Children’s early years are an essential time in their growth and development. It can shape their whole lives, helping to prepare them for a life of learning.

It’s vital that we reach children with disabilities during their early years so we can support them to reach their full potential. Learning in a child’s early years is the starting point in their educational journey. Despite this, there is little research or evidence of what works to include children with disabilities in early years education, especially in relation to improving attendance, participation and learning.

In Kenya, Inclusive Futures is piloting affordable inclusive early years development and education for children with disabilities in pre-primary schools in Homa Bay County in western Kenya, and in Kakuma refugee camp in Turkana County, near the border with Uganda. Through testing disability-inclusive practices across different settings, we aim to learn more about what works.

From focus group discussions carried out by our partner the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), at the beginning of the project, we learned that:

• Despite the importance of early identification and assessment of children with disabilities, parents, especially those living further away from government-run assessment centres, struggled to get their child assessed.
• Teachers in mainstream schools felt they needed more knowledge and resources in order to be more inclusive, and had mixed expectations of what children with disabilities could achieve.
• Parents and caregivers of children with disabilities needed more support in how to care for their children and support them in their education.

Encouragingly, since the project began, we’ve seen an increase in the number of children with disabilities enrolling in mainstream preschools. In addition, teachers have noticed children without disabilities being more accepting of and playing with children with disabilities. 

Some of the innovative approaches we’re using in the project include:

• A steering committee informed by people with lived experience of disability

The project is driven by a steering committee made up of members from organisations of people with disabilities (OPDs), NGOs, and national and county level government partners. The steering committee not only provides project leadership and oversight, but also an opportunity to scale up good local practice to the national level.

• Engagement with the community

At a community level, we are working to reduce stigma and discrimination, which prevents children with disabilities from going to school. For example, representatives of people with disabilities from the local community visit families of children with disabilities to raise awareness about inclusive education and follow up with households where children haven’t reported back at the beginning of the school term. We have also produced a Positive Parenting Manual to help parents support their children in pre-primary education.   

• Working at a school level

At a school level, we offer training and support for teachers at mainstream schools to support children with disabilities to reach their educational milestones, and track their progress. By taking a holistic approach to children’s development, and by bringing together different stakeholders like the National Council for Persons with Disabilities, health professionals, parents and caregivers, and learning support assistants, we are seeing an improvement in the learning, functionality, and development of children with disabilities.  

• Influencing education systems and policies

At a system level, we are advocating for the use of Washington Group Questions to collect data on disability when children are enrolled in school. Our partner, Humanity & Inclusion, have also developed a model accessible and inclusive learning school in Kakuma refugee camp, which has the potential to be scaled up and replicated elsewhere.