Inclusive Child Care resources and supports
Last updated on June 28, 2024All children benefit from inclusive child care settings that are welcoming and celebrate the diverse identities of children, families, and staff. Child care professionals are working hard to provide inclusive child care programs and sometimes need support to enable all children to fully participate.
Some child care professionals are experts in inclusivity, and some are in the early stages of their journey towards inclusive child care. To build truly inclusive child care as a core service, a system-wide approach to inclusion is necessary. B.C.’s Inclusive Child Care Strategy describes this system-wide approach.
On this page
- Inclusive Child Care Strategy
- Inclusive Child Care Toolkit
- The Foundations of Inclusive Child Care training
- Behaviour in the Early Years initiative
- Inclusive toileting initiative
- Inclusive child care services
Inclusive Child Care Strategy
The Inclusive Child Care Strategy describes a foundation for a future vision where every child can have access to child care. The strategy looks towards a future that:
- Embeds equity and inclusion in all aspects of child care
- Supports providers in gaining the knowledge and skills to provide inclusive child care
- Meets the specific needs of children who are neurodiverse, have a disability, complex needs or other support needs
Engagement with families, child care providers, Indigenous organizations, school districts and other organizations providing supports and services for families informed the development of the Inclusive Child Care Strategy. Findings from these engagements are detailed in the engagement report.
- Equity, Inclusion and Child Care in B.C.: Engagement Report
- Where All Children Belong: B.C. Inclusive Child Care Strategy
Engagement and consultation will remain ongoing to inform progress toward inclusive child care as a core service. This process will also include cross-ministry partnership and collaboration with child care partners.
The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) is currently engaging with the public to inform the design of an effective service delivery model to support children and youth with support needs. More information can be found through MCFD’s CYSN Engagement Portal. As this engagement continues, the Ministry of Education and Child Care will continue to learn alongside MCFD to make progress towards a future where child care providers are empowered to deliver truly inclusive, culturally safe child care.
Inclusive Child Care Toolkit
The Inclusive Child Care Toolkit is a user-friendly resource intended to support quality, inclusive practices in child care settings throughout B.C. The Toolkit encourages reflective practice and provides guidance for child care providers on how to develop an inclusion policy.
The Foundations of Inclusive Child Care training
The Foundations of Inclusive Child Care Training is a free, self-paced, professional development opportunity to learn more about inclusive practices. Completion of this course will award each learner 12 professional development hours. It is designed for child care providers, early childhood educators (ECEs), and other professionals in the child care sector.
The Foundations of Inclusive Child Care Training provides an introduction to inclusion and ways to incorporate its principles in child care settings. Funding was provided to CanAssist at the University of Victoria to build content that reflects inclusion as a multi-dimensional concept which influences almost every aspect of a child care program. Inclusion is viewed as a broad and multi-dimensional concept which influences almost every aspect of a child care program. This course focuses on reflective practice and building plans for putting inclusion into action. We know that when more children with support needs and disabilities are included in community child care, everyone benefits!
Enrol in The Foundations of Inclusive Child Care Training today.
Behaviour in the Early Years initiative
Early childhood educators and other child care professionals can benefit from additional training in responding to children’s behaviour. Funding was provided to CanAssist at the University of Victoria, with the goal of building capacity in the child care sector to support children’s behaviour in more inclusive ways. This initiative aims to reduce the number of children who are excluded from child care programs across the province in response to their behaviour. CanAssist developed several engaging resources for this initiative which you can explore below:
Behaviour in the Early Years Position Statement
The Behaviour in the Early Years Position Statement (PDF, 1MB) outlines a collective vision for understanding and approaching children’s behaviour as a BC Child Care Community. It includes discussion about various approaches and strategies for supporting a broad range of children, including those with support needs.
Behaviour in the Early Years online training
The Behaviour in the Early Years online training is a free, self-paced professional development opportunity. Completion of this course will award each learner 10 professional development hours. It is designed for child care providers, early childhood educators, and other professionals in the child care sector.
The training contains four modules:
- Module 1: Understanding Children’s Behaviours
- Module 2: The Learning Ecosystem - Relationships
- Module 3: The Learning Ecosystem - Environments
- Module 4: Applying Your Knowledge – Scenario Based Learning
Enroll in Behaviour in the Early Years online training today.
Additional resources
In addition to the position statement and online training, CanAssist has developed three additional resources that can be accessed on the Behaviour in the Early Years webpage and BC Early Years Professional Development Hub. This includes a digital toolkit, Excellence in Action video series, and virtual webinar series.
Digital toolkit:
- The toolkit consists of standalone posters, conversation guides, and interactive resources to be used by anyone working in collaboration with children. Parents, early childhood professionals, and community partners can access and utilize the tools and share them within their child care communities.
- Posters and infographics cover a range of key topics from the online training and are designed to be printed and displayed. Topics include, but are not limited to, emotional regulation, learning ecosystems, and sensory profiles
- Conversation guides support child care professionals in new and continuing conversations in child care contexts. With the goal of connection, these resources use a tone and language that is genuine and authentic for the user. The conversation guides are designed to assist child care professionals through discussions that can be difficult to navigate, such as suggesting a new strategy to a team, providing feedback to a colleague and talking about safety
- Interactive resources fill in the remaining gaps. You will find a template to help draft a behaviour policy for your centre, a step-by-step guide for creating a learning ecosystem, an Inclusive Child Care Phrasebook to help shift to more inclusive language, and a Self-Care Handbook to help support you in caring for yourself and others
Excellence in Action video series:
- This series of short videos features outstanding educators, centres, and approaches in the child care field. These videos not only recognize and celebrate the valuable efforts of child care professionals in B.C., but also provide inspiration to other educators by showcasing the innovative work being done to support children across the province
Webinar series:
- This series of webinars features subject matter professionals as they discuss important topics related to behaviour in the early years
Visit CanAssist’s initiative web page to view their newsletter and stay connected for future updates!
Inclusive toileting initiative
Families and child care providers may find that the requirement for children to use the bathroom independently (toileting) is a barrier in accessing child care, specifically for families whose children have support needs. Funding was provided to CanAssist at the University of Victoria, that develops solutions for people with physical or cognitive barriers, to help make child care centres more inclusive for children with this barrier. CanAssist worked with more than 300 child care providers, parents and subject matter experts, including occupational therapists, to develop toileting resources and supports for child care providers and families:
Inclusive Bathroom Design Considerations
The Inclusive Bathroom Design Considerations resource includes questions and considerations when building, renovating, or furnishing bathroom spaces intended primarily for use by children. The Ministry of Health, Community Care Facility Licensing and Assisted Living Registry helped develop this resource.
Toilet Learning Position Statement
The Toilet Learning Position Statement outlines an inclusive, child centered approach to toileting. It includes discussion about various approaches and strategies for toileting that addresses a broad range of children, including those with support needs.
Toileting Resource Evaluation Tool
The Toileting Resource Evaluation Tool was developed to support child care providers, early childhood educators, and related staff in determining the quality and effectiveness of toileting resources and to help them identify resources that best meet the needs of the children and their families.
The (toilet) Step Stool
The Step Stool (TSS) is designed to offer more stability and a greater sense of security for children when toileting versus standard commercially available step stools. Key features of the TSS include adjustable height, deep grab handles, a removable toilet paper holder, smooth surfaces for easy cleaning, and it can be collapsed for storage. Over 1,000 step stools have been delivered to child care programs across the province since 2021. Purchase TSS.
Inclusive child care services
The Supported Child Development (SCD) and Aboriginal Supported Child Development (ASCD) are community-based programs that offer a range of consulting and support services to children, families, and child care centres to help children with support needs to fully participate in child care programs.
Through these programs, consultants work with child care professionals and families to develop strategies for inclusion of children with support needs. A diagnosis is not required, and families as well as child care providers may refer a child to SCD and ASCD programs to request support.
The Aboriginal Supported Child Development program provides supports in a culturally responsive and meaningful way. Find an ASCD program in your area.
To find the Supported Child Development Program serving your area, contact your local Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) office. You can also ask your public health nurse, healthcare provider, child care provider or Child Care Resource & Referral (CCRR) office.