ECSC Inclusion Conference - Kim Raffler, Senior Inclusion Support Facilitator, Include Me

"Inclusion is where every child can participate. Inclusion is not one-on-one support, it's not providing individual activities within the room setting, inclusion is implementing experiences that all children can be part of."
Kim's father was a civil engineer, building roads and bridges, her early childhood and high school years were spent growing up overseas in new Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. These foundational years gave her great insight as a 'minority' living in a very different culture to that of her family. She came to realise how important it was to feel included in varied settings such as school, sport and friendships.
Whilst working in the early childhood field for over 30 years, she has had opportunities to experience a variety of Early Childhood settings, including long day care, preschools and as a Child Development Officer at a number of family day care centres. During these years she has been involved with implementing changes to the regulatory guidelines and practices and has adopted best practice approaches towards inclusion.
Kim is currently the Senior Inclusion Support Facilitator for the Include Me team at Big Fat Smile. She has attained great job satisfaction as she has worked closely with educators and watched them make changes to their practices as they strive to build their capacity in providing an inclusive environment for all children.