Kaiako with disabilities in early childhood education: Continuing an important kOrero in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Objective three of Aotearoa New Zealand's He Taonga te Tamaiti, Every Child a Taonga: Early Learning Action Plan 2019-2029 (Ministry of Education, 2019) is directed towards ensuring a well-qualified, diverse, culturally competent early childhood education (ECE) teaching workforce. The document also outlines actions needed to attract, retain and support diverse kaiako (teachers) in the ECE sector. These actions include "reducing barriers to people with disabilities entering the teaching workforce" (p. 24). Our aim in this article is to advance korero (conversation) about the opportunities and challenges associated with applying policy in practice for this group of kaiako (Griffiths et al., 2021, 2022). We do this by documenting Aotearoa New Zealand's legislative obligations and responsibilities with respect to people with disabilities and examining what these mean for kaiako in training or working in ECE settings. We also look at the rights of disabled kaiako within the context of inclusive and non-discriminatory learning and teaching environments (New Zealand Government, 2019). The article concludes with a call for more research on removing barriers and supporting inclusion for kaiako with disabilities in the early childhood teaching profession.