The degree of early involvement of children with special needs is significantly influenced by the desire for availability of different activities, toys and other materials in the children's play itself. Universal design principles, which call for the recognition and appreciation of human diversity, such as people of different ages, abilities, sizes, or the like, are largely responsible for making children's play accessible in the environment. It is desirable that this environment is inclusive and offers a lot of possibilities, with the adaptation of space and content for children's play according to individual children's needs. Although the idea of universal design has spread only in the last few decades and now refers to all aspects of social life, universal design is essentially defined as the design and composition of products and environments so that they can be accessed, understood, and used by all people without the need for special adaptation or specialized design. Considering the importance of play and the quality environment of educational institutions for the overall development of a child, in the theoretical part, this thesis will show what universal design is and how it can be integrated into the daily life of children who are the main participants in early and preschool education. Spatial organization in early and preschool education institutions, which includes kindergartens and crèches, as well as the provision of professional and other assistance to children with special needs, will also be reviewed. The research of this work, that is, the empirical part, will show the results of educators' opinions about the very concept of universal design in the educational process, and the results will be interpreted at the end. 111 kindergarten teachers/educators in the Republic of Croatia participated in this research, and their knowledge and thoughts differ, although the majority agree that universal design is needed in early and preschool education institutions.