Implementing, Monitoring and Evaluating Plans

To ensure success, it’s essential to collaborate with everyone involved in implementing the plan. The aim is to develop partnerships between the family, child, colleagues and anyone else critical to the plan’s application.

Elements of a collaborative relationship include open communication, respect and trust. Share and exchange information with everyone involved in the plan by inviting their input into the planning, monitoring and reviewing stages. 

Collaborating with Families

Families are crucial to the successful implementation of the plan. It is crucial that what occurs at the service also carries through in the home and community for consistency. Build partnerships with families to share and exchange knowledge and insight about the child. This corresponds with the NQS – Quality Area 6 – Collaborative partnerships with families and communities. Ensure you follow your service’s standards, policies, and procedures to support collaborative partnerships with families and the community.

Collaborating with families provides opportunities to exchange information, enabling the family to share opinions, ideas and suggestions to support positive behaviours. You can promote collaboration, build rapport and exchange information by:

• inviting the family to participate in the process and contribute to the planning of behaviour supports 
• asking open and closed questions 
• listening to seek information and confirm understanding
• using respectful language
• observing their cultural requirements 
• providing accurate information about planned supports
• welcoming different perspectives that families can bring to planning
• sharing concerns about the child’s development, health and wellbeing
• inviting insights into routines, likes and interests when the child is at home
• seeking feedback on the best way to support a child
• clarifying family expectations and circumstances
• providing timely and regular information to families.

Collaborating with Colleagues

Obtaining input from colleagues will assist the plan's development by including a wide range of views and perspectives. When implemented, there will need to be a commitment and consistent application of the agreed strategies. Therefore, it’s useful for the team to have an agreement. They may also need training on the techniques to be implemented.

Collaboration can occur in conversations during the working day, at team meetings or during reflection sessions. Collaborating with colleagues involves inviting their feedback and sharing information and knowledge to ensure a good outcome from the plan.

Collaborating with the Child

The child can be provided with an increased agency by inviting their participation. They can be included in the planning and be provided with information about actions taken and records kept. Valuing their input and including them in the process supports them in contributing to their world and being confident and involved learners.

Build collaborative relationships with children by: 

• inviting them to express feelings, likes and dislikes and suggestions
• encouraging them to participate in rule-setting and support options
• trying their suggestions to show their input is valued
• affirming their efforts to raise their ideas and have input.

Encouraging Others to Adopt Inclusive Attitudes and Practices

Modelling inclusive attitudes and practices encourage other people to adopt them as well. Embodying a philosophy that fosters and appreciates diversity places value on children and colleagues to learn more.

We can help others develop positive attitudes toward differences by teaching and learning about similarities and differences during our daily interactions. Ensure curriculums are not spotlighting differences and that learning and development are available for everyone. Encourage questions and discussions that explore similarities and differences and challenge or restate prejudicial statements to reframe thinking.

Programs that promote inclusion could include:

• inviting guest speakers and visitors with diverse needs from diverse backgrounds
• providing art materials in a range of skin colour tones
• using a range of children's literature showing diversity
• displaying the diversity of children and people in posters and displays 
• creating opportunities for children to develop an understanding of different experiences and perspectives
• celebrating differences such as place of origin or background.

Services must follow fair and impartial practices that include equity and inclusivity for everyone according to their policies and practices.

Pro-active Communication 

Effective communication enables a shared commitment to the child and provides opportunities to build relationships and share knowledge. In this context, effective communication includes:

• active listening, such as reframing content to ensure understanding
• using non-verbal communication such as eye contact, facial expressions, body posture, etc.
• using open and closed questions 
• using clear and concise language (not jargon)
• showing empathy 
• using feedback to engage in the conversation and move it forward
• building rapport to find common ground
• being present in the conversation and not being distracted.

Use non-discriminatory, inclusive, and positive language in the early childhood setting. Instead of the child’s behaviour, quality of their work or level of development, focus on the child’s skills and strengths. Seek to understand behaviour regarding the child’s developmental and emotional development. Objectively frame the behaviour, describing what is seen rather than being subjective and negative about how challenging it may be to support.

Questioning Skills

Use questions to collect information, prompt discussion, or confirm your understanding. Various questioning techniques can be used to achieve different outcomes when communicating:

Techniques	Explanation
Closed questions	phrased for a yes or no answer, or precise details, such as a date, time, place or a person's name useful for a specific answer or confirming you have understood what was said for example: Have I confirmed that correctly? How often did that occur? Have you received the invitation?
Open questions	phrased so that more than a yes/no or one-word answer is provided invite detail and provide choices in how the other answers often how or why questions beneficial for beginning discussions, collecting feedback or encouraging suggestions for example: How could we improve the support plan? What works at home? What worked well in the strategy?
Funnelling questions	that asks the other person to be more specific about an answer they have already given or narrow down options
Probing questions	use to explore the answer that another person has provided
Leading questions	use to direct a person to a conclusion
Scenario questions	use hypothetical scenarios to consider what actions would be taken in response. (if-this-then-what questions)

Identifying and Discussing Issues of Concern

Issues of concern can arise when implementing an inclusion and behaviour plan. They can be identified during the monitoring process and impede the plan's success. If strategies are not working as expected, the reasons must be identified quickly. 

Issues of concern that might develop may include:

• the child reacts negatively to the plan
• the child is not responding well to certain stimuli or learning approaches 
• the child develops alternative issues based on changes made to the plan
• the plan clashes with the child’s way of learning and development 
• educators are inconsistent
• the goals are not meeting the child’s needs
• families disagree with the plan implementation
• issues with development and progress with learning objectives.

For example, a child with autism is supported to participate in group activities rather than isolating themselves. Their plan includes a strategy supporting them to move to a quiet location when feeling overwhelmed. However, reviewing the plan might suggest overuse of the withdrawal to a quiet space and that guidelines need to be more specific about when it can be used.

Discussing with Others

Discussion with others involved may help you find solutions to help you manage any areas of concern. The child may show improvement with a change of learning style or from more interaction with other children. 

The parents and family can provide insight into how their child is developing. They will have insights into their child’s learning and development and know different approaches to test and which strategies may work best.

Other colleagues can provide insight into how the child is progressing, if targets are being met and what they need to support the plan’s implantation. Also, it can be helpful during the monitoring process to see how they implement the plan and if they need additional support.

Consulting with Professionals and Implementing Suggested Strategies

Children with additional needs may have a range of other professionals involved in supporting them to meet goals and milestones. For example, they may be providing specialist medical support, conducting diagnosis assessments or providing interventions or programs to help meet gaps in a child's skill development. 

Other Professionals

If the child has been receiving additional assistance from other professionals, it is recommended to involve them with your strategies. They may provide helpful information to plan the correct strategy. They may also want to help plan and monitor the strategies to meet the child’s needs. 

Other professionals may include:

• medical practitioners
• paediatricians
• early intervention services
• educational or developmental psychologists
• occupational therapists
• speech and language therapists
• physiotherapists
• allied health practitioners.

Seeking permission 

It is essential to observe the family and child’s privacy rights when working with other professionals, and families must provide consent for you to share information with outside agencies or services.

As professional services require background information and details about the child’s needs and areas of concern, you must follow your service’s procedures before engaging or referring to a specialist service. Such procedure may include the following steps:

• discuss the needs identified with your supervisor
• if permitted, discuss needs identified with colleagues and family
• obtain background information about the service to present to the family
• once given approval, support the family to refer to the program.

Inviting the family to engage in the process and contribute to the consultation is helpful. 

Implementing Strategies 

Seeking contributions from other professionals may provide ideas and strategies of benefit to the child that the service in isolation may not have considered. 

Each professional’s area of expertise will determine their contribution to the inclusion and behavioural plan:

Professionals	Strategies
Medical practitioner	Medication to treat and manage conditions.
Psychologist	Cognitive behaviour therapy to support anxiety and mood disorders.
Speech therapy	Develops exercises and programs to support speech development and manage swallowing and tongue control conditions.
Occupational therapist	Provides model actions and behaviours to support the achievement of tasks by breaking them down into smaller, more achievable steps.
Physiotherapist	Develop physical therapy programs to support fine and gross motor development
Educational psychologist	Develop programs to support skill development and perceptual learning difficulties by providing remedial programs.
Allied health professional	Apply the programs in regular sessions.  Train the family and others on their application.

Activity 4A: Consult with Professionals

Consider the range of other professionals involved with children who have additional needs.

List the common professionals, research the services they can provide, and record your findings.

For example: A paediatrician - A specialist doctor that can diagnose, treat and provide medical care to babies, children and adolescents such as day-to-day illnesses and the child’s physical, mental and behavioural development. 

Ensure that you keep notes for future reference, as this information will support your assessments and professional practice.

Communicating in a Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Framework 

Communication with others must respond to their cultural and linguistic differences and needs. 

Culturally and linguistically responsive frameworks aim to include children and families from a diverse home language group. Usually, in this group, English is a second language.

Areas of difference can arise due to the following:

• language differences and barriers (e.g., English is not someone’s first language, or they have a disability impacting speech/hearing)
• behavioural differences
• emotional constraints
• cognitive limitations
• cultural customs 
• political differences
• social differences.

You can reflect on your cultural lens to identify bias and ensure you are inclusive. In an inclusive framework, biases are identified, and actions are taken to redress them to build an inclusive practice.

A responsive framework:

• helps children see their additional language as an asset instead of a deficit
• promotes respect for diversity and difference
• learns about diverse backgrounds and collaborates with communities
• promotes high expectations for children from diverse backgrounds
• seeks the assistance of a translator/interpreter where necessary.

Inclusive communication must:

• use respectful language
• use the most suitable method to discuss complex written information
• summarise complex information to help families understand. 

Endeavour to use a form of communication that best suit the individuals.

It is important to recognise that people in different cultures understand and respond differently to various aspects of communication, such as particular phrases or intonations of speech. Be aware of your body language and be polite and respectful at all times with others. Consider other approaches to communication for those who cannot communicate effectively using speech.

Methods of Communication 

When communicating with others, ensure that this is carried out equitably. Communication methods can include:

Face-to-face	Ensure your appearance is neat and appropriate for representing the service. Have an open,  friendly and welcoming manner. Be professional. Listen to the other person(s) and discuss relevant points.
Telephone	Make sure you speak clearly and let the person know who you are and where you are working. Keep focused on the points you need to discuss, and take the time to explain any parts you need to clarify.
Written	Make sure you use any templates for writing letters, reports and other documents and follow your service’s policies and procedures. Ensure that documents are easy to follow and include explanations or additional support information.
Electronic methods	Make sure you use any templates your service may have and follow procedures in preparing communications. Be clear and concise, and check that the email is sent to the right recipient.

Other methods include:

• daily communication diary 
• modelling or demonstrating
• use of movements, hand or arm signals
• communication devices
• braille
• photographs/diagrams
• digital recordings of information.

Whichever method is used, ensure it is conducted professionally according to your service’s policies and procedures.

Records of Communication 

Records serve as a reference point for the child’s progress. Ensure records of communication are kept on the child’s file to maintain an understanding of what has occurred. 

The child’s information must be kept confidential, and files must be stored securely. If others need access, ensure correct procedures are followed, and that information is only shared with those who are authorised. 

Exchanging Information with Everyone Involved

An effective exchange of information about the plan and its outcomes will keep all involved up-to-date. You need to ensure opportunities for ongoing two-way communication with family and appropriate community members about the child’s needs and care strategies.

Those involved in the child’s care may include:

• the child’s family
• appropriate community members (such as elders from the child’s cultural group and others in the child’s support network) 
• other professionals involved with the child, e.g., allied health and early intervention services.

A routine for exchanging information can be set up when the plan is created. 

A child with a recognised disability or a health need may receive support from other medical professionals, therapists, or support organisations. Sharing information and receiving input can strengthen the plan and assist their work with the child.

An ongoing exchange could include the following:

• providing feedback in the child’s daily communication diary
• online intranet feeds of feedback on daily activities that the child has been involved with and participated in
• regular meetings on an agreed schedule
• feedback when the family is dropping off and picking up their child
• regular reports with professionals and community members interested in the child’s inclusion/behaviour strategy.

Supporting Entry to the Service

Inclusion of children with additional needs or exceptional circumstances commences at enrolment, where information is gathered to guide support and services.

When children with additional needs enter the learning environment, they should be given time to transition successfully. New children may:

• feel anxious
• take time to settle into a new environment
• take time to socialise with other children
• need to adjust to the routines and activities.

Children with additional needs and their families may be apprehensive about joining the service for the first time, having experienced prejudice and judgement previously. Where a service is welcoming and supports inclusion, the family’s experience may be positive.

Each child’s reactions will be unique. For example, one may be over-excited about meeting other children, while another may be anxious and wary and have difficulty settling into new routines. For this reason, all babies entering a service should have their routines accommodated by it.

Encouraging a family to visit before commencement allows the child to familiarise themselves with the surroundings and educators. Parents can feel confident about the service, which conveys safety and trust to the child, which can help them in preparing to start.

Positive Communication 

An inclusive service presents as open and willing to learn from the family, who is the expert in their child’s needs and care. This opens the way for positive communication, collaboration and consultation. 

Use positive language to describe situations and opportunities rather than focus on possible barriers and obstacles. 

Orientation

Orientation is a chance to get to know the child and their family.

Structured entry can be planned with visits and stays before the child fully commences. This helps the child become familiar with the service, its programs and routines. That way, the child can be relaxed and confident when they start full-time. 

Parents can build networks with other parents for social interactions with other families. This can build confidence and familiarity in the family.

There may also be the opportunity to gradually transition the child by introducing the service’s daily routine schedule at home before they start at the service. 

Additional Needs

For children with disabilities or psychological needs, specific medical issues, exceptional family situations or other specific needs, the intake gathering process will ensure this is explored before they start. This will ensure needed supports are in place when they commence. 

Responding to the Daily Needs of Children with Additional Needs

The inclusion and behaviour plan establishes the framework to support the child. Where needs change significantly from the initial assessment, it may be necessary to conduct a new one.

It can be helpful to review Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (see topic 1.2. Inclusion and Behaviour Theory and Research).

Additional daily needs of a child may include:

• monitoring their health, such as for a cold, asthma or allergies
• administering medication such as antibiotics
• specific communication techniques, such as using sign language
• assisting with medical supports such as blowing a child’s nose, using an inhaler
• supporting challenging behaviours.

When observing changes in needs, raise areas of concern with the appropriate people and seek additional support. This could include:

• obtaining assistance to follow the directions provided by a specialist
• feeling overwhelmed by the child’s needs
• misinterpreting or misunderstanding the child’s needs
• needing to reconsider time, space, people, materials, safety and level of skill
• needing to modify or adapt the strategies due to inappropriate resources.

Additional support can be obtained from:

• the family
• other educators
• your supervisor
• additional training
• liaison with professionals and specialists
• Inclusion Support Program funding
• information from the peak body for the child’s specific need or a support group for the child’s condition.

Supporting Colleagues to Implement Plans and Strategies 

Implementation of the support plan involves the commitment of all team members to its intended outcomes, successfully including the child and resolving their use of challenging behaviours to meet their needs. 

Communication should be non-judgmental, open, honest and straightforward. This will provide everyone with clear direction, support, training and access to appropriate information for successful implementation.

Communicating the plan can occur in a formal team meeting where it is presented, and all involved have an opportunity to examine it, ask questions and practise its application.

Colleagues must be provided with clear directions to guide the plan’s implementation, including:

• the reasons for the plan
• agreed limits and guidelines
• information about their role in implementing the plan
• ways to support the implementation of the agreed strategies.

Your colleagues may need support and training to implement agreed strategies, in the same way, enabling the child to have consistent support to build learning and alternative ways to meet their needs. Training can occur in formal team meetings where everyone has a chance to examine the plan, ask questions and practice its application and information from other professionals (such as allied health or educational specialists) is shared.

Other ways to support your colleagues are through coaching and mentoring, either in formal sessions or on the job, where they can be supported in applying the plan’s strategies. The terms coaching and mentoring are often used interchangeably, but there are distinct differences between the two techniques:

	Coaching	Mentoring
Focus	Development of skills and strategies to meet short-term performance objectives.	Personal growth and improving someone’s abilities and potential over the long term.
Function	To achieve specific task-oriented objectives.	To develop the person, allowing them to make their own decisions.
Relationship	Coaches are assigned to improve performance.	A person usually selects their mentor.
Authority	The coach sets the objectives to be achieved.	The mentor is senior or mature, so that the relationship may be based on that state.
Reward	Improved performance on the job and one-way learning provided for the individual being coached.	Both learn from each other and grow professionally from the reciprocal relationship.
Area of activity	Based on a specific need or the desire to improve an individual's achievement of specific objectives of performance given tasks.	Broader focus on building skills for future development, e.g., becoming a team leader.

The final step In developing and implementing a behaviour support plan involves reviewing the child's progress to determine the plan's effectiveness and if modifications are required. Reviews need to be done regularly.

In this step, you are required to evaluate how effective the plan and program have been. Consider your practices and what alterations or development are needed to be more effective. Reviewing progress should also use an information-sharing approach that facilitates collaboration with everyone involved with the child. Sharing and exchanging information provides a holistic picture of the child and family.

The review aims to assess and monitor children’s behavioural improvements over time.

The process requires collecting new data and follow-up with colleagues and family to obtain their feedback. Information can then be evaluated to determine if the behaviour has deteriorated, remained the same or improved. 

At this stage, it is not necessary to conduct full behaviour recording but quick records to check on the use of the behaviour. The aim is to gather new baseline data that can be compared to the original collection. 

The review focuses on when the behaviour is still occurring, how often, and the level of intensity displayed. More detailed data can be obtained if a more in-depth review is warranted (e.g., challenging behaviour has increased or only occurs with specific people or during specific activities). 

Reflection Questions

Using critical reflection helps to evaluate a plan’s outcomes and effectiveness. Questions to consider may include:

• How well did we do?
• Has the problem been resolved/improved? 
• What else is required to resolve the matter?
• How did the behaviour support plan address the child’s needs?
• Were the strategies appropriate to the child’s needs?
• Did the behaviour change as we expected?
• What skills did the child gain from the strategies?
• Based on the feedback, are there changes and modifications needed?

Reflection will evaluate the methods used, the value of the outcomes from the actions taken and if other ideas can be used in support plans.

Modifying the Plan

Where there is an indication that something is not working as expected, it may be necessary to modify the plan.

Before making changes, you will need to collaborate with everyone involved. You can do this by holding a review meeting to seek input. You can also provide regular updates leading up to the review, giving everyone sufficient information to contribute.

Changes to the support plan may be required if:

• an unexpected response occurred from the child
• the child no longer uses challenging behaviours
• new influences affecting the environment or curriculum
• new information or circumstances came to light from the family, other professionals involved or the supervisor
• the plan was not appropriate for the age and stage of development of the child
• the child’s needs changed.

Other modifications could involve developing new visual aids to reinforce behaviours or introducing role plays with the children to practice appropriate responses to stressors.

Changes to the behaviour plan should be consistent with standards, policies and procedures. This means alterations should be documented and shared with the family.

Monitoring the Child’s Progress 

After a plan has been implemented, the child's progress needs to be monitored over time to ensure the plan’s objectives are achieved. This involves new observations, collecting new data and reflection to gather insights into how the child is progressing.

When observing children, look for improvements from the initial observations. Areas of improvement may include:

• progression in learning
• improved interactions with others
• increased participation levels in activities
• predicting and anticipating the routine
• reduced behaviours of concern
• improved levels of confidence and self-esteem
• maintained interest in activities
• seeking own learning and extensions to learning.

Reflection questions

Reflection helps examine the effectiveness of the plan, its implementation, and its outcome. Questions to consider include:

• Does the child participate successfully in activities?
• Is the child interacting well with others?
• How is the child progressing with their learning objectives?
• Have the child's additional needs been met?
• Which strategy (or combination of strategies) works better for the child?
• How has input from family and other professionals helped?

Identifying and Investigating Barriers to Strategies 

Even though services provide inclusive support to all children, there may still be barriers to inclusion at the individual and service levels. 

At the service level, these may include:

• low commitment to achieving inclusion
• policies not applied genuinely in practice
• discrimination and negative practices
• inadequate support and resourcing
• inadequate professional development for educators and teachers.

At the individual level, barriers may come from various sources and may include:

The child:

• shows resistance to learning
• lacks motivation
• nochange in developmental and learning outcomes
• increases in behavioural issues

The family:

• strategies are not implemented at home
• limited family support
• overwhelmed by the number of programs required at home
• time-poor

Resources/equipment:

• limited/old equipment
• limited additional staff support
• lack of confidence to carry out the plan
• limited professional development

Other professionals:

• conflicting with other programs
• narrow focus on specialty, not viewing the holistic care needs
• conflict with medical treatment or therapy

Trialling Alternatives

It is helpful to obtain input from everyone involved in the plan for alternatives to trial. Alternatives may be needed when:

• the child responds unexpectedly
• new influences affecting the environment or curriculum
• new information or circumstances from the family or other professionals arise
• the plan is not appropriate for the child’s age or stage of development 
• the child’s needs have changed.

Modifications to the plan should be consistent with standards, policies and procedures.

Additional Needs and Barriers

Additional needs are a range of conditions and circumstances requiring specialist support for the child. They can be managed or minimised by changing how activities and learning are conducted, allowing children to participate.

Additional needs can be identified in the following broad categories:

Behavioural or psychological disorders	Behavioural or psychological disorders can disrupt the curriculum and need additional support to facilitate participation. Some behaviours can be outside the child’s normal range for their age and development stage. Some behaviours may place others at risk of harm from outbursts. Behaviour disorders can lead to challenging behaviours and interfere with relationships, learning and quality of life. Treatment ranges from parent management training, cognitive behaviour therapy, medication and support for specific problems from professionals or support agencies. Common behaviour disorders include: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)  Conduct Disorder (CD)  Common psychological disorders Depression  Anxiety disorders Phobias, panic attacks and post-traumatic stress  Bipolar Disorder Developing an understanding Access resources and information for insights into effectively working with children  Attend training on behaviour support techniques and strategies Refer to your service’s policy on responding to behaviours. Use a strength-based approach and focus on the child’s abilities rather than the behaviours See the behaviour as trying to communicate a need rather than labelling it as ‘naughty’. Implement a behaviour support plan in collaboration with the family.
Child at risk of harm or illness	Risk of harm Children may experience conflict or a form of/or potential abuse at home or from others. Risk of harm or actual harm can include physical, social, emotional abuse or neglect. Children may display indicators. They will not always verbalise or disclose that they have been abused. Challenging behaviours may be indicators of abuse occurring, such as: pronounced aggression, acting out or extreme passivity a noticeable change in behaviour patterns an increase in anxiety and distress increased and unexplained crying, withdrawn or anxious presentation abusive or sexually provocative during play/activities the onset of habit disorders such as rocking, sucking parentified behaviours (where a child takes on roles and responsibilities as if they are the parent) fear of going home or avoidance of going home, running away fear of caregiver/parent. Risk of illness Illness can include long-term or short-term conditions. When a child is unwell, they may exhibit more behaviours as they struggle to manage pain and discomfort—increased crying, tantrums or behaviours indicating suffering. Children need to be monitored, and any potential threats to their health should be managed. Ensure that team members are fully aware and are trained to deal with situations if they arise. Developing an understanding Staff must understand the mandatory notification procedures and identify the harm indicators. Staff must be educated about the symptoms and risks of chronic health issues. Staff must be vigilant to identify the level of risks and act.  Staff must be aware of the process of management or reporting when risk has escalated.
Family circumstances and needs	Family issues may affect a child’s experience and pose barriers. Issues could relate to relationship concerns, economic stresses and cultural background and could include refugees from war zones or recent immigrants with no support or social networks. Information obtained during enrolment can provide a clear picture of the child’s needs and areas of development. Developing an understanding Take the time to understand any specific circumstances that may affect the child. Engage with the family to understand how best to manage the support needs. Collaborate with the family and community to exchange information.
Health problems	Children may experience health problems and will need regular medication or care. Children can have disrupted attendance and miss out on learning opportunities. Developing an understanding Plan the child’s learning program around their condition to minimise disruptions to learning. Help manage their learning around their health care needs with the family and health care workers. Obtain written information about needs and supports, including medical requirements and emergency contact details. The children may need to be reintroduced to the routine of the service after extended breaks away. Be aware of changes in health status and respond appropriately.
Physical, sensory or developmental disability	Managing a physical disability can be coordinated with health care, family and the service/school. Specific room access, equipment needs, additional assistance or staff support, may be required to ensure a child has the same learning experience as others. Sensory disability can be managed through occupational therapy with a sensory integration bias.  Developmental disability occurs when an intellectual or physical impairment is diagnosed. Working closely with families and supporting care needs will help provide learning and development opportunities.  Cerebral palsy can impact children in various ways. For example, children may require adaptive equipment such as orthotic leg braces, a wheelchair, a wheelie walker, or correct seating to enable a child to focus on learning rather than on balance.  Autism spectrum disorders will have different brain functioning and can either be slow in learning and speech development or highly intelligent.  Developing an understanding Access various resources and supports to understand the specific disability better. Be aware of judgment and discriminatory attitudes Engage an Inclusion Support Facilitator to work with the child to ensure access. Recognise the child’s strengths, abilities and interests as with any other child.
Gifted and talented	This group of children will benefit from interesting programs with extension learning options to maintain attention. Without guidance, they may switch off, become easily bored and frustrated and cause disruptions.  Developing an understanding Obtain assessments regarding the level of functioning, e.g., IQ results and areas of interest.  Obtain background information and current results of assessments and extension programs from the family. Set targets and clear objectives that structure the child’s learning and development needs, including extension learning opportunities.

Recognising potential barriers

Consider the following questions when observing and monitoring a child’s learning and development. 

Does the child:

• interact as expected for their stage of development
• have the expected level of communication/literacy skills
• have fine or gross motor skills to participate in activities
• show an understanding of the task
• make friends easily, or do they fight and quarrel
• find it hard to sit still and pay attention?

Review this video by Ohio Ready to Learn to gather some ideas about adaptions and enhancements that can be made to environments and resources to better support the inclusion of children with additional needs:

Activity 4B: Responding to Children with Additional Needs

Answer the questions to respond to the daily needs of children with additional needs and seek assistance as required. Think about a child you know or have worked on placement or at your place of work, who has additional needs. Additional needs can include:

• a child with a disability 
• a child living in a complex or vulnerable circumstance
• coming from a culturally or linguistically diverse family background
• living with a medical condition
• a gifted child.

Answer the following questions:

• List the additional needs of a child.
• If you were dealing with a need you have not experienced previously, outline what you will do.
• Identify the barriers that could arise for the child.
• Identify support strategies that could be put in place.
• Identify adaptations that could be made to support the child. 

Ensure that you keep notes for future reference, as this information will support your assessments and professional practice.

Monitoring New Strategies 

Once the revised plan has been implemented, it is essential to closely monitor how the child reacts to changes, how strategies are being implemented and if results are achieved.

Questions to consider include:

• What progress has been made? 
• Does the child engage in group activities with other children?
• Does the child appropriately initiate social interactions with others?
• Do other children include the child in their activities?

The aim is to monitor the strategies to check if they are achieving the desired and planned learning and development outcomes.

Monitoring and reviewing strategies occur regularly and not as a one-off event, aiming to gain insights into identifying the need for changes and adaptions. Ongoing monitoring will use recognised observation tools to regularly check on the child’s progress and the plan's outcomes.

Monitor the plan 

Monitoring the revised plan will check that the child's inclusion needs are being met as intended and there are behavioural improvements over time. Additional adjustments to activities may be required to suit the child's developmental level. The child may not respond as quickly as intended or need additional support with activities to meet learning objectives. Ensure activities are achievable while still adhering to curriculum requirements.

Ensure any additional requirements specified for the child are being implemented. If they’re not available, note the impact on the child and report the needs to your supervisor.

Reflecting on Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Practices

Reflection provides the opportunity to question and examine deeply-held assumptions, stand back and review what we believe and what we do. By responding to probing questions, we can examine our thinking, beliefs and practices concerning inclusion, equity and diversity. Critical reflection helps us identify areas of development and allows us to build our knowledge and skills further. Reflecting on inclusion, equity and diversity practices should be done regularly and is a practical approach for broadening and cultivating a professional practice and informing future development.

The insight gained by reflecting on inclusion, equity and diversity can improve the quality of the service's practice. Insights can also be shared with other stakeholders, such as families, so they are included in the improvement of practice.

Read

Review the research carried out about inclusion for children with additional needs in education programs by Dr Kathy Cologon from the Department of Education Studies, Macquarie University, Australia: Towards inclusive education: A necessary process of transformation.

Activity 4C: Reflect on Behaviour and Inclusion

Consider behaviour, inclusion and inclusive practice. 

Review the questions from the ACECQA workbook: Inclusion in Practice (2018) to inform your reflection. You can review this resource here.  

Record your answers to the following questions:

• What is inclusion?
• Have you ever been excluded? How did it feel?
• How do you know if inclusion is working well?
• What are the benefits of inclusion for children with challenging behaviours or additional needs and other children?
• What is inclusive practice?
• If funding for an additional educator was not available, what changes could a service make to support all children to participate?

Ensure that you keep notes for future reference, as this information will support your assessments and professional practice.

Reflecting on Your Pedagogy 

In early childhood, pedagogy refers to the application of learning approaches or the practice of educating and promoting learning in children. As children are dependent learners, it involves a relationship with the educator. Therefore, early childhood services can critically reflect on their pedagogy to improve processes and practice.

Critical reflection invites early childhood services to examine deeply-held assumptions and consider their practice. By standing back and reviewing beliefs and actions, educators can identify areas of development and build knowledge and skills. Conducted regularly, it becomes a valuable method for improving professional practice and informing future development. The insight gained can improve the quality of the service's practice and can also be shared with other stakeholders, such as children’s families.

Reflect on your pedagogy to:

• evaluate the impacts of your practice and processes 
• learn from experiences 
• identify areas for improvement 
• improve future decision-making
• develop skills and knowledge 
• monitor improvements and progress over time
• ensure that practices meet legislative requirements.

Meaningful Reflection 

Reflection is meaningful when quality information is gathered to answer essential questions about what has occurred and why. Meaningful reflection also considers who is advantaged by the practice and who is disadvantaged if it continues.

Meaningful reflection includes:

• exploring diverse aspects of a topic, including why decisions were made, if the service's philosophy was reflected in the decision and its outcomes 
• considering various perspectives on a topic, including how practices impact children and families 
• becoming an essential part of the culture of the service by establishing a routine
• involving others in facilitating the sharing of ideas, providing feedback and debating on unclear areas or areas that could be improved or developed further.

Watch

Watch the video from ACECQA on Critical reflection – Evaluation and its challenges by Catherine Lee, Director of the Point Preschool:

Setting Goals 

When you have identified areas to improve or develop pedagogy, it helps to write them into actionable goals for concrete, implementable and measurable outcomes.

Goals are more effective if they are:

Critical reflection facilitates a culture of learning and continuous improvement, enabling educators to reflect on and learn from what has occurred, improve future outcomes, openly ask questions, offer ideas, and raise concerns about their and their practice’s services. The EYLF talks about “big questions” that influence policies and change practices; fostering a culture of openness (where educators can ask big questions) contributes to fresh ideas and new perspectives.

Evaluating Outcomes to Inform Future Practice 

Early childhood services evaluate their outcomes and reflect on their practices to inform changes and improvements in their plan, ensuring they remain inclusive and reflect contemporary practices. The objective is to be open to change and improvements that provide the best outcomes for the children.

Evaluating the outcomes and experiences of implementing the support from alternative perspectives helps determine a plan's effectiveness and identify if a different approach or perspective is required. Evaluating outcomes include the following features:

Identifying and exploring our experiences and thoughts about inclusion, difference, and diversity.
Deciding how reflection fits with the ideas and theories we know about to support inclusion. Are there other ideas we seek to learn more about and research further?
Involving reflective and analytical thinking aimed at improving the educator’s practice.

When evaluating outcomes, consider the following questions:

• How appropriate is the level of support?
• How effective are the strategies to eliminate barriers to inclusion?
• What feedback has been provided by parents or other educators?
• How have the needs of the child been impacted?

Evaluating outcomes enables educators to reflect on their experience in developing, implementing, and monitoring inclusion strategies and to set goals to inform their future practice, such as:

• Gaining a better understanding of what other professionals do to improve curriculum and programming.
• Engaging with support groups, e.g., the Autism Association, AEIOU, Cerebral Palsy Alliance etc., to better understand programming options to support children with specific needs.
• Researching disability types common in the service, e.g., autism, cerebral palsy
• Discovering and exploring our unconscious biases toward difference and diversity.