Inclusion Support Program
The national Inclusion Support Program (ISP) is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education. It is a key component of the government’s Child Care Safety Net.
The Inclusion Support Program (ISP) has two main components the national Inclusion Development Fund (IDF) and the Inclusion Agencies (IA) in every state and territories.
KU is contracted by the Australian Government to process funding applications through the Inclusion Development Fund. In addition, KU is contracted to provide the Inclusion Agency support in NSW/ACT and Queensland together with our partner organisations. KU is sub-contracted to provide support in Victoria, by Community Child Care Victoria.
The program provides tailored support and funding options for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) approved early childhood education and care (ECEC) services to support them to:
- address barriers to inclusion;
- build capacity and capability to include children with additional needs; and
- implement quality, inclusive and equitable practices.
The program aims to:
- provide children with additional needs the opportunity to learn and develop alongside their typically developing peers; and
- ensure all children have genuine opportunities to access, participate and achieve positive learning outcomes
Support options
The program offers three categories of support:
- Professional support
- Specialist equipment
- Funding
Professional support
Free tailored inclusion advice and support is provided to eligible ECEC services by state and territory based Inclusion Agencies.
Inclusion Agencies employ skilled Inclusion Professionals who work directly with educators in eligible ECEC services to address their inclusion barriers and develop their inclusion capacity and capability.
The role of the Inclusion Agency includes:
- working with services to develop a Strategic Inclusion Plan
- providing access to the Specialist Equipment Library
- facilitating access to the Inclusion Development Fund for more challenging barriers.
NSW/ACT Inclusion Agency
KU proudly manages the NSW/ACT Inclusion Agency, in partnership with Include Me and Gowrie NSW.
Inclusion Support Queensland
KU proudly manages Inclusion Support Queensland, in partnership with Cairns and District Child Care Development Association Inc.
Victorian Inclusion Agency
As a part of the Victorian Inclusion Agency, KU works in partnership with Community Child Care Association, Victoria and Yooralla Disability Support Services.
Specialist equipment
Each Inclusion Agency manages the Specialist Equipment Library in their relevant state or territory. Services can borrow specialist equipment to facilitate and support the inclusion of a child with additional needs.
Funding
Services can access Inclusion Development Fund options via the Inclusion Development Fund Manager (IDFM) when professional support or specialist equipment alone cannot address their barriers to inclusion.
There are four streams of funding available. These include:
Inclusion Development Fund
The national Inclusion Development Fund is proudly managed by KU.
