Nursery World - A Unique Child: Inclusion

Support services are available for families of disabled children, but parents need to be helped to access them. Mary Evans hears how.

A pilot project being rolled out across the country is proving successful at helping parents of disabled children to access suitable childcare.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families has allocated £12.5m to fund the expansion of the Disabled Children's Access to Childcare (DCATCH) programme, in which ten three-year pilots raised the uptake in childcare and support services by families with disabled children, who are often cautious about using childcare.

Each of the 142 local authorities that were not part of the pilot is gaining at least £59,000 funding. As part of the project, 'Parent Champions', who are parents in the local area with experience of using childcare for their own disabled children, are recruited by their local authorities to help others understand the services and support available to them.

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