Abstract
This paper analyses part of a consultation project a northern Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP) engaged with in the process of developing a charter for inclusion. This consultation included parents, families, service providers and service managers. Three main research strategies were employed including questionnaires, interviews and discussion groups. This project highlights the importance of listening to the various stakeholders and of allowing the voices of people at the sharp end of inclusive practice to be instrumental in the development of such services. Issues related to shared understandings of terminology and concepts, different perceptions of the drives for greater inclusive services, and the problematic nature of translating inclusive theory into practice in early years services for disabled children developed as important elements of this project. Although stakeholders enjoy some agreement regarding the philosophical notions of inclusion, there was some diversity in the perceptions of why inclusive services are being developed at all and also about how concepts of inclusion are translated into practice. Themes emerged about the organisation of an inclusive early years service relating to the ‘adult factor’ and the efficacy of a charter for inclusion. The partnership concluded that a pilot project following principles highlighted in this project was the next natural stage of developing a charter for inclusion: a charter of promises, rights and standards that is not rhetoric but realistic and, most importantly, is actually driven by the users and front‐line service providers in the partnership.