Activity 3.2 | Programs and Projects

Inclusive Environment Project

Learning about the Inclusive Environment Project 

Watch this interview with Erin Waddell and consider how this concept relates to the needs of the children and families in your program.

• What projects may pertain to your program and community?
• How might you advocate for the children and families in your centre?

After watching the interview, take some time to reflect and capture your thoughts in your journal. 

Reference

Annicchiarico, A., & Waddell, E. (2025, Mar 7). Interview: Inclusive Environments Project. [Video]. RRU CTET Studio.

Transcript

Hi, Erin. Nice to see you. Welcome to the Early Learning and Care Leadership course here at Royal Roads University. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge with the students, the participants of this course. Before we get started, I really want to acknowledge the Lands that we are on right now with the Songhees and the Lekwungen speaking People and the families that have lived here for thousands of years. So can you introduce yourself a bit more where you work, your experience, your education? Absolutely. So, first off, thank you for having me. We've been working to get this done for a little while now, and I'm happy that we've finally come together, which is so great. My name is Erin Waddell, and I am the Inclusive Environments Project lead at the Victoria CCRR, and I have been an Early Childhood Educator since 2008, and I am a mom of four, and someone who has been in that journey of exploring support for neurodiverse children and families for quite a while now, and that's really what has brought us to the Inclusive Environments Project; and that's why we're here. How long have you worked at CCRR? Which is the Childcare Resource and Referral.  Yes. the Childcare Resource and Referral, which is a government funded program. I have been there since 2019, so I'm going into my sixth year there. Alright. So I understand you developed this program based on educators calling into CCRR Can you tell me sort of how that started inception of the program? Absolutely. So prior to me starting as a childcare consultant, I worked with lots of different educators and really found my feet at a previous centre where I managed for almost a decade and really created some solid relationships there. My children all went there. And so when I left, I still had these really tight close relationships with those educators, and I got a phone call one day saying, Erin, you know, we're really stuck, we're not quite sure what to do. Termination of care of this child is on the table. We really we feel like we've tried every item in the tool kit to figure out what we can do to support this child and their family. And unfortunately, we're out of gas. So what do you suggest? And that's typically out of the scope of what I would do as a childcare consultant, but there have been so many conversations and so many professional development opportunities where the feedback that we've received is, we need more support with children with big behaviors. We need more support with skill building for this specific type of challenge that educators are facing. And so, Belinda, who is the program coordinator, and I, we sat down together, and I brought it to her, and we brainstormed, you know, the project and what that would look like, and I decided that the only way that this was going to work was to actually go into facilities that have, you know, identified this need and really observe, see what's going on, really get to the heart of the matter, and then work with them for a period of time and give them the skill set that they would require in order to, you know, manage and support all while figuring out how to come together as a team. And that's how it started. So this isn't something that educators can go to any CCRR. No. it's location and say, hey, I heard about this program. No, this program is only offered at the Victoria Childcare Resource and Referral as it stands right now because I am I'm one person. And so we're really working within school district 61, which is our service area for right now. It has been extremely successful. And there is another person who has joined in with your team. Yeah, so we've got a mentorship program with her starting right now, and she's observing and coming in and really getting the idea of what the Inclusive Environments project is. And because it's really a perspective shift that a lot of educators need some time to think about, an understanding that we, as the adults, are forever and always the answer for these types of situations. And how do we come together and show up for children and our team and families. So the mentorship of that piece takes a while. And that's where we're at right now. R in the mentoring side of things. Yeah. So centres phone you, so the educators. And then what do you do? What's your next first, when they call me, I say, I need a general idea of what's going on and where the identified barriers are and how you think you've gotten to this stage right now. Typically, it's about half an hour conversation and then we set up an observation time when I will go in probably for about an hour hour and a half, really get the feel of the space, observe the child, observe how the educators are interacting with the child. Nine times out of ten, I don't see a lot of big behaviors in that 1 hour. But it's nice to be able to get the foundational piece of relationship for that child and for the educators. And then once that observation time is finished, I connect again with the person that phoned me to come in, which is typically a manager or a lead. Yes. And I say, Okay, so these are a few things that I've noticed, and this would be my plan moving forward. The project runs for eight weeks. We go in once a week for 2 hours, typically 9:30 to 11:30, and then we also connect with the educators at a team meeting, so off site because we don't want to be having these hard conversations in front of children. And then once that eight weeks is finished, we don't go, Okay, go into the deep end of the ocean and enjoy yourself. There is an like a very long option to have virtual support for however long they need it, whether that be via Zoom or Teams or just on the phone or grabbing a cup of coffee. Those are the kinds of things that we really want to ensure that the team is utilizing after we're done being on site. When I go on site, it's mentoring, it's identifying, it's asking questions, and it's really going. Have you thought about this? What about this? What about this? Well, I don't know what do you think? Well, this is your program. What do you think? Then with that back and forth conversation, we get that skill set in of how do we create this environment so that it's ready for all children. And every environment I've gone into has been different. Only two environments that I've gone to over the last year and a half have been true support needs. Really, it's working with the adults to get them to a spot where they are showing up for each other and getting themselves out of a state of alarm so that we can then work with a child to get them out of a state of alarm. A lot of adults don't recognize how dysregulated they are when they're on the floor. Yes, that's right, because you're you're in it! You're in it! You cannot see the forest or the trees. So a big piece of it, too, is identifying and validating that feeling of, I don't know what to do. What is next? This is hard. You know, our natural instinct is to pull away from these really high, hard times we've got to flip it and we have to go into that and lean into the behavior and figure out what's going on. The behavior is a way to communicate with, you know, lots of things. And if we expect children to behave in ways that some adults don't behave in, it's unrealistic. So it's really pulling the ideas out of the educators, validating them, and teaching them ways to show up for each other and then put the breathing mask on and then put it down to the child. I mean, nine times out of ten once they realize that they themselves are regulated, then all of a sudden the alarming behaviors are gone. I really like how you said that the educators have to really buy into this, right? It's not just someone's going to come and fix things for me, but, you know, really exploring themselves, their behaviors, what they say, what they do each and every day, how they interact with one another. Yep! You know, that setting that environment piece is so important. That is a big piece of the original conversation that we have before I even go in and observe. Do your staff know that you're connecting with me? Do your staff feel comfortable with me coming in? Do your staff understand what the project actually looks like? and if the answer is no, that has to be addressed first. Before? Absolutely. Because I can't go in and expect perspective shifts and somebody to be really open and vulnerable with me and connect with me and talk with me and share with me if they have no idea who I am, why I'm coming in there and what the whole point of everything is. It has to be a team oriented process, which is why when we agree to do the program for that amount of time and they follow up virtual support, there's always a memorandum of understanding that gets sent out to all of the site. The lead takes it and shares it with the team. That everybody knows where we're at, what the point of the project is, and what the expectations are for them because it's hard work for them. Well, when you talk about that, it really makes me think about relationships that you need to build that relationship with them. Absolutely, also need to build it with you, and then you move on to the children and the families. Everyone in that little community. So relationship is really important. Absolutely. And there's a key piece here that I haven't addressed, as well, which is that the families need to know that I'm coming in. Yes. So I have a bio that gets sent out before I come in for that eight week period, and it gets put up and sent to all of the families. So everybody knows who I am. Everybody knows why I'm coming in, not, of course, violating any children's privacy, but knowing that I'm coming in as a support to the program. And I've had to work with two families and just offer them support and have those chats with them as well, really directing them in spaces where they can access more resources. And so it becomes really a community of support, as opposed to me just going in and saying, This is what you want to do because that's not helpful for anyone. And so what you're really talking about is roles,  everyone has a role to play. Everyone has a role.  And once we all get to that point, and I think it's really nice that you offer this time of eight weeks, and then possibly it can be extended as well. Yeah, if we identify that there are a lot of shifts happening right as we bump up against that eight week mark, we've been able to extend by a few weeks to get into that nitty gritty, hard conversation. And it's really wonderful when educators off of the floor have the opportunity to chat in a team meeting because it all comes out and it's really nice to see - it's magical to see that really exciting word they're like, Oh, well, I tried this, and then this happened, and it's like, see? Like, so why do you think that happened? What's the common denominator here? It's you and your regulation. Educators don't get that opportunity to really sit and do that, right? No. And the importance of this is what happens, and it's okay for me to feel this way. Absolutely, right? That's a real hard thing, because so often we get stuck in that lens of saying, I'm a professional, I know exactly what I'm doing. And well, we learn alongside of each other. We do. And that's how we learn the best, so we have to think of that. So how do you think we can explore the concerns of not filling the needs of children and families in inclusive care? Like, what are some of the concerns? that you have noticed.  In terms of children or in terms of educators? Well, just with supporting them. Well, there is a huge bottleneck for services, which we know that has really, really, really put a barrier in front of a lot of different things for a lot of different people. And I know that everyone is doing their best in the, you know, society of support needs, right? But we need to ensure that we're having inclusive care peppered throughout every single course that people take. And so it just becomes the norm. Everybody graduates with inclusive care, it's been peppered throughout every single course that they take so that we have a foundational base of what inclusivity looks like. Yes. That doesn't mean that everybody has the same things all the time. It is the ability for children and families and educators to have access to what they need, to feel supported and secure and thrive in the environment. So if that means that one educator needs, you know, let's say, headphones for Circle Time or, you know, I don't promote circle time, but, you know, for any type of curriculum based thing that they're looking at, that's what we do. But that doesn't mean that all the other educators need headphones or all the other children need headphones. It's really giving the environment the lens of what people need is okay, and it's our job to come collectively together to do. And as educators to really look at our environment and our curriculum and do we want every child to do the same thing and to learn the same way? Absolutely. When we know as adults, that's not the case. There is not one adult that learns the exact same way as the other adult, and us as educators need to be getting in front of what this looks like. So when we don't have a straight base of what educators are learning and we have these beautiful spaces that are teaching inclusive care and that are teaching um, these really, really, really great, wonderful ways of setting up their environments with loose parts and invitations to play and really creating relationship at the forefront. And we have other educators coming in thinking that things are going to be very different and very academic focused. There's a divide and a miss here. Yeah. And so it becomes problematic in that, who has buy in for where and how do we make space for it all, you know, and really at the heart of it is that we can't do anything without relationship. Yeah. So let's figure out how to all come together. Yeah. And a lot of this comes into professional development? right? Many people will go, I want to take a workshop on inclusive care. How do I meet the big behaviours of children? And I was really impressed how CCRR and QA and the program in Nanaimo they don't just say, here's the knowledge, but we're going to come and walk alongside of you. Yeah, and do this together, as there are no tricks and tips and checkmarks of what we can do, this is completely based on how we choose to be as humans. That's right. And there isn't this, you know, Okay, well, if you do this, this is going to be what it is. And if you do this, this is going to be what it is. Check, check, check. This is really taking a step back and honouring what is actually happening because behavior is communication. And when we come from the lens of all behaviour, sorry, all feelings are okay, and we are able to work within that concept of all feelings are okay, let's stay as regulated as we can in these feelings and then co regulate with the children that don't have the scope yet. Yes, exactly, yet. Yet. We give them these opportunities to thrive and these foundational things that they take into every single thing that they do for the rest of their lives. They don't know or won't know who we are five to ten years from now nine times out of ten. It's very rare. The families do, but the children do not. But how we engage with them and how we work with them in terms of the relationship in this big, hard feeling work and letting them know that it's okay for it to come out. It's okay for it to really burble up and have these big tears. They take that into every single relationship they have for the rest of their lives. And many children are in care more than they are with their families due to the state the world, and so we really have to look at what our role is and be understanding that it's a privilege. We are privileged to be able to work with children and families and have that foundational piece set for them; now. Can you imagine what it's going to look like in 20 or 25 years when all these little ones have this emotional intelligence foundation; now? It's gonna be phenomenal, I'm so excited! It is, right? And as you were talking about, too, right? We want other educators to be really excited about this work. Like, you know, I'm going to move forward. I know for me as an educator, my relationships with individual children that have had some of these behaviours. Those are the children I remember most. Absolutely. Those are the very close relationships which really help me be the educator that I am. Absolutely. Right? So another question is, how do we keep the retention of educators when they're struggling these days, Oh, you know, it's more than bubble baths and chocolate. I think the big piece is continuing on with programs like the IEP, understanding that there's support, building on that skill base and building on how we interact with each other and lean on each other. It's a big circle. So oftentimes I see educators are really looking for that foundational skill set of how to work in a room with children, whether it be total group awareness, whether it be setting up different environments or provocations or invitations to play and all of these different things needing to come together. I think biggest thing is getting in front of this. The biggest thing. So, how do we prep for the day before the day even starts? I advise every single team that I work with that staff meetings are mandatory. We have to come off the floor. We have to deal with these things as adults, and we have to talk about these things as adults, and it's essential to build the learning, right? So the big thing is really validating educators and their feelings, really working and choosing to work with a team that has the same level of buy in that you do, ensuring that the leaders that are in positions are not new grads. Because we really want to have leaders that are really able to bring educators together, really ensure that they have the skill set and the base to have those thought provoking conversations of, "ok, so this  isn't working, what are we going to do next?" And, really, really understanding that the majority of the big behaviours will be handled before we even step on the floor by getting in front of it. Most children, the behaviours that I see come out through impulsivity or through being in alarm or all of these different things are all based on the idea of, I need to be seen. Yeah. So if we go, I see you, I know you. I got you. And that's reflected everywhere in how you're running your program, how special does that feel? If I came in here and went, Oh, Okay. Celebrate the day here. That would not put you at ease and that would not make you feel excited. It shocks me, but if I came in here today and said, I am so excited to be here. This is so great. I'm so happy to see you today. It's like, oh, well, she's happy to see me; this is awesome! and it's no different when we engage with children. The moment that they walk through that door, our eyes need to brighten up, and we need to look at that child and go, I am so happy you're here. Did you see that I set this up for you over here? Yeah. Because I know you're asking about it. 100%. And they're like, She's thinking about me. This is great. This is awesome. You know, the transition of a parent leaving, see you later - that's fine. We bring them over to the thing that we did just for them. And how special that. And we have the capability of doing that. I often get asked the question, well, you can't do that times 25 children. Oh, yes, you can. Oh, yes you can, It depends on where you think your time places Absolutely. And, it depends on your team. So if you have four or five adults to 25 or 33, three to five year olds, let's say, let's get in front of it. How do we manage this? And to be honest, not every child is going to want that every single day. No. So again, the big thing with this is getting in front of it and having the skills to get in front of it. So engage with professional development, engage in meetings, engage with your local CCRR to figure out different resources. Figure out what these children are interested in and observe. Observe, observe, observe, build on what that looks like, and then talk with your team about why you did it the way that you did it. Yeah. And I think educators, once they feel that, once they experience that, movement, they can also advocate that, right? professionally. Absolutely.  Whether you're in a professional development workshop or you know, you talked about a community of practice, have those conversations and share each other's knowledge. Absolutely. So you can start to stand up. Our field has done so we've moved so far. We have, we have. but yet we still have stuff to do. Yeah, we do, and that's okay because this is where we're at in this current climate. You know, we see adults stressed everywhere we go. And then we wonder why then children are stressed. And the only way that children really, really, really look at their stress in an environment where they feel safe are these, you know, bigger than, you know, typical behaviours that we as adults have a hard time. They're hard for us. So let's acknowledge, number one, that they're hard for us. Number two, let's acknowledge that we have the skills. We have the strategies, we have the resources to manage all of what this looks like, and we don't have to do it alone. No, we shouldn't be doing it alone. And we really have to look at our expectations, right? Yes. You know, I need to go from A to B. But what's in the middle, right? How do I support this moment? And that's what it's about. It's about the moments we spend with them. Absolutely. Not making sure we get up by 11:00 because we have to have lunch at 12:00. The slowing down is really important, you know we have these schedules, and I often have the conversations, of okay, so when you first start your day at work, what does that look like for you? Some people go in and they're ready to go and get started. For me, I like to come in a little bit slow, fire up my laptop, a little before I even check my email, make a little list of the things I know I need to do. Coffee. Hey, how are you? Hey, how are you? Hey, how are you? And then I sit down. That takes me about 30 minutes to really connect with everyone, see how everyone was doing, get the climate of the office for the day, and then I'm ready to work. So when we think in the context of play is children's work, they're not going to just be step, step, step, and they can't jump right in. No, and they can't, they can't! if we switch the perspective of transitions from one place to another to transitions can trigger alarm because their separation. Our mindset on how we view transition changes. So a lot of people say, you know, Well, there's so much problems with nap time and in nap time. Well, of course, because naptime represents a separation. Yeah. Why wouldn't we be in alarm? Developmentally, you know, we talk about children and how capable they are, and they're absolutely capable. I believe that children are so capable, and we still have to meet that need of well, going to sleep can be kind of scary sometimes. Yes. So how do we bridge it? And that is the question, how do we bridge this? How do we bridge the transition? How do we get them, you know, looking forward to things moving forward? And guess who the answer in that is? It's us! Hey, I'm so excited to meet you in your dreams. Where are we gonna go in your dream? That's right. Because when children come, what do they do first? They go to you. Mm hmm. They go to the educator. Mm hmm. the primary Exactly. And when a child is dysregulated, for whatever reason, we might not even know the reason. What is the first thing they want to do? Yeah. Connect. They want to connect. They want to be close. You know, sometimes we see the kicking and screaming and those kinds of things because it has to go somewhere. They can't hold it in their bodies. They're not able. It has to go somewhere. So when we make space for these things and really follow up with that repair, you know, I see, you're really upset. You didn't want Mom or Dad to go. I'm here. I got you. I know; it's okay. Oh. Okay. Yeah. Right? And it's the same for us as adults. Yeah. How many times in the crazy chaos in the morning, where we're running out the door and our purse strap gets stuck on that door knob, it seems to only happen when we're in a moment. Telling you something. 100%. Slow down. If somebody was looking at me in those moments, I would not be very proud of the escalation that sometimes comes from. So why do we expect it to be any different for children? It's not any different. There's just more spectators. And more expectations. Yes. And so how do we flip that conversation? And that's one of the questions I put back on the educators. How do we flip this? Yeah. Where's the need? What are we missing here? Nine times out of ten, it's Well, we have to get here and we have to get here. Exactly. You don't have to. Slow down. It's okay. It's okay. So now that you've done this work, what is your hopes? This kind of program supporting educators. Are we talking blue sky or, like, in reality here? Um, a bit of both. A little bit of both. So I would like to get as many centres as I can. Yes. I really want to be a mentor for all of these centres that are saying "we need help!"  And I really want this information to get out there. I want educators to feel comfortable to email me or call me and say, you know, I just don't know what to do. Let's normalize saying, I don't know what to do. That's right. Let's normalize having people on, you know, this resource list of who we can call and how we need to do it. I think that is the biggest thing is just getting the information out there and getting into centres. Big Sky, maybe a TedTalk one day. Um, you know, and it comes from a place of my own personal, you know, struggles that I've had with my own children. All four of my children are neurodiverse. I'm neurodiverse. And so, being able to really combine the professional and the personal passions and empathy and compassion, this is the perfect project. Yeah. Because it gives me the opportunity to connect, especially with new educators to connect and really create this good foundation of support and also meet that need in me going, Okay, I'm making a difference so that termination of care doesn't have to be the answer. And, um it's more and more we're hearing that termination of care expulsions in childcare. In childcare. Which is very, very sad to hear. Yeah, and I don't think people understand the full blown ripple effect of what that looks like. We know that a child by the age of six, that foundational piece of who they are is finished by six. And so what does termination of care tell the child? What does termination of care tell the family? What does termination of care tell us in terms of our ethics and who we are and, you know, how we're trained and what that looks like? Even, you know, even in the school districts, there's lots of things that are happening for bigger behaviors that, you know, we have to look at and going, are we doing the best thing possible for children and families? And I think everybody is doing their best, but there isn't a clear pathway. There isn't enough resources or funding to ensure that it's equal for all children and families that need support. When we're getting there, don't get me wrong. We're definitely getting there, but we're seeing um, such a level of increased big behaviours that it has to come back to us. It has to. Yeah, well, we're on the road there. Well, thank you for sharing that. Yeah, absolutely. And it's nice seeing you. Nice seeing you, too. Yeah. Thanks Erin!