The 'All of Us' pack contains two documents to promote inclusive policy and practice in childcare and play settings. The Inclusion Checklist for Settings outlines good practice for playworkers, childminders and other childcare staff, and the Inclusion Framework for Local Authorities offers practical ways to move policy into practice in including disabled children.
The initiative is a result of a UK-wide consultation process by KIDSactive, a division of KIDS, and was produced under the Playwork Inclusion Project contract with the Department for Education and Skills in 2002.
Philip Douch, national development manager for KIDSactive and author of 'All of Us', said the pack was put together following consultation with the National Inclusive Play Network co-ordinated by KIDSactive, members of KIDS, providers and LEAs. He said, 'We were driven by producing something that would not sit on the shelf but would be used in everyday practice.'
The checklist includes Twelve Key Features of Inclusive Settings, with tips for managers and practitioners on how to incorporate good practice, policies and procedures to follow, how each individual child and their parents or carers should be treated, and what an inclusive setting should aspire to.
Mr Douch said, 'We hope that settings using the checklist will wave the framework in front of their LEAs, and the LEAs will likewise draw attention to the checklist among settings. We also hope that when providers are thinking about good practice for the inclusion of disabled children, they will think about good practice for everyone.'
Speaking at the launch, children's minister Margaret Hodge said that the new KIDS publications marked a 'significant step forward in supporting the inclusion of disabled children in play and settings'. She noted that families with disabled children often faced enormous obstacles when accessing services.
Ms Hodge said, 'We are working hard to make the services more inclusive, more joined up, properly responsive to the needs of the child and the family, and not driven by the needs of the professional.'
The Inclusion Framework will be sent to key personnel in local education authorities by the end of the month. Seminars to support the framework and workshops on the checklist are available on request.
For more information call KIDSactive on 020 7359 3073 or email pip@kidsactive.org.uk.
