“It’s our polite nudge in the ribs to help you and your team stay organised and on task.”
This week’s subject is Access and participation.
Element 6.2.2: Effective partnerships support children’s access, inclusion and participation in the program.
How effectively does your service work in partnership with families, communities and support agencies to identify and remove barriers to access, inclusion and participation for every child?
Element 6.2.2 recognises that effective partnerships are essential to ensuring all children can access, participate in and benefit from high-quality education and care. The NQS highlights the important role educators, families, communities and other professionals play in creating inclusive environments where every child experiences a genuine sense of belonging and has equitable opportunities to learn, develop and thrive.
Access and participation extend beyond enrolment. They involve learning and understanding each child’s individual circumstances, strengths, interests, abilities, cultural and linguistic experiences, family context and support needs. Educators use this knowledge to make informed decisions about the environment, curriculum, routines and daily practices. Services that actively identify and address barriers to participation create environments where children are supported to engage meaningfully in all aspects of the program.
The Guide to the NQF emphasises that educators’ attitudes, beliefs and values about inclusion significantly influence children’s success and participation. Inclusive practice requires educators to recognise and respond to barriers that children and families may experience, including those related to disability, neurodiversity, cultural and linguistic diversity, family diversity, trauma, adversity or geographical circumstances. Educators are expected to adopt flexible approaches and make reasonable adjustments to support every child’s participation and engagement in learning.
Quality Practices to Support Access and Participation:
As part of ongoing quality improvement, services may consider how effectively they implement and document the following practices:
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- Building strong, reciprocal partnerships with families to understand each child’s strengths, interests, cultural identity, family priorities and support needs.
- Ensuring enrolment information, policies, procedures and communication methods are accessible, inclusive and easy for families to understand.
- Evaluating environments, routines, transitions and staffing arrangements to identify and remove barriers that may limit children’s participation.
- Seeking regular feedback from children and families about their experiences of inclusion, belonging and participation within the service.
- Developing individual support strategies and plans in partnership with families, educators and relevant professionals where required.
- Engaging with inclusion support services, health professionals and community organisations to strengthen educator capability and support children’s participation.
- Accessing professional learning opportunities that build educators’ capacity and understanding of inclusion, equity, cultural responsiveness and individualised support practices.
- Ensuring resources, visual displays, books and learning materials authentically and consistently reflect the diversity of children, families and communities represented within the service.
- Embedding flexible teaching practices that allow children to participate in ways that reflect their strengths, abilities, interests and preferred learning styles.
- Regularly reviewing policies, procedures and the service philosophy to ensure they clearly demonstrate a commitment to access, inclusion and participation for every child and family.
Quality Improvement Planning:
Services may wish to consider the following practices during their self-assessment and continuous improvement planning for this element:
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- Conduct an audit of enrolment, orientation and communication processes to identify and remove potential barriers for families.
- Evaluate learning environments and routines through an inclusion lens to determine whether all children can participate meaningfully.
- Develop a professional learning plan focused on inclusive practice and participation.
- Appoint an Inclusive Practice Officer/representative from the team to develop plans, lead and support staff in strengthening partnerships with families, inclusion agency, health professionals and community support services.
- Provide regular family feedback opportunities, specifically focused on access, inclusion and participation.
- Reflect on how children’s voices are gathered and used to inform decisions about the program, routines and environment.
- Evaluate whether resources, displays and documentation authentically reflect the diversity of enrolled children, families and the wider community.
- Establish reflective discussions during team meetings to identify barriers to participation and develop strategies to address them.
- Include inclusive practice professional learning resources as part of your onboarding of new educators.
ACECQA recently added a new module to their NQF eLearning program as part of their Inclusive Capability Project. The “Introduction to Inclusive Practice” eLearning resource is designed to support new and existing educators in understanding and supporting inclusion, identifying barriers to participation and embedding inclusive practice across environments, routines, curriculum and relationships. Services may wish to utilise this resource as part of their ongoing professional learning and quality improvement strategies.
When services intentionally foster collaborative partnerships and continually reflect on access, inclusion and participation, they create environments where every child experiences belonging and feels valued and supported to succeed. Through ongoing reflection, collaboration and responsive practice, services can strengthen equitable outcomes for all children and families while demonstrating their commitment to removing barriers and supporting every child’s access, inclusion and meaningful participation in the service.
Resources:
Guide to the NQF- Element 6.2.2: Access and participation, Element 3.2.1: Inclusive environment
ACECQA Information sheets: Quality Area 6: Building partnerships with families,
Belonging, Being & Becoming: Respect for diversity, Quality Area 3 Inclusive environments
Within System7 go to Quality Area 6/ Modules 18-24 to submit self-assessment notes and if required, open a QIP issue if you identify any areas of improvement.
The Desktop has a range of resources to assist services with documenting professional collaboration. These include Family Communication Policy, Open Door Policy, Anti Bias and Inclusion Policy, Additional Needs Policy, Additional Needs Procedure, Inclusive Audit, Behaviour Guidance Guide, Connecting and Communicating with Families Guide and much more.
Resources, NQS Element, Regulation and System7 links:
The Desktop – The Desktop
National Quality Standard – QA6 / Element: 6.2.2
National Regulations – 73: Educational Program, 74: Documenting of child assessments or evaluations for delivery of educational program, 157: Access for parents, 168: Education and care service must have policies and procedures, 172: Notification of change to policies or procedures
System7 Module – QA6/ Modules 18-24
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