ELC provision must therefore be delivered in a way that ensures equality of access for, and accounts for the varying needs of, all children. Children should be able to learn free from discrimination and in settings which actively tackle health and social inequalities. Additional support may be required, over the short or the long term, to overcome needs arising from the care and learning environment, family circumstances, health needs or disability or social and emotional factors. Those that may require additional support may include, for example, children with disabilities, children with English as an additional language, Gypsy/Travellers, highly able children, asylum seeking/refugee children and Service children (children from Armed Forces families) (p. 31).

The belief that education is a human right and the foundation for a more just society. An inclusive approach which recognises diversity and holds the ambition that all children and young people are enabled to achieve to their fullest potential is the cornerstone to achieve equity and excellence in education for all of our children and young people (p. 4).

The social model of disability

This model is a way of understanding the world that says people are disabled by barriers in society rather than by their difference or impairment. If barriers are removed, a person may still have an impairment but they would not be disabled. For example, an early years setting without ramps connecting the indoor and outdoor areas would be disabling a child who uses a wheelchair from moving freely around the setting.

The social model was developed by disabled people themselves in the 1970s as part of a civil rights movement campaigning for equality and seeking to change attitudes towards disability. It is part of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which states that: