Children’s nurseries today are meeting places for many languages, cultures, family constellations and developmental tempos. Inclusion means shaping this diversity, not merely managing it—from how rooms are arranged to the way we talk with one another every day.
Why inclusion is more than integration
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities obliges every educational setting to guarantee participation without exclusion.ohchr.org In Switzerland, frameworks such as the Orientierungsrahmen Frühe Bildung and the QualiKita label translate that obligation into concrete quality standards by defining diversity competence as a core dimension of good practice.netzwerk-kinderbetreuung.chquali-kita.ch Inclusion therefore changes not the child but the environment: flexible furniture instead of fixed desks, multilingual picture books instead of monocultures, signing during morning circle so everyone can join in.
An everyday life that celebrates difference
A morning greeting in every home language makes appreciation audible. Family festivals—Ramadan, Diwali, or Samichlaus—are planned with parents so that the meaning of each feast and child-friendly rituals fit naturally into the nursery day. A wall of photos labelled “My Loved Ones” shows patchwork, single-parent, rainbow and extended families side by side, each presented with identical respect.
Removing language and culture barriers
Pictograms explain rules without words, parents’ voice notes fill a digital sound library, and multilingual notices ensure vital information isn’t available in German only. UNICEF calls such “low-cost, high-impact” tools a direct boost to early-childhood participation.unicef.org
Supporting children with impairments as a matter of course
Early identification means observing, documenting and addressing concerns without judgement. Heilpädagogische Früherziehung (HPF) is publicly funded as a special-needs measure and can start before kindergarten.szh.ch A special-education teacher often visits once a week in the child’s familiar setting, bringing ideas—from sign-supported communication to adaptive play materials—straight into the group.
Thinking inclusively about space and materials
Barrier-free walkways, height-adjustable tables, cosy corners with dimmed light and tactile boxes for sensory regulation let every child join in. Visual timetable cards help even children without a diagnosis to understand the day independently.
Involving parents as experts
Door-step chats, portfolio folders and multilingual parents’ evenings create transparency. When families share cultural knowledge or signing skills, true co-teaching emerges.
Take-away. Inclusion becomes tangible when diversity is visible, language is no entry barrier and every child can show their strengths daily. A communal spirit grows in which differences are experienced as enrichment.
