03/09/2026
What if inclusion in early childhood started with the system, not the child?
For the past three years, we have been implementing a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) within a mainstream community preschool at North Ryde Community Preschool through All Aboard Inclusion.
MTSS is so much more than tiers of support for individual children.
It is about building the capacity of the whole preschool.
It starts at enrolment.
How do we welcome families?
How do we understand a child's strengths and support needs?
How do we identify potential barriers before they become problems?
It continues through the environment.
Are our spaces, routines, communication systems and expectations designed to support a diverse range of learners?
It includes our educators.
Do educators have the knowledge, skills, coaching and confidence to support children with different communication, regulation, learning and participation needs?
It includes our policies and practices.
Do our systems genuinely support inclusion?
Are inclusion and reasonable adjustments embedded into the way the service operates, rather than relying on individual educators to make it happen?
And then, of course, there are the children who need more individualised support.
This is where targeted and intensive supports sit within the broader system.
But the goal isn't simply to provide more therapy.
The goal is to understand what is happening around the child, identify barriers, make adjustments, teach skills, build educator capability and create opportunities for the child to participate meaningfully throughout their preschool day.
And it doesn't stop when a child is about to leave preschool.
We hold their hand that little bit longer.
Because we know that starting school is a huge transition.
We work with families and educators to support that transition, share what we have learned about the child, build their confidence and help create continuity as they move into their next environment.
This is what MTSS can look like when we stop thinking about it as a framework for children who need support and start thinking about it as a framework for building inclusive early childhood systems.
It is about the child.
But it is also about the educators.
The environment.
The policies.
The leadership.
The family.
The community.
And the systems that surround the child from enrolment through to school.
In 2027, we are ready to explore how we can support other early childhood services to build this capacity within their own settings.
Because sustainable inclusion doesn't happen by adding another layer of support around a child.
It happens when the whole system becomes better equipped to include them.
Check out our website to learn more: https://lnkd.in/gqnNAhAr
