Jersey Childcare Trust

Jersey Child Care Trust (JCCT) is a charity committed to giving children in Jersey the best start in life. With 80% of a child's brain development taking place before the age of three, JCCT’s focus on early intervention ensures that support is provided when it matters most.

What sets JCCT apart is its holistic, child-first approach. The Special Needs Inclusion Programme is a key part of this. The programme currently employs 21 support workers who work directly within nurseries to ensure children with additional needs can take part fully in the learning environment. A grant of £75,500 over two years from Lloyds Bank Foundation is being used to fund the full-time salary of one of these practitioners, helping to meet the growing demand for inclusive childcare in Jersey. These practitioners don’t just plug gaps—they provide tailored strategies, often developed in collaboration with therapeutic teams, and embed them into everyday play and routines of the nurseries and pre-schools. This is where developmental progress happens: through play, consistency, and skilled support.

The impact of the programme can be seen in children’s development across key areas such as communication, social and emotional wellbeing, self-care, and independence. Progress is tracked throughout a child’s time on the programme, offering measurable outcomes that demonstrate the value of early intervention. For many children, without JCCT’s support, access to early years settings would be limited or entirely unavailable. The result isn’t just better outcomes for the child—it’s wider access and opportunity for families too, allowing parents to return to work and engage more fully in community life.

The emotional support offered by JCCT is just as powerful. Alice Bennion, Programmes and Services Director at JCCT, says, “For parents, their child starting at nursery is an anxious step and especially for parents of a child with additional needs. We help to ease that transition. Many families stay connected with us long after their child has moved on, becoming lifelong supporters. It’s not just about the child’s needs being met; it’s about the whole family feeling understood and supported.

The inclusion JCCT promotes becomes embedded within the nursery environment. Practitioners develop their skills and knowledge. Children learn about difference and empathy in the most natural way, through curiosity and kindness. One story that captures this perfectly is of a child who, at just three years old, moved a walker from one end of a climbing frame to the other without needing to be asked, to help a peer take part in an activity. It’s a simple moment, but one that shows the true depth of JCCT’s work: children learning to make space for each other, naturally building a more inclusive community from the very start.

JCCT Support Worker Claudia King says, “the most rewarding thing about my job is knowing I’ve helped give a child the opportunity to play and learn within a setting the same way as everyone else. I love watching them become more confident and celebrating their achievements with them.”