The NSW/ACT Inclusion Agency (IA) is part of the Inclusion Support Program and is managed by KU Children’s Services, in partnership with Include Me and Gowrie NSW.
The Inclusion Support Program aims to build the capacity and capability of educators to address participation barriers for all children through implementing quality inclusive practices.
When we are talking about inclusion, are we talking about the same thing?
My Time Our Place tells us that inclusion involves:
‘taking into account all children’s social, cultural and linguistic diversity (including learning styles, abilities, disabilities, gender, family circumstances and geographic location) in curriculum decision-making processes. The intent is to ensure that:
Australian Government Department of Education (2022). My Time Our Place: Framework for School Age Care in Australia (V2.0). Canberra, ACT: AGDE (p.66).
All children have the right to be included in children’s services. We know from research that all children benefit from belonging to, and participating in, quality inclusive Out of School Hours Care programs.
An inclusive service provides a unique opportunity for children to play, develop and learn together with children of their own age. These relationships are the foundations for learning and provide a powerful way of belonging to a group and developing a sense of self.
We recognise that the inclusion journey of your service is unique and that the inclusion needs of educators, the service as a whole and each service type (BSC, ASC, Vacation Care) differs. The support we provide is tailored to meet the individual needs of your service.
You will be supported by an Inclusion Professional, who is based at an Inclusion Hub within the NSW/ACT Inclusion Agency.
Our Inclusion Professionals use a strengths-based approach, including coaching and practical inclusion advice when supporting your service. Support is provided through a combination of phone appointments, online appointments and service visits.
Your Inclusion Professional will support you to:
Inclusion Professionals are unable to:
A Strategic Inclusion Plan is the first step in accessing support from the Inclusion Agency.
The Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP) is a self-guided inclusion assessment and planning tool for services, which includes strategies for improving and embedding inclusive practice, in line with the National Quality Standard (NQS).
Developing a Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP), in conjunction with your Inclusion Professional, supports you to identify your current inclusion capacity as well as identify strategies and actions you and your team will implement to ensure all children can actively and meaningfully participate in the program.
A Strategic Inclusion Plan is developed, implemented and evaluated within a 12 month period and can be updated at any time to reflect changes and to record progress.
A Strategic Inclusion Plan can link with your service’s Quality Improvement Plan or NSW Self-Assessment Working Document and may be sighted by Authorised Officers from state and territory regulatory authorities, as evidence of critical reflection and inclusion planning.
While there is no national definition of ‘additional needs’, there are children who may need or require specific considerations or adaptations to participate fully in OSHC services (although not all children with additional needs will require support).
The Inclusion Support Program (ISP) supports educators to address access and participation barriers and to support the inclusion of children with additional needs, with their typically developing peers.
The Inclusion Support Program recognises that additional needs may arise for children who:
and for children from:
who may also require special considerations, such as cultural support, to ensure that they are able to participate fully in out of school hours care a services and experience positive outcomes.
Extract from: Department of Education, Inclusion Support Program Guidelines, Version 2.6, October 2025.
The NSW/ACT Inclusion Agency includes the Specialist Equipment Library (SEL). The SEL loans a range of specialist equipment, free of charge, to Out of School Hours Care services to enable children to access and participate in all aspects of an OSHC program.
Through the development of a Strategic Inclusion Plan, educators, may at times, identify inclusion barriers that cannot be resolved through accessing support from the Inclusion Agency or Specialist Equipment Library (SEL) alone.
In these circumstances, the Inclusion Support Program (ISP) can provide further support to services through the Inclusion Development Fund Manager (IDFM).
There are three streams of Inclusion Development Funds (IDF) available to support educators in Out of School Hours Care services to address barriers to inclusion. Each have different eligibility criteria, application processes and approved funding purposes. These streams of IDF funding include:
Inclusion Together is a free online resource that provides practical tools for supporting a child's learning, development and inclusion in an early childhood education and care service. This resource is designed to support the inclusion of children with disability or developmental differences through building an inclusion team that works well together.
Each section of Inclusion Together has information, ideas, strategies and videos that support an inclusion team to work together to strengthen inclusion and support children to play, learn, develop and thrive.
All children have the right to access and participate in early childhood education and care (ECEC).
Starting the conversation is a resource developed by the Department of Social Services as part of Australia's Disability Strategy 2021-2031 to support educators and families to work together to support children with developmental concerns to fully participate in early childhood education.
Please contact your Inclusion Professional directly, at a time that is convenient for you. Their contact details can be located at the bottom of each email they have sent your service.
Alternatively, please contact our friendly team at the IA Help Hub on 1800 703 382 (toll-free) or email us at inclusionagency@includeme.com
Your Inclusion Professional will share with you information about available inclusion resources, upcoming professional conversations opportunities and program support options.
We look forward to working with you soon and supporting you with your inclusion planning.
