access or being present. Effective inclusion means that the child is participating in the full ECEC program and that their learning and development is receiving the same priority as other children. To be effective educators of children with disabilities, ECEC staff need to have adequate teaching skills, the confidence to apply them to children with non-typical development and access to pedagogies and curricula that anticipate and accommodate the inclusion of children with disabilities. In addition to ECEC, children with disabilities and their families may need specific supports and active welcoming to participate in community locations and activities, including locations usually frequented by children and families such as playgrounds, pools, libraries, cinemas and shopping centres and in public activities such as community sport (e.g. AusKick, Little League) and events such as family days, fireworks displays and community markets. Without a clear welcome and proper planning for their participation, children with disabilities and their families may be effectively excluded from such locations and activities, with all of the consequences that this then entails. The improved early childhood policy context The policy context in the early childhood area has developed significantly in the last decade. There has been clarification in the expected outcomes for children through the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework and the regulation of the standard of children s services, through the Australian Government s National Quality Framework. These policy developments place a greater expectation on all children s services supporting the care and learning of all young children. The development of common outcomes for all children in particular has been significant in raising aspirations about the access and participation of children with disabilities. These outcomes include that: Children have a strong sense of identity. Children are connected with and contribute to their world. Children have a strong sense of wellbeing. Children are confident and involved learners. Children are effective communicators. The creation of common outcomes has set the foundations for greater collaboration between the early childhood and early childhood intervention fields, for example the Early Childhood Australia and Early Childhood Intervention Australia Position statement on the inclusion of children with a disability in early childhood education and care. One of the challenges in these fields working together in the past has been their different histories Early Childhood settings were not initially designed for children with a disability. The policies of the routine institutionalisation of children with a disability meant they were excluded from the community during the first half of the twentieth century, the period in which community based services for children expanded significantly (Mellor, 1990). In the 1970s, when new services were set up for childhood with disabilities they remained segregated services for children with a disability and their families. The early childhood education and care and early childhood intervention professions and sectors have developed independently. Current approaches to inclusion of children with disabilities in children s services remains deeply affected by this division of services for children with disabilities and services for other children. This is regardless of four decades in the growth of our knowledge about child development and learning, and that children with disabilities are far more similar than different to, and learn significantly from, their peers. One immediate issue of concern is the recent establishment of a review into the early childhood referrals by the Australian Government through the Productivity Commission s 4

5 Inquiry into Child Care and Early Learning. The focus of that enquiry appears to be on cost. Any reduction in progress towards high quality early childhood services will reduce the opportunities for children with disabilities as high quality inclusion develops out of high quality services. Qualified educators and better child:staff ratios make it more likely inclusion will be successful. The importance of adopting universal design A consequence of children s services being developed when children with disabilities were institutionalised and excluded from the community is that children s services were not designed to accommodate children with disabilities. A concept that has been adopted from architecture is universal design. The principles of universal design in building is that it is more efficient to build a building to meet everyone s needs than to have to retrofit it for someone outside average expectations. This approach has relevance in children s services as well. While buildings for children s services have been modified to meet the physical needs of people with disabilities, the programs run by services also need to become universal. If the programs are not adapted, a child with a disability may access a building, but not necessarily participate in a program. This is because the curriculum, the pedagogy or the social environment is not flexible enough to cater for difference. A focus on universal design is helpful in differentiating between post and future approaches to inclusion. First efforts to include children with disabilities attempted to address the gap between the children s service and the capacity of a child with a disability by employing an additional adult, an integration aide to look after the child when they could not fit into the program. This approach creates a barrier to children with disabilities meaningfully participated. Its limitation is that it focuses its a response on what the child cannot do, rather than focusing on how the environment can be adapted to support the child s developmental needs. The need to adopt broader evidence based practice In developing services that are universal in design it is important to draw on the evidence about what supports the best learning environment for all children. This involves inter related strategies including: Curriculum approaches Professional inclusion support Regular assessment and tiered learning Parent engagement. Curriculum Curriculum has been proven to have an impact on the experience and learning outcomes of children with disabilities and other additional needs in early childhood education programs. Current evidence based curriculums include: The Incredible Years Series Training Programs by Carolyn Webster Stratton which provides an approach to improving behaviour. The Opening the World of Learning (OWL) by Judy Schickedanz and David Dickinson in collaboration with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, which provides a literacy based curriculum. 5

6 Following children s interests and scaffolding learning are also curriculum approaches that have a scientific evidence base. Professional Inclusion Support Specialist professional support to teachers develops their capabilities and knowledge about typical and atypical child development which can then be applied in broader contexts and for the benefit of all of their students. Dinnebeil and McInerney s Itinerant Early Childhood Special Education Services (2011) and Buysse and Wesley s Consultation in early childhood settings (2005) provide comprehensive best practice frameworks for the delivery of professional support to teachers. Both models rely on visiting inclusion support professionals working closely with teachers developing their teaching and learning strategies relevant to the child/ren in their group and supporting them to develop their skills, knowledge and confidence more broadly. At present the Victorian early childhood system does not have a consistent approach to the professional support to educators, which can lead to educators feeling unsupported. Regular Assessment and Tiered Learning This approach has been developed in the US where it is termed Response to Intervention (RTI). The approach uses regular assessment to identify which students need additional attention in certain areas and then offers a tiered approach to teaching. RTI assumes that: The education system can effectively teach all children Early intervention is critical to preventing problems from getting out of control The implementation of a multi-tiered service delivery model is necessary A problem solving model should be used to make decisions between tiers Research based interventions should be implemented to the extent possible Progress monitoring must be implemented to inform instruction There are a range of emerging tools for short and regular assessments. Grisham-Brown and Pretti-Frontczak, Assessing Young Children using Blended Practices (2011) provides a broad framework on assessment. Parent Engagement Parents are crucial in the achievement of learning outcomes by all children and particularly children with disabilities. There is emerging work in effective ways to engage parents in inclusion programs and some evidence to suggest that their engagement will result in improved outcomes. These varied approaches demonstrate that strategies that assist children with disabilities also can assist a range of children. The impact of discrimination on families and children When children and families experience poor inclusion practice, such as being made to feel unwelcome or like they are creating problems for others, they are more likely to hide away and not seek to participate than they are to fight the discrimination they are experiencing. These experiences in the early years can impact on the children and family s expectations and activities for many years to come. In our experience the combination of the vulnerability of families who have and child with a disability and the weakness of and process delays of antidiscrimination legislation effectively allow services to either opt in or out of allowing children with a disability into their program. In one regional centre we work in the children with disabilities attend less than 30% of Kindergarten. This is contributed to by professionals and families recommending the friendly services and the other services finding reasons not to become involved. Our understanding is that this is common across Victoria and is also 6

7 prevalent in the School system. The ongoing building of segregated specialist schools in Victoria also work against support for inclusion in the early years. The multiple dimensions of exclusion and inclusion Noah s Ark Inc has undertaken a number of projects focused on inclusion. In its report Inclusion in Children s Services: Next Steps (2006) both barriers to and factors that support inclusion were identified. While this report is somewhat dated, the issues it raises remain relevant. There have been no major developments in this area over the past two decades. The following sections are taken from the report. The summary of barriers as identified from the literature and the experience of the Victorian field (pp 5 7) follow. It commences with barriers from the literature. Barriers related to access to services and funding for inclusion support lack of information about inclusion and available services and supports difficulties negotiating and securing sources of funding the need for a diagnosis to secure funding constraints placed on funding, inflexibility about its use. Barriers related to beliefs and expectations of parents and professionals professionals and parents having different priorities in goals and desired behaviours for children mainstream and specialist service providers having different philosophical and theoretical perspectives and priorities attitudes of parents of typically developing children Barriers related to program implementation underlying philosophy or culture of the service capacity for the program to put principles into practice aspects of service quality: group size, adult-child ratios, training, facilities, and planning time lack of individualisation of the program lack of active support for relationships between children with and without additional needs services that are not family centred in their practices policies and funding promoting additional staffing as the default position for support for inclusion, along with the view that extra staff should work exclusively with the child with additional needs use of a withdrawal model by specialists additional stresses experienced by families with a child with additional needs Barriers related to training and management lack of planning and meeting time lack of availability of sufficient appropriate specialist support and advice insufficient training for mainstream staff and specialists about meeting the needs of children with disabilities in inclusive settings. lack of familiarity by specialist staff with early childhood programs lack of skills in specialist staff for working in partnership with practitioners difficulties recruiting and retaining competent and confident staff 7

8 lack of perceived incentives for including children with additional needs. The barriers from a Victorian practitioner s perspective follow. This was based on a series of regional focus groups. Barriers related to access to services and funding for inclusion support children coming to kindergarten without a diagnosis confusion about who initiates the process of applying for additional funding lack of knowledge of the child by the professional completing the form requesting additional funding language barriers the process of applying for funds being based on a deficit model criteria for accessing additional funds the timing of advice about funding policies that do not allow services to use both Preschool Field Officers and early childhood intervention specialists timelines for applying for funding structuring of funding for family day care limited number of hours for which assistants are funded low wages for additional workers lack of sufficient number of services, leading to long waiting lists increasing trend for services to make decisions driven by cost minimisation changed perceptions and expectations of children s services. Barriers related to beliefs and expectations of parents and professionals Parents attitudes and understanding lack of clarity about what successful inclusion looks like use of different criteria for judging quality concerns about school readiness reluctance to ask for what their child needs lack of support or even hostility towards children with additional needs by parents of typically developing children. Practitioners understandings, beliefs and expectations belief that they have to cure the child and get him or her ready for school unrealistic expectations about what can be achieved belief that they have to be experts in order to engage in inclusion an inflexible notion of readiness as an aim lack of confidence and low morale feeling that they are being watched, judged or criticised by specialists. fear of the new or unknown. Roles and perspectives of early childhood intervention professionals and specialists lack of understanding of the purpose of inclusion tendency to focus on the child, not the child in the context of the group lack of opportunities to observe the child in the group. Barriers related to program implementation 8

9 inadequate child-staff ratios inappropriate programming for children tendency to label children and have rigid expectations use of a deficit model or even a very traditional developmental model inappropriate use of the additional assistant. Barriers related to staffing, training and management unrealistic expectations by management about what staff can do increasing use of very young staff who lack experience growing trend for centre co-ordinators to be very young high staff turnover increasing use of agency staff. Inadequate communication between mainstream and early childhood intervention services professional isolation of kindergarten teachers dual focus of committees of management ways that inclusion is carried out unevenness among services in numbers of children with additional needs inadequate time to support inclusion insufficient numbers of relief staff lack of time for Preschool Field Officers to be hands-on lack of on-site support difficulties accessing training because of lack of time or compensation lack of support to apply training to particular programs. The report identified that the connections between early childhood intervention specialists and mainstream services are very limited. There is a major gap between what happens in early childhood intervention services and mainstream services, and better connections are desperately needed. Identified deficits in the knowledge and skills base of practitioners include the following: lack of an agreed definition of inclusion lack of appreciation of what inclusion means in practice lack of understanding of what family-centred means in daily practice lack of skills and understandings related to partnerships with parents lack of sufficient confidence to talk effectively with parents too little attention to inclusion as a part of pre-service training too much on-the-job training with no opportunity to experience a range of settings lack of solid grounding in theory. Strategies to improve inclusion were also identified in summary (pp7 9). Strategies that promote inclusion the literature A number of authors detail what constitutes an inclusion program of high quality, using dimensions of early childhood programs of high quality for all children as a foundation. The literature emphasises the importance of preparing parents and practitioners for the inclusion of children with disabilities. Strategies to promote inclusion views from the Victorian field improvements in overall operation of programs: smaller group size, better staff-child ratios, provision (time release) for time to reflect and to plan, strong leadership and attention to the design of buildings and spaces 9

10 increasing funding to support inclusion developing sound program policies to underpin daily practice having a strong philosophy that emphasises belonging, identity and each person s contribution and link that to daily practice having a general early curriculum framework for early childhood services greater emphasis to co-ordinating experiences of the child collaborating with parents, taking advantage of their wisdom broadening notions about relationships with parents beyond a problem focus providing training and support about partnerships with parents developing resources for parents to help them to understand inclusion developing a resource for parents of a child with additional needs about what to look for in a service helping parents of children with additional needs with smooth transitions in their child s early years increasing the understanding of practitioners and families of typically developing children about what it is like to have a child with additional needs. Supporting staff in inclusive practices the literature The literature emphasises the following as critical to supporting staff in inclusive practices: good relationships between adults a clearly articulated philosophy that emphasises and values diversity in children policies and procedures which foster mutual collaboration and cooperation between children s services and specialist services highly collaborative planning and decision making between children s services personnel, specialist services and families positive, collaborative and cooperative relationships between professionals. Working as a consultant The role of specialists and advisors in relation to early childhood practitioners has been highlighted as a particularly significant factor in successful inclusion. The role of consultant is an appropriate and effective concept on which to base a relationship. It can be a powerful tool for collaborative problem solving and change. The successful consultant must possess a range of skills, including interpersonal, communication, problem solving, group facilitation, and skills in working with organisations. To be effective as consultants, professionals need skills in establishing effective collaborative partnerships with other professionals. Specialists, advisors and practitioners need ongoing support and training in a range of areas to perform their key roles. Strategies for supporting staff views from the field Training In pre-service training, ensure a better balance of theory and practice, include more attention to working with families and inclusion, and give students opportunities to see inclusion. Integrate ongoing professional development and in-service training, include the application of general information to the specific contexts and settings of each service and include opportunities to observe and model good practice. Provide hands-on, on-site and collaborative support to practitioners so that they can justify what they are doing and what is happening in their services in ways that are convincing to parents. Provide on-site mentoring to help practitioners apply principles to their own practice. 10

11 Clarify the relationship between the specialist and the generic early childhood practitioner and provide time for specialists and practitioners to form and maintain relationships with each other. There was great interest among participants in the consultant model for specialists and practitioners working together. There was also strong emphasis on collaboration, and that there has to be recognition that it takes time and a structure to support it. The view was that all early childhood intervention specialists should have as the top priority helping children in mainstream services. They should see the child in the context of the group. Early childhood intervention specialists need to be able to work in natural settings and in ways that are relevant and meaningful to families. There needs to be training around the consultative role, and that training should incorporate case studies of professionals who are working successfully in that way. For both the service and individual professionals, being a part of a strong, local, community-based network and having strong connections with other professionals is critical. The use of an additional staff member received a lot of attention. Participants felt strongly that practitioners need help to realise that assigning an additional assistant to the child with additional needs is not real inclusion. While there has been improvement in the overall policy context, this has yet to flow through to specific program reform. The conflicting purposes in Kindergarten Inclusion The main form of support to children with disabilities in Victorian Kindergartens is the Kindergarten Inclusion Support Packages (KISP). Currently, in Noah s Ark s experience, this program sets up a series of poor practices at the very beginning of a child s interaction with the formal education system. To obtain access to KISP funding for an additional assistant, kindergarten directors need to make the case for funding to the Department several months prior to the commencement of the school year. This experience is often the parent s (and child s) first interaction with the formal education system. In a review of KISP by Noah s Ark in 2012, several parents spoke of their horror at having to have their first conversation with the kindergarten director be about everything that is wrong with their child and everything their child is not able to do, and to be asked to make out the worst possible case in order to obtain funding. They spoke of this often being the first time when the focus was on what was wrong with their child (with their interactions with ECIS and other professionals usually having a strengths focus) and the impact this conversation had on their expectations of the education system (remembering that this is their first ever formal interaction with the education system in relation to their child). Some spoke of feeling devastated by the conversation and then by having to read what the kindergarten director had said about their child in the report (which they are required to sign) in order to justify the KIS funding. Some came to believe that their child was a major inconvenience for the kindergarten and that their participation could only occur if the additional assistant worked on a one-to-one basis with their child. This not only created tensions when the additional assistant worked with other children in the room (as is expected), but also set up an expectation of the need for an aide to support the child s participation in mainstream school or for them to be placed in a special education setting. It should be noted that in Noah s Ark s research, kindergarten directors also deeply disliked the need to have to have such a negative and potentially destructive conversation with parents but felt that the need to raise the ratio of staff to children to accommodate the child with a disability outweighed this (especially as most kindergarten directors also know that other children with undiagnosed additional needs will be attending their kindergarten program). 11

12 In Noah s Ark s experience, poor inclusion practice in early childhood can have a major negative impact on the expectations of the family and the experiences of the child for many years to come. Conversely, getting it right in the early years would have a considerable influence on the achievement of social inclusion for all ages. Mismatch in policy and practice As outlined earlier, while DEECD s policy clearly states that KISP funded additional assistants should work with all children and therefore increase the capacity for one to one interaction and support for all children from the kindergarten teacher, in practice many KISP funded additional assistants operate as aides working directly with the child with a disability. Such an approach can be exclusionary as children with disabilities interact mainly, or wholly, with the additional assistant (who may be the least qualified staff member in the room) and fail to receive the same level of access to the teacher as other children; and fail to have the opportunity to interact with their peers. Families and children also experience a disconnection between the levels of schooling. The application process for the Program for Students with Disabilities (PSD) in schools takes no account of what has occurred in the ECEC setting and requires the child and family to go through the process of establishing their eligibility and need again. This may be only one (or maybe two) years after making the case for KISP funding but may require new assessments, apply new criteria and create new expectations. While the intention of both the KISP and PSD programs is to support the inclusion of children with disabilities, the need to ration funding has driven a system where, in practice, children and families are made to feel they are unwelcome and inconvenient to the education system. Again, these experiences of exclusion in the education system can set up expectations that follow the child and family for the rest of their lives. Need for changed policy and practice in the early years Noah s Ark believes there is a strong case for change in the support provided to children with disabilities in the early years, including in kindergartens and pre-schools and in the first few years of primary school. This change needs to address at least the following four levels. Attitudes and beliefs at the moment the Victorian s government s public support for inclusion is ambiguous. There is no strong messaging at the community level about the importance of universal access to children s services including children with disabilities. There is strong messaging about the opening of special schools. Responsiveness of services at the moment the policy objective that children s services meet the individual needs of all children in their programs is not being achieved. There are a range of evidence based strategies identified above that would benefit all children if introduced, including reforms to curriculum, pedagogy and social contexts. These initiatives would increase the quality of services in general and benefit children with learning challenges in particular. Professional support needs the need of staff in children s services to receive continuos and consistent support should be recognised and sufficient investment made to ensure this is available. The current adhoc arrangements are outdated and ineffective. It is unreasonable to expect all educators to know about all children. The lack of a coherent system through which they can gain advice, support and mentoring means the focus in 12

13 inclusion support has not progressed from a reliance on integration aides. Until teachers are directly supported to be involved in the education of children with disabilities it is unlikely that the current situation, in which the least skilled adult present, the integration aide, is primarily responsible for the child with the most complex learning needs. Additional resource There will be the need for additional resources at times, including physical adaptations and reduced child:staff ratios. The current Kindergarten Inclusion Support Packages originated in the 1990s and was an initiative of the Federal Government. The Victorian Government now also funds the program, but it has not undertaken a significant review into the inclusion of young children with disabilities in over two decades, despite the major reforms that have now occurred across early childhood services in general. The early years form the foundations for social inclusion. If the Victorian Parliament is considering how to make Victoria a more inclusive society for people with disabilities, we would encourage it to consider the lifelong ramifications for young children with disabilities and their families when they fail to be accepted into or supported by the community services for young children other families take for granted. Impact of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Currently in Victoria children with disabilities under the age of 6 years do not receive support from Disability Services. All of their support needs are funded through ECIS. In the switch over to the NDIS, however, all young children with disabilities will be eligible for support alongside older children and adults. It is difficult to be definitive about the NDIS at this point as it is still in a process of evolution and changing rapidly. Vigilance will need to be shown to ensuring that it does achieve more integrated supports for young children and greater opportunities for children with disabilities to participate in the community. Specific Questions from the Committee We have answered some of the Committee s specific questions below. Noah s Ark would be pleased also to provide verbal evidence to the Committee about the importance of inclusion in the early years and in the ECEC and school sectors. Question How should social inclusion for Victorians with a disability be defined? For Noah s Ark it is important that the definition of inclusion encompasses the active participation and meaningful involvement of children with disabilities and developmental delays in the same early childhood education and care programs and community settings as other typically developing children of the same age with the same high expectations for their learning and development. Question 3.3 What is the difference between the concepts of social inclusion and participation in the context of people with a disability? An inclusive program or setting is one in which children of all abilities and their families are expected, planned for and made welcome. Participation is an important indicator of how inclusive the program is. 13

14 Question 3.4 What does social inclusion for Victorians with a disability look like now? The situation for children with disabilities and their families is detailed above. There is still a considerable way to go to ensure that children with disabilities and their families experience social inclusion in Early Childhood Education and Care settings, particularly those administered by the State Government, and in community activities. Question 4.1 What are the barriers to meaningful social inclusion for Victorians with a disability? Barriers to the inclusion of children in early childhood education and care settings include: Educators lack of skills, knowledge and confidence Lack of relevant pre-service training for educators and child care workers Attitudes of educators Attitudes of parents, including the parents of other children Lack of resources Lack of specialised curricula and pedagogy Poor public policy. Question 4.2 In what ways do Victorians with a disability participate in the economic, social and civil dimensions of society? One of the criticisms that has been made in relation to inclusion support in both State and Australian Government early childhood education and care programs is the lack of data that has been collected in relation to the level of demand from children with disabilities and other additional needs. It is currently not possible to know what proportion of children with disabilities participate in ECEC settings nor whether or not they are being actively excluded in certain locations. Question What do you see as the emerging issues for Victorians with a disability over the next 20 years and how might these influence their social inclusion? Noah s Ark is strongly of the view that improved inclusion policy and practice in the early years will filter through to more positive inclusion experiences in later childhood, adolescence and the adult years. Families who have an expectation of welcome and children who receive optimal early education and care will have the confidence to go onto mainstream schools and to community settings and workplaces who, in turn, will be more confident in their ability to include and support their full participation. It is important that inclusion is seen as a whole of life expectation and experience and that all institutions and policy settings have this requirement placed upon them by regulatory bodies. Question 4.5 How can social inclusion and the participation of people in the community be effectively measured? An Australian Bureau of Statistics survey (ABS, 2009) found that 7% of children aged 0-14 have a disability. Of these, approximately 85% have specific limitations or restrictions and 67% require assistance with day to day activities (ibid). Around half (48%) of all children with a disability require assistance with cognitive or emotional activities such as decision making or thinking through problems; coping with feelings or emotions, and making friendships; maintaining relationships or interacting with others. Other activities that children with a disability require assistance with include communication (39%), mobility (32%), selfcare (28%) and health care (25%) (ABS 2009). It is therefore estimated that if children with a disability are included in ECEC to the same extent as other children (and this should be the case), 7% of the ECEC population will have a disability. 14

15 At the simplest level, social inclusion in the early years can be measured through examining the participation rates of children with disabilities compared with their representation in the overall population. Whilst this does not measure the quality of service provision, it does measure whether or not children and families are accessing these supports at an equal level. In addition, Quality Systems (such as the NQF mentioned earlier) can measure the fit between program delivery and program standards. Question 6.1 How effective are services and initiatives designed to enhance the social inclusion of Victorians with a disability? As detailed above, programs such as the Kindergarten Inclusion Support Packages (KISP) and the Program for Students with Disabilities (PSD), although well intentioned, may have created negative impacts for families which impede their inclusion in subsequent years. Question 7.2 What should be the role of governments and the community sector in increasing social inclusion for Victorians with a disability? Noah s Ark believes there is a strong case for change in the support provided to children with disabilities in the early years, including in kindergartens and pre-schools and in the first few years of primary school. 15

16 References ABS (2009) Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers Bruce, E. J. (2000). Grief, trauma and parenting children with disability: cycles of disenfranchisement. Grief Matters: The Australian Journal of Grief and Bereavement, 13(2), Buysse V and Wesley P (2005) Consultation in early childhood settings Paul H. Brookes Buysse, V and Hollingsworth, H.L. (2009) Research Synthesis points on Early Childhood Inclusion. DEC journal, Young Exceptional Children, Monograph series 11. Dinnebeil L and McInerney W (2011) Itinerant Early Childhood Special Education Services Paul H. Brookes Goldman, B. D., & Buysse, V., (2008) Making friends: Assisting children s early relationships. FPG Snapshot, 55. Grisham-Brown J and Pretti-Frontczak K (2011) Assessing Young Children using Blended Practices Paul H. Brookes Hardin, B., Wesley, P., & Lohr, L. (1998). Inclusive preschool environments: Strategies for planning. Lewisville, NC: Kaplan Press. Odom, S. L. (Ed.). (2002) Widening the circle: Including children with disabilities in preschool programs. New York: Teachers College Press. Odom, Schwartz and ECRII Investigators Research Synthesis Points on Early Childhood Inclusion. National Professional Development Center on Inclusion, FPG Child Development Institute, Chapel Hill, North Carolina Opening the World of Learning DBSITEID=2781&PMDBSUBSOLUTIONID=&PMDBSOLUTIONID=6724&PMDBSUBJECTA REAID=&PMDBCATEGORYID=3289&PMDbProgramId=73001 Mellor, E. (1990). Stepping Stones: The development of Early Childhood Services in Australia. NSW: HBJ Publishers. McLoughlin J. & Stonehouse A. (2006). Inclusion in Children s Services: Next Steps. Melbourne, Victoria: Noah s Ark Inc. Snyder, P., Wixson, C., Talapatra, D., & Roach, A. (in press). Assessment in early childhood: Instruction-focused strategies to support response-to-intervention frameworks. Assessment for Effective Intervention. Stratton, Carolyn Webster (2011) Incredible Years Parents, Teachers and Children s Training Series Incredible Years Inc 16

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