Nursery World - A Unique Child: Unlocking care

Pilot projects are helping children with disabilities access quality care, finds Annette Rawstrone.

Parents who are struggling to find suitable childcare for their disabled children are being assisted by a range of projects operating across England.

Ten pilot schemes are actively developing ways to address the concerns of parents of disabled children and help them back into work or training (see box) as part of the Disabled Children's Access to Childcare (DCatch) initiative. It is now in its second year of a three-year pilot after the Government launched the scheme in May 2008 with £35m of funding, as part of the Aiming High for Disabled Children programme.

A Department for Children, Schools and Families spokesperson explains, 'Each pilot is developing projects to improve access to childcare for disabled children and young people and to reduce attitudinal barriers.

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