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September 10, 2026
Last updated: July 2026
Kings Road Long Day Preschool supports every child through inclusive, play-based teaching under the Early Years Learning Framework, a small multicultural community that welcomes families regardless of faith or background, and a willingness to work alongside families and outside specialists when a child needs extra support. Inclusion in early learning isn't only about disability. It covers culture, language, family structure, and the different paces at which children grow.
For a child with a diagnosed disability or developmental delay, extra support at a long day care service in NSW generally comes through the Australian Government's Inclusion Support Program, not the state-run scheme built for community preschools. That mix-up trips up a lot of parents, since the two programmes have almost the same name and only one applies to a service like ours.
This guide walks through what inclusion actually means under the National Quality Framework, how the funding and support system works for a long day care service, what to ask when you're comparing preschools, and how this plays out day to day here in Castle Hill.
Inclusion means every child can participate fully in the program, build relationships, and be treated as a capable learner, regardless of ability, culture, language, or family circumstance. It's a formal requirement under the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) v2.0. Inclusion sits inside the EYLF's principles of equity, high expectations, and respect for diversity, alongside a specific commitment to recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and reflecting the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of every family enrolled.
That's a wider idea than most parents expect walking in. Disability and developmental delay are part of it, but so is a child learning English as an additional language, a child from a single-parent or blended family, a child whose family follows a different faith or none at all, and a child from a lower-income household. This connects directly to our play-based approach to learning, which is built on the same idea: every child learns differently, and a good program adapts to that rather than expecting children to adapt to it.
The National Quality Framework builds inclusion into several of its seven quality areas. It isn't one box to tick. Quality Area 1 (Educational program and practice) requires the program to respond to each child's own strengths and interests. Quality Area 2 (Children's health and safety) requires every child's wellbeing to be protected, not just the majority's. Quality Area 6 (Collaborative partnerships with families and communities) requires services to treat families as partners and take their perspectives seriously. Quality Area 7 (Governance and leadership) requires inclusive values to sit inside how a service is run, not just in a policy document in a drawer somewhere.
A service assessed against the National Quality Standard has to show inclusive practice across that whole spread. Worth remembering if you're comparing centres: ask how a service approaches inclusion generally, not just whether it has "a policy" for it.
For a long day care service approved for the Child Care Subsidy, such as Kings Road Long Day Preschool, additional support for a child with disability or a developmental delay generally comes through the Australian Government's Inclusion Support Program (ISP), not the NSW Government's Disability and Inclusion Program. The NSW scheme only funds not-for-profit community and mobile preschools receiving Start Strong for Community Preschools funding, and explicitly excludes places or hours that are Child Care Subsidy approved. It's a genuinely common point of confusion, since the two names are close enough to sound interchangeable.
The ISP works through regional Inclusion Agencies, which give services free advice on removing barriers to a child's participation, help build an inclusion action plan, and in some circumstances connect a service to short-term funding or a shared Specialist Equipment Library. It's designed to build a service's ongoing capability, not to write a cheque for one term.
Separately, families whose child has a disability or developmental delay, whether or not there's a diagnosis yet, can connect with an NDIS Early Childhood Partner. These are local, government-funded organisations with early childhood specialists who link a family to services in the community, including their child's existing preschool, and can provide short-term support directly. You don't need a diagnosis to start that conversation.
Accessing Inclusion Support Program funding starts with a conversation between the family and the service, since it's the service that applies for the funding, not the family. The service needs the family's permission to apply, along with some supporting information from the child's health professionals about their needs. From there, the service works through its regional Inclusion Agency to put a plan in place.
The starting point for NDIS-related support usually looks different. A family can reach out to an Early Childhood Partner directly, often after a GP referral or a chat with a maternal and child health nurse, or by contacting the NDIS itself. The two pathways aren't mutually exclusive, either. A child can be supported through an NDIS plan and still benefit from Inclusion Support Program-funded adjustments at their preschool at the same time.
A genuinely inclusive preschool shows it in daily practice, not in a mission statement on the wall. When you're comparing services, a few things are worth checking directly:
Not necessarily. An NDIS Early Childhood Partner can work with a family before a formal diagnosis is confirmed, and a preschool can apply for Inclusion Support Program funding based on documented needs and professional input, which doesn't always require a completed diagnostic process.
No, and it's an easy mix-up to make. The NSW Disability and Inclusion Program funds not-for-profit community and mobile preschools only. A Child Care Subsidy-approved long day care service like Kings Road Long Day Preschool accesses support through the Australian Government's Inclusion Support Program instead.
The preschool applies, through its regional Inclusion Agency, but it needs the family's permission and some supporting information from the child's health professionals first.
No. Under the EYLF, inclusion also covers cultural and linguistic diversity, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, family structure, and socio-economic circumstances. A service can do one of these well and still have work to do on another, which is why it's worth asking broadly instead of assuming.
An Early Childhood Partner is a separate, government-funded organisation with specialists in early childhood development. It connects families to services in the community, sometimes including a child's own preschool, and can provide short-term support directly. It works alongside a preschool without replacing it.
Start with your child's educator or the centre's director. A good service listens without rushing to a label, talks through what they're observing in the room, and helps you think through next steps, whether that's a chat with your GP, a maternal and child health nurse, or an NDIS Early Childhood Partner.
Kings Road Long Day Preschool is a small, close-knit centre by design. Wallaby and Kangaroo classes share one open indoor and outdoor environment, not separate rooms. Educators get to know every child and family well, and that matters most when a child's needs aren't quite the same as everyone else's. The centre has been part of an inclusive, multicultural community since 1989, welcoming families regardless of faith or cultural background, in keeping with its Learning for Life approach and the Three Rs of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience.
If a family lets us know their child would benefit from extra support, whether that's a developmental question, a cultural or language need, or something else entirely, our educators start with a conversation, not a form. Where it's appropriate, that can include looking at Inclusion Support Program funding or connecting a family with an NDIS Early Childhood Partner, alongside whatever's already happening in the classroom day to day. Meeting NQS across all seven quality areas is the baseline everything else here is built on.
If you'd like to talk through what your child might need before they start, or see the Wallaby and Kangaroo classes for yourself, book a tour or get in touch with Kings Road Long Day Preschool. We're glad to have that conversation early, before enrolment.
Book a tour or contact us to talk it through.
