Equality, equity, diversity and inclusion

No matter how well-meaning, human beings are subject to bias. We are all influenced by ideas from the society we live in, which affect our attitudes, beliefs and the way we see others and how they may live their lives. By becoming aware of and challenging any bias or misconceptions, educators become better attuned to the realities, experiences and perspectives of children, families and communities and so can develop more equal and respectful partnerships. Creating an ethos of equality involves being aware of how all the practices and environments in an early years setting appear through the lens of each unique child. Managers should ensure that time is given for individuals and staff teams to engage in reflective practice and to adapt teaching approaches that may be needed to meet the unique and individual needs of children.

 

Educators should share their willingness to challenge stereotypes and misunderstandings as they arise in play, conversation, books or other contexts – whether about communities, families, languages, gender, special educational needs, disabilities, race, ethnicity, faith or cultures. Settings can value the diversity they hold. Educators themselves carry a wealth of knowledge from their own diverse backgrounds that should be celebrated.

 

As well as legally protected characteristics, diversity in the setting may include children living in temporary accommodation, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, or children and families that have lives or family structures that are different. When families engage with services, it is important to bear in mind that in some families protected characteristics or identity markers overlap. This is known as intersectionality, which can make some children and families more exposed, or more cushioned by privilege, than others. Educators should also be aware that public narratives or political rhetoric about particular groups can shape children’s sense of safety, belonging and identity.

 

Equity, equality and inclusion require more than treating everyone the same. There is an important difference between equity and equality. Equality provides an essential foundation by aiming to ensure equal rights, value and opportunities for all, while equity builds on this by responding to the different barriers people face and offering appropriately differentiated support so that fairness can be realised in practice.

 

While it is vital for all children and their families to feel a sense of belonging, it is also important that early years educators are aware of the significant physical, emotional and cognitive barriers many children encounter in accessing early education. Poverty, mistrust of the establishment, lack of access to play experiences, overcrowded living conditions, parental illiteracy, etc. all take a toll. Educators should acknowledge the unique situations that families find themselves in, and plan to lessen the effects of these barriers by offering additional opportunities, such as increased time on balance bikes for those children living with no access to outside space, or ensuring children with low socio-economic status are supported to access extra-curricular activities that they otherwise may not be able to.

 

Educators should also be aware that within any organisation there are often ‘taken for granted’ norms which are unspoken and implicit, and can cause harm to children, such as norms around toileting etiquette, food play, manners, hygiene, clothing and cultural practices. Educators need to understand that these are not universal values, and their assumptions may need to change. Sometimes children and their families may require extra support, such as provision of wellies, and sensitive conversations to develop trust and deepen understanding between both parties.

 

Talking about race is a necessary first step in countering all forms of racism. A common but mistaken assumption is that treating everyone the same, or avoiding discussions of race altogether, is a sufficient response. In practice, this approach allows existing biases and inequalities to remain unchallenged, continuing to disadvantage children and families from Black and racially minoritised groups. Addressing racism requires a proactive commitment to anti-racism. A key way to support this commitment in practice is through educator training which builds on educators’ understanding of systemic racism and the ways unquestioned bias can have widespread effects in early years settings’ policies, practices and interactions.

 

The common assumption that children do not see race must be challenged. When adults are silent about race, young children’s potential racial prejudice and misconceptions can be maintained or reinforced. Encouraging dialogue and conversation about difference can evoke children’s strong sense of fairness and help break down the false assumption that everyone can succeed on their merits, so that children are better able to understand and question racism and develop anti-racist views.

 

This dialogue should also create space for children to explore and articulate their racial and ethnic identities, including multi-racial and multi-ethnic identities, and to see those identities and languages affirmatively reflected in their environments. Without this intentional work, whiteness – understood as the way particular cultural norms come to occupy the centre and are treated as neutral or universal, while other identities are measured against them — continues to operate as the unmarked standard, and children whose identities do not fit dominant narratives may feel marginalised or uncertain about

 

Young children should be supported to develop an understanding of gender and sexual orientations, unlimited by wider social and cultural stereotypes, norms and beliefs that can create inequality. Developing a strengths-based approach toward gender and sexual orientation is important because negative attitudes toward them can limit children and create inequality. During the early years, children’s attitudes and dispositions are continually shaped by their environments and the adults around them, influencing their sense of self and feelings of belonging toward families.

 

In terms of gender and sexual orientation, young children can develop stereotypical ideas about how they should be and who they should become which can limit their potential. It is important that educators do not shy away from these conversations and instead challenge the effects of prejudice and discrimination. Children’s resources and books should avoid stereotypical depictions of people on the basis of gender and sexual orientation.

 

A child may also be part of a family which is LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, plus other variations). Early years settings have an opportunity to prevent prejudice by ensuring that children and their families feel welcome and valued. In practice, this means that settings should ensure that their environments are welcoming and supportive and actively celebrate the value of diversity. This includes recognising and respecting how families define themselves and wish to be addressed rather than relying on assumptions or default labels — for example, using the child’s names for each parent rather than a blanket term such as ‘mummy’ for both parents.

 

Building awareness through first-hand experiences has lasting impact. In order to promote and value diversity, settings should consider ways of sharing and celebrating children’s lived experiences, being sensitive to the children’s differing circumstances and ensuring that practices are inclusive of all. Parents may be happy to be involved in sharing aspects of their everyday life and community. This might include inviting parents to share aspects of their everyday life, culture, or community in ways that feel meaningful and comfortable for them. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is clear that every child has a right to an identity and part of the goals of education is to foster respect for their own and other cultures.

 

While it is important for children to see their own identity reflected in positive ways in the setting, it is equally important for children in settings where there is little diversity to become aware of and to appreciate difference. Visits to places where children can encounter different cultures and see ways people live and worship can be memorable – children can taste unfamiliar foods, explore artefacts, and learn about the music, dance, languages and cultural traditions of different communities in respectful ways.

 

Ensure children can see themselves and their families reflected in the environment. What children experience day to day, both physically and emotionally, often speaks more loudly than written policies, so it is important to consider how the setting enables children and their families to view diversity positively. This includes both what is visible in the space and the interactions and conversations educators have with families. Children need to see representation of someone who ‘looks like me’, or ‘has a family structure like mine’, or ‘lives somewhere like where I live’, or ‘uses the languages I use’, etc. Children absorb and develop ideas of who they are and what is possible for themselves from the images and materials around them, such as:

• • photographs of the children themselves (where acceptable to the families).

• • books, posters, small world play materials that depict and enable acting out a range of identities which actively challenge stereotypical representations and avoid tokenism.

• • representation of different races, disabilities, languages, ages, types of families including single parents, same-sex parents, grandparents raising children.

• • role-play clothing that allows children to play in gender-flexible ways and reflects diverse cultures, and household items reflecting various cultures and communities.

• • educators who have some of the same identity markers as children and families – race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and language.

This celebratory approach should also include children who are bilingual or multilingual. Having an understanding of how a second or third language is acquired is important, including knowing that children will experience a ‘silent period’ in which they absorb and begin to make sense of their environment, is important. Educators should support children by:

• • ensuring the environment provides pictorial references, such as picture and word cards, for labelling spaces, resources, and routines

• • not assuming a mono-linguistic setting in which English is the only language spoken

• • welcoming, celebrating and including children’s home languages, and encouraging them. to speak in their home languages alongside any new language acquired

• • inviting families to share songs and rhymes for everyone to learn 

• • paying attention to the tone and pace of adult speech and prioritising positive interactions with bi-lingual and multilingual children.

All children have their own feelings about their lives and their identity. Their voice should be central and their funds of knowledge respected.

 

Educators working with children identified as having Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) acknowledge and value each child, emphasising what they can do through a strengths-led perspective on developmental difference and disability. By ensuring accessibility, children should have greater opportunities to explore, discover and take risks in early years provision which helps them to develop autonomy, competence and resilience. This position also endorses the UNCRC article 28 that every child has a right to an education and article 29 which states that education should develop a child’s personalities, fascinations and unique abilities to the fullest.

 

The statutory SEND Code of Practice sets out the action early years providers should take to meet their duties in identifying and supporting all children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities, whether or not they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. Identifying and assessing special educational needs for young children who are learning languages other than English requires particular care. Early years educators should look carefully at all aspects of a child’s development and learning to establish whether any delay or difference is related to learning languages other than English or whether it arises from SEN or disability. Difficulties related solely to learning languages other than English are not SEN.

 

Ableism is the discriminatory and harmful set of ideas, practices, institutions and relations that view typically conforming and non-disabled ways of being as the right or preferred way to exist. To disrupt ableism, we have a shared responsibility both to challenge exclusionary thinking and practices and to create environments where difference and disability are understood as natural parts of human diversity. All children should grow up to understand that neurodivergence and disability are not lesser ways of being.

 

To thrive, all children need access to equitable care and education that is underpinned by anti-ableism. It is also vital that children have opportunities to notice and learn about each other’s differences so that they can build relationships rooted in empathy not pity.

 

Experiencing belonging is an important part of inclusive practice. Having differences viewed in deficit ways or being marginalised can lead to feelings of social isolation and exclusion. When children and their families’ funds of knowledge are actively welcomed and planned for, this can reduce these feelings and provide children with a more secure base from which they can develop, learn and flourish. Early years settings can be well placed to promote feelings of belonging through explicit teaching of diversity and difference as a natural occurrence. Educators should actively plan to support children to develop empathy and understanding towards one another. For example, children should be supported to recognise that there are different ways of playing, communicating, regulating and interacting. Celebratory approaches can be used to push back against normative assumptions about childhood, fostering cultures of ‘me and we’ rather than ‘us and them’.

 

There is a growing awareness in early childhood education of neurodiversity which recognises the diversity of human minds, bodies and ways of being. This means that children will develop in different ways and will vary in how they communicate, move, regulate, play, learn and sense. It is essential that developmental needs are understood and supported. It is equally important to recognise and affirm developmental differences, such as being autistic or physically disabled. Variation in development should not immediately be seen solely as a problem but could indicate a different way of developing. For example, a non-speaking child may not use ‘mouth words’ but this does not mean they cannot communicate. They may prefer to express themselves though gesture, sign or visuals. Developmental norms can often be used to suggest that there is a right or ideal way to develop, but human development is dynamic and varied. Neurodiversity approaches recognise that there is no superior or inferior way of being – rather all humans need to be in supportive and compatible conditions to thrive.

 

Some children will benefit from support that is additional to or different from our foundational practice, for example, if a child has a lifelong difference such as being D/deaf. We should actively strive for access, participation and belonging in a learning-rich environment. We may also need to draw upon support beyond our own expertise, such as health specialists, to ensure well-matched provision and practice.

For children with developmental differences, needs and disabilities, it is important to recognise that the way they share these perspectives may not always be through conventional means such as speech. It is usually through behaviours that we come to understand a child might be thinking or feeling. For example, a child with complex needs may show increased alertness during certain routines or look away as a way of saying no.

When a delay or difference is identified, support does not involve reverting to age-inappropriate expectations.

 

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