The report, Everyone Counts, found that parents of disabled children relied on word of mouth to find specialist childcare which 'often appears to fall into gaps between local authority, health, education, leisure and social services'.
The Trust, which jointly hosted a conference with the National Childminding Association (NCMA) last week to press for Government action, said that there is 'a massive shortfall' in childcare services for the UK's 720,000 disabled children and 1.9 million children with special educational needs.
Nancy Platts, the Trust's head of policy and campaigns, said, 'If we want to improve access to early education and childcare services for disabled children and their families, then services need to be more affordable, more available, more accessible and more integrated.'
She said that the Government should reform the childcare tax credit to make it easier for parents with disabled children to get financial support and that a long-term solution must involve more supply-side funding direct to providers through local authorities.
NCMA chief executive Gill Haynes said registered childminders were 'uniquely placed to provide childcare for disabled children and their families. They work with smaller numbers of children and so offer more personalised care'.
The NCMA's new Inclusive Childminding CD-Rom, she said provided information and advice on their service.
Local authorities are recognising the role of childminders by establishing Children Come First community childminding networks to support the delivery of this specialist childcare. The NCMA has called for additional funding through children's trusts to ensure the creation of more networks.
Everyone Counts, which was funded by BBC Children in Need, said extended schools could be ideally suited for disabled children, as 'many schools already have facilities and equipment in place to cater for disabled children and in many cases are physically accessible'.
