Parents unable to find creches for disabled children

Many parents are not able to place their disabled children in creches because childcare providers say they are not able to meet their needs, new research shows.

Research by the Disability Equality Specialist Support Agency found almost half of childcare providers in the greater Dublin area do not include disabled children in their services, while one fifth say they have turned disabled children away.

The reasons given by childcare providers for not caring for disabled children include issues such as access, being unable to meet needs and lack of training.

Jacqui Brown, chairwoman of the agency said: "The needs and rights of disabled children are frequently overlooked, since they experience a double invisibility: of being a child and of being a disabled person."

However, the research - based on 120 questionnaires completed by childcare providers - showed that creches linked to agencies that provide support for disabled children were four times more likely to have included children with disabilities.

Childcare providers who received training in the inclusion of disabled children in childcare and play settings were three times more likely to have included a disabled child in their service than providers who had not received any training.

The research also suggests that major changes in the layout and organisation of childcare services and settings are not required in order to include disabled children.

Some 80 per cent of survey respondents who previously included disabled children said they did not need to undertake any substantial changes to become more inclusive.

Most childcare providers (65 per cent) who never included disabled children in their services felt that doing so would result in much more work and less time for their staff.

However, the vast majority with experience of dealing with disabled children (92 per cent) said caring for this group had not resulted in more work or less time available for their staff.

The research found a number of key supports would help childcare providers to become more inclusive.

They include: practical training for staff in inclusion; access to the right information and support in a timely manner; and being able to operate from an accessible building.

The agency, a national organisation funded with public money, has published a manual of best practice for childcare and play providers.