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Current application processing timeframes for IDF Subsidy for an Additional Educator :


The demand for support through the Inclusion Support Program has resulted in an unprecedented high volume of applications being submitted for IDF Subsidy for an Additional Educator. Applications are being assessed in line with the ISP Guidelines, as efficiently as possible, but unfortunately this is currently not within the usual timeframes. Thank you for your patience at this time.


Please go to the Important Information page for further information and updates.


What is the SIP?

All services receiving support through the Inclusion Support Program (ISP) must develop a Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP) for their service, in collaboration with the Inclusion Agency (IA).

A SIP is a self-guided inclusion assessment and planning tool for services, that includes strategies for improving and embedding inclusive practice, in line with the National Quality Standards (NQS). The development of a SIP recognises the current inclusive capacity of a service and outlines the strategies and actions educators will implement to increase this capacity to include all children.

The development of a SIP is the first step to accessing support from the ISP including funding through the Inclusion Development Fund (IDF). Each service location will have one SIP, which can incorporate the inclusion planning for all care environments delivered from this site.

The SIP is developed, implemented and evaluated within a 12 month period. A SIP can be updated during this period to reflect any changes, and record the progress made in implementing the strategies and actions outlined.

On this page:

Key resources to assist with developing, implementing and reviewing the SIP

Paper-based SIP Resources

Trial Paper-Based SIP Templates and Guides

A new suite of paper-based SIP templates and guides have been developed to support services in identifying their inclusion barriers and planning to support all children’s participation and interaction with their peers. Services are welcome to trial the new SIP Templates and Guides provided below.

To provide feedback about the new resources please click here.

Other Resources

Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP) - Fact Sheet
This Fact Sheet provides a guide to developing the SIP, with a particular focus on writing Actions. It also contains information on accessing a printable version of the SIP to share with all educators, and tips for recording Progress Notes and updating the SIP.

Task card for completing a Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP)
This task card provides step-by-step guidance for child care services and IA when using the portal for completing the SIP.

SIP Yearly Review - Fact Sheet
This Fact Sheet outlines the annual process undertaken by services, with support from the Inclusion Professional to review the SIP. It outlines strategies for evaluating the SIP and how to update the SIP as a result of this evaluation. The role of the Inclusion Professional in this process is also explained.

A Comparison: Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP) Yearly Review and Renewal Application
This is a resource which compares the function and requirements of both processes on one document. Separate Fact Sheets for Renewal Applications and SIP Yearly Reviews are also available and provide more detailed information.

How to generate a printable SIP

Using a printable SIP is a great way to share the SIP with all educators in a care environment. This will help educators to implement the strategies and actions in the SIP, as well as discuss their progress as a team.

To generate a printable SIP:

  • Select the ‘Report’ tile on a SIP homepage.
  • Select the ‘Run report’ button
  • Select the ‘View report’ button. In some browsers select the bell symbol, next to the Home button, when the number ’1’ appears.

The pdf document can be printed using existing printer set up available from the computer, saved on the computer or emailed as a pdf attachment.

The Report tile on the SIP homepage will display a history of all the SIP reports previously generated.

The following information is displayed in the printable SIP:

  • Service Profile and Inclusion Profile information: These sections will display for centre based services. The Educator Profile will display for FDC services.
  • Scheduled SIP Review: All Reviews with a status of ‘Scheduled’ or ‘In Progress’.
  • Barriers: Active barriers that have no end date, or an end date greater than the date the SIP report is generated.
  • Action items: Action in a status of ‘In Progress’ or ‘Not started’.
  • Inclusion Support and Innovative Support Cases: Current cases where the end date of the IS Case has not passed.

The SIP will include an inclusion profile for each care environment a service is seeking inclusion support for.

A service’s SIP must identify:

  • The barriers that impact the service’s capacity to include children with additional needs
  • The proposed strategies and actions to address identified barriers to inclusion

Components of the SIP

Service Profile (centre-based services only)

The purpose of the Service Profile is to build a profile of the service for the IA to understand their inclusion needs and practices of the service. In the Service Profile, the service provides information on the number of children enrolled in the service broken down by the cohorts the program supports.

Services detail their capacity and capability to include children with additional needs and develop a community outreach strategy, through responding to the following key questions:

  1. How does your service promote learning experiences, interactions and participation to build on children’s strengths and encourage involvement?
  2. How will your service engage with families in the community who do not currently access ECEC services?

Care Environment

A care environment is a specific setting, room or grouping of children in care. For FDC services, this is the FDC educator seeking inclusion support.

Each care environment will contain an inclusion profile and identifies the barriers and strategies to inclusion for each care environment. FDC services will also be required to complete an Educator Profile. Over time, the inclusion profile, barriers and strategies will demonstrate the progress the service has made in improving their inclusive capacity and capability.

Educator Profile (FDC only)

The Educator Profile applies only to FDC services and must be completed for FDC services accessing ISP. The Educator Profile identifies the FDC educator’s capacity and capability to include children with additional needs. It also identifies the FDC educator’s inclusion practices and community outreach strategies, through responding to the following key questions:

  1. How does the educator promote learning experiences, interactions and participation to build on children’s strengths and encourage involvement?
  2. How will the educator engage with families in the community who do not currently access ECEC services?

Inclusion Profile

The Inclusion Profile outlines the context of the care environment. A separate Inclusion Profile must be completed for each care environment the service is requiring inclusion support for. The Inclusion Profile will identify:

  • The number and age of children in the care environment
  • The number of educators in the care environment
  • Educators’ confidence to include children with additional needs. The service should consider, on average, the confidence of all educators to include children with additional needs for the majority of time.

Barriers and Strategies

Barriers and Strategies will be completed by all services accessing ISP. The service will identify the barriers that impact their capacity to include children with additional needs alongside typically developing peers. Services will be able to choose from a list of pre-defined barriers or identify a custom barrier as required.

For each barrier identified, the service must propose a strategy to overcome the barrier to inclusion. Services will be able to choose from a list of pre-defined strategies or develop custom strategies as required. These will be saved to the service’s list of strategies on the SIP.

Actions

Each strategy should have at least one action that will outline how the service will implement the strategy and what resources will be used. This provides further specific detail of what educators will do in the care environment.

Please note: The information in the Strategic Inclusion Plan will help to determine if an additional educator is required to increase the educator to child ratio in the care environment, and if so for how many hours or days each week.

Reviews

There are three types of reviews of the SIP that will be completed by the IA:

  • Service Profile Review
  • Care Environment Review
  • Yearly SIP Review

The purpose of the yearly review is for the service to reflect on the changes they have applied through implementing the SIP. ECEC services should consider their current inclusive capacity and how this has helped progress the strategies in place to address the inclusion barriers identified for the care environment.

SIP Requirements for IDF Applications