The ECD sub-group of the Campaign on the Right to Education for Children with Disabilities made a submission to the Department of Social Development regarding amendments to the Children’s Act to better realise the right in question. The submission notes that learning and social integration of children with disabilities are limited by social stigma and parental overprotection. Childhood disability is a marker for compromised development, as well as reduced access to schools, health services, and increased risk of caregiver stress.

Currently, within the children’s disability sector, serious problems have been experienced around accessing funding for partial care and ECD. The Submission highlights that there are few models of ECD provision for children with disabilities which are potentially scalable.

If the right of children with disabilities to inclusive ECD is to be realised, there must be an investment in the development of examples of good practice to show how the Children’s Act can be implemented for children with disabilities.

The submission makes a number of recommendations to ensure that the Children’s Act can realise:

• Inclusive ECD services for all children, including those with disabilities
• Appropriate training of the ECD sector to be able to accommodate a diversity of needs
• Early identification and interventions for children with disabilities in ECD
• Providing support to parents in ECD.

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Click here to view a full copy of the submission.