Okay, so James is a 4-year-old boy who has Down’s Syndrome, and is currently funded 10 hours of one-on-one care per week, equivalent to two hours a day at his local Kindergarten. While other kids attend for 17 hours a week, James can only go for 10, because that’s all his support allocation allows. His mother is upset because this entitlement has just been cut from a previous two and a half hours a day, down to just the two.

This is, of course, the total allotment provided for under the Govt’s new free childcare system, and that is all any child will get, regardless of disability, a Govt spokesperson has said.

“We aim to treat all children equally”.

But is that the very problem? It sounds like this kid would really benefit from the extra support hours, yet in the name of “equality”, he’s been stripped of them, without so much as an explanation.

What are your thoughts?

[full story here]