Inclusion Ready Toolkit launches to strengthen inclusive practice across ECEC

A new national toolkit is helping approved providers, service leaders and educators build their capability and confidence to create early childhood education and care environments where every child can participate, belong and thrive.

The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) has released the Inclusion Ready Toolkit, a professional development resource designed to strengthen inclusive practice across early childhood education and care (ECEC) services.

Developed by ACECQA on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Education, the toolkit brings together practical, evidence-based guidance aligned with the National Quality Framework (NQF) and relevant disability legislation.

It is intended to support services to develop a shared understanding of inclusion, critically reflect on current practice and identify practical opportunities for improvement.

Every child and family has the right to feel welcome and participate in ECEC, regardless of their circumstances, strengths, gender, culture, capabilities or diverse ways of doing and being.

The toolkit defines inclusive capability as the knowledge, skills, practices and confidence needed to create responsive and equitable learning environments in which every child can participate, belong and thrive.

It supports services to strengthen this capability through:

• a shared understanding of quality inclusive practice
• reflective tools for identifying strengths and areas for growth
• professional learning informed by realistic scenarios
• practical strategies for routines, transitions, environments and interactions
• structured planning for ongoing improvement.

The toolkit was tested through a six-month supported trial during 2025–26 involving 22 services from every state and territory.

The Inclusion Ready Toolkit contains a suite of connected resources, including:

• Practice Guide: Foundational information about the principles and characteristics of quality inclusive practice.
• Self-Assessment Tool: A structured resource to support critical reflection, identify strengths and establish priorities.
• eLearning modules: Short, self-paced learning aligned with different characteristics of inclusive practice.
• Professional development resources: Information sheets, practical tips and strategies that educators and leaders can apply within their services.

Together, these resources are designed to help services meet their existing responsibilities under the NQF and relevant disability legislation with greater confidence.

The toolkit is structured around three connected steps.

Step 1 — Understand quality inclusive practice

Services begin by using the Practice Guide and completing the foundation eLearning modules.

This stage is intended to build a shared understanding of inclusion across the service and establish a strong foundation for further reflection and professional learning.

Step 2 — Critically reflect on inclusive service characteristics

Teams can then use the Self-Assessment Tool to consider the perspectives, knowledge and ways of being that influence their practice.

The process helps services identify what they already do well, where further development may be needed and which areas should become priorities for improvement.

Step 3 — Uplift inclusive capability

Based on the outcomes of the self-assessment process, services can create a personalised professional learning pathway.

Educators and leaders can select targeted eLearning modules and use the supporting resources to introduce practical strategies across environments, routines, transitions and interactions.

Services are encouraged to revisit the tools regularly and record relevant priorities and actions within their Quality Improvement Plan and Strategic Inclusion Plan.

Development of the toolkit was informed by a consortium led by Griffith University in partnership with Macquarie University and Queensland University of Technology.

It was also shaped through extensive consultation with ECEC peak associations and sector representatives, organisations representing diverse families and specialist inclusion practitioners.

This combination of research, consultation and service-level testing has supported the development of a resource that reflects both the expectations of the NQF and the practical realities of ECEC settings.

The toolkit complements the Australian Government’s Inclusion Support Program, the Disability Standards for Education Amendment Standards 2025 and existing state, territory and sector resources supporting inclusion.

Plain-language resources are also available through StartingBlocks.gov.au to help families understand inclusive practice and their rights.

The resources explain:

• how the NQF supports inclusion
• what inclusive practice may look like in different ECEC settings
• children’s rights to belong and participate
• what families can ask or look for when choosing or attending a service
• how relationships and partnerships contribute to inclusion.

These resources can help services develop shared expectations with families and support meaningful conversations about children’s participation, strengths, preferences and needs.

ACECQA has also released a communications pack to help services, providers and sector organisations promote the toolkit across their networks.

The pack includes:

• newsletter and website content
• ready-to-use social media copy
• Facebook and Instagram tiles
• promotional material relating to each stage of the toolkit
• content directing families to the StartingBlocks.gov.au resources.

The Inclusion Ready Toolkit gives services a national, evidence-based foundation for strengthening inclusion across professional learning, everyday practice and continuous improvement.

Providers and service leaders may use it to:

• establish consistent expectations across teams
• strengthen educator confidence and capability
• identify barriers to children’s participation
• review environments, programs, routines and interactions
• inform professional development priorities
• support compliance with the NQF and disability legislation
• record meaningful inclusion goals within improvement planning.

Importantly, the toolkit positions inclusion as a shared and ongoing responsibility rather than a separate program introduced only when a child requires additional support.

It provides services with a practical pathway for examining what inclusion looks like in everyday practice and identifying the changes that will help every child feel welcomed, respected and able to participate.

Access the Inclusion Ready Toolkit or download ACECQA’s communications pack.