By BEST Childcare Consulting
In our early childhood services, every child deserves to feel seen, heard and valued — not just for one week, but every day. Social Inclusion Week invites us to pause and reflect: How inclusive are we really? It encourages us to strengthen our communities, bridge differences and honour the richness of every child’s story.
This year’s theme — “Connect, Collaborate & Celebrate!” — is a powerful call to action for educators, families and children alike. It’s not just about recognising inclusion; it’s about actively building it, working together, and celebrating what makes each person unique.
In parallel, the National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention (NBPF-ECI) provides a robust, evidence-informed guide that services can draw on to enhance inclusive practice, particularly for children with developmental concerns, delays or disability — helping ensure every child truly belongs.
By embedding both the ethos of Social Inclusion Week and the framework’s guidance, educators can ensure children’s voices, rights and participation are central — and thereby support Exceeding-level practice across the entire service.
What is the National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention?
The National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention (NBPF-ECI) is a nationally consistent guidance document commissioned by the Australian Government’s Department of Health (in partnership with the University of Melbourne and other peak organisations) that outlines what high-quality, evidence-informed early childhood intervention (ECI) looks like for children up to age 9 with developmental concerns, delays or disability, and their families.
Key points:
- It is designed for practitioners, families, educators, specialists and services across universal (education/childcare), specialist, community and disability sectors.
- It outlines the vision and desired outcomes: “All children with developmental concerns, delay or disability and their families thrive in the early years.”
- It sets out a set of principles (e.g., rights-based, diversity-affirming, relationship-based, participation, everyday settings) and practices, along with tools and resources for implementation.
- It emphasises that intervention happens in everyday settings (not just clinic-based), is family-centred, culturally safe, and integrated across services.
- There are associated practical tools (infographics, decision-making guides, outcome measurement tools) for services and families.
In short, the framework offers a roadmap for services (including ECEC settings) to enhance inclusive, responsive supports — helping every child to participate meaningfully in their learning, environment and community.
How Your Service Can Use the Framework to Enhance Inclusive Practice
- Use the framework’s “Everyday Settings” principle to audit your environments, routines and interactions: Are children with additional needs truly included? Are learning experiences embedded in daily contexts (play, routines, transitions)?
- Use the decision-making guide to support collaborative planning between educators, families and allied practitioners: goal setting, strategies, who’s involved, how learning is supported and reviewed.
- Use the diversity-affirming and rights-based principles to review how your service acknowledges culture, language, family identity, and how children with disabilities are welcomed, supported and valued.
- Integrate the framework’s outcome measurement tools into your QIP process: Collect data on inclusion, participation, child agency, environment accessibility, and use it to reflect and improve.
- Align your inclusive programming (such as Social Inclusion Week activities) with these principles — thereby strengthening your evidence towards Exceeding practice and embedding inclusion as core, not peripheral.
Educational Programming Ideas
“Connection Web” Provocation
Set up a space with yarn, photos of children, families and community members, and ask: Who do I connect with? Children wrap yarn between pictures to create a “web” of relationships, then reflect: How can we collaborate? How do we help celebrate each other?
Framework link: Use the participation and everyday settings principle — children actively involved in co-building their connections and environment.
Collaborative Community Mural
Invite children, educators and families to contribute to a large mural themed around “What makes me feel included”. Use mixed media (paint, collage, hand-prints) and encourage children to write or dictate their voice about inclusion. Display it in the foyer as a celebration.
Framework link: Rights-based and diversity-affirming practices – all families’ voices visible, children’s perspectives central.
Celebrate Our Stories Morning Tea
Host a shared morning tea where families bring something from their cultural background (a story, photo, object, song). Children and families “connect” by sharing, “collaborate” by creating a shared display or book of stories, and “celebrate” diversity by presenting their contributions.
Framework link: Family-centred practice – partnership with families as active contributors.
Inclusive Play Zone
Over the week, set up a play area with open-ended materials, sensory options, multilingual greeting cards, and peer-led invitations to play. Educators scaffold children to collaborate as they create games or structures that celebrate everyone’s strengths.
Framework link: Everyday settings & participation – embedding inclusive play in real routines.
Reflection & Action Wall
Create a wall where children and educators add sticky notes throughout the week: “I connected with…”, “I collaborated by…”, “I celebrated when…”. At end of the week, reflect together on what those experiences mean and plan how to carry them forward beyond the week.
Framework link: Outcomes-focused – reflection informs next steps, ensuring meaningful participation rather than one-off event.
QIP Write-Up
QA 1 – Educational Program and Practice
Goal achieved: We embedded inclusive practices so that every child’s voice, culture and ability was visible in our program.
Embedded Practice: Educators consistently planned provocations that enabled children to connect with peers and community, collaborate in meaningful ways, and celebrate the contributions of individuals and groups.
Critical Reflection: We reflected on whether all children were truly participating (including those with additional needs or from diverse backgrounds). When we noted uneven engagement, we adjusted our provocations and environment to be more accessible and collaborative, drawing on the NBPF-ECI principles.
Meaningful Engagement: Children, families and community members worked together to create shared displays and stories, enabling deeper inclusion and connection across the service.
QA 2 – Children’s Health and Safety
Goal achieved: We upheld a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment where children felt emotionally and physically secure.
Embedded Practice: Educators modelled inclusive language, validated children’s identities, and supported children to express their sense of belonging and voice. Play and routine settings were structured to ensure every child could participate.
Critical Reflection: We evaluated our supervision, physical and social environments to ensure emotional safety and belonging were prioritised. We considered the NBPF-ECI’s diversity-affirming and relationship-based principles, and made adjustments when we observed children who appeared isolated or less confident.
Meaningful Engagement: Children and families provided feedback on what made them feel included and safe; these insights were integrated into our health & safety practices.
QA 3 – Physical Environment
Goal achieved: Our environment visibly represented inclusion, connection and celebration of diversity.
Embedded Practice: The service displayed inclusive imagery, multilingual signage, cultural artefacts and collaborative murals created during Social Inclusion Week. Play spaces were arranged for peer-collaboration and accessibility. We aligned environment changes with the NBPF-ECI everyday settings principle.
Critical Reflection: We observed how children engaged with the environment: Did they feel drawn to the inclusive displays? Did any child appear disconnected or unsure where to go? We adjusted layout, access and displays accordingly.
Meaningful Engagement: Children and families contributed to the design and resources of the space, enhancing ownership, collaboration and celebration.
QA 4 – Staffing Arrangements
Goal achieved: Educators collaboratively supported an inclusive culture and modelled connection, teamwork and celebration.
Embedded Practice: Staff engaged in collaborative planning focused on inclusion, reviewed interactions for equity, and celebrated successes in staff meetings. They used the NBPF-ECI’s practice guidance to inform their interactions.
Critical Reflection: We reviewed educator practice: Did our interactions promote connection among children of diverse backgrounds? Did educators collaborate effectively as a team to embed inclusion? We identified professional learning needs and acted accordingly.
Meaningful Engagement: Educators led collaborative sessions with children and families, sharing inclusion stories and celebrating successes as a service community.
QA 5 – Relationships with Children
Goal achieved: Relationships with children were respectful, responsive and built on genuine connection, collaboration and celebration of diversity.
Embedded Practice: Educators used inclusive strategies to ensure every child’s voice was heard, facilitated peer collaboration and publicly celebrated children’s achievements, differences and ideas. They applied NBPF-ECI’s principles of participation and strengths-based practice.
Critical Reflection: We analysed whether children felt truly connected and valued; if some children were less engaged, we adapted our approach to include new collaborations and celebrations.
Meaningful Engagement: Children were invited as co-leaders of inclusion projects, enabling them to collaborate with peers and feel celebrated for their contributions.
QA 6 – Collaborative Partnerships with Families and Communities
Goal achieved: Partnerships with families and local community were strengthened, enabling connection, collaboration and celebration of inclusion.
Embedded Practice: Families were invited to share their cultural stories, join joint projects, and celebrate diversity alongside children and educators. Community organisations supported service events, in line with the NBPF-ECI’s community-focused principle.
Critical Reflection: We reflected on family engagement: Were all families represented? What barriers existed? We adapted communication methods and scheduling to ensure inclusive participation.
Meaningful Engagement: Community partners were invited to share inclusion stories or lead activities; families and children collaborated on events and celebrated together through shared experiences.
QA 7 – Governance and Leadership
Goal achieved: Leadership embedded inclusion, connection, collaboration and celebration into the service’s policies, practice and continuous improvement.
Embedded Practice: Policies were reviewed to reflect inclusive practice; leadership promoted collaborative decision-making and celebrated diversity as a core value. They referenced the NBPF-ECI’s vision and outcomes within strategic planning.
Critical Reflection: Leadership analysed service data and reflective practices to ensure inclusive culture was flourishing; adjustments were made where gaps were found, guided by the framework’s measurement tools and outcome focus.
Meaningful Engagement: The leadership team celebrated inclusion achievements with children, families and staff, and communicated these successes externally to model our service as inclusive and collaborative.
Links & Resources
Social Inclusion Week (Australia) – official campaign site with theme, resources and ideas: https://www.socialinclusionweek.com.au
National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention – full framework: https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/national-best-practice-framework-for-early-childhood-intervention Health, Disability and Ageing+1
Framework – A at-a-glance infographic: https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-09/the-national-best-practice-framework-for-early-childhood-intervention-at-a-glance.pdf Health, Disability and Ageing
Programmed AU – Why Inclusion Matters: article on connection, collaboration & celebration: https://programmed.com.au/social-inclusion-week-asks-us-to-connect-collaborate-and-celebrate/
Ideas.org.au – Event Listing & Guide: suggestions and resources for Social Inclusion Week: https://www.ideas.org.au/event-listing/details/2022-11-19/2174-social-inclusion-week.html
BEST Childcare Consulting
At BEST Childcare Consulting, we believe that inclusion is not just an initiative for one week — it’s the heartbeat of everyday practice. By intentionally connecting, collaborating, and celebrating within your service — and embedding the strong guidance of the NBPF-ECI — you build a culture where every child and family feels respected, valued and empowered. As always, use these inspirations to lead your service throughout the whole year in your everyday practices to truly earn an Exceeding rating.
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