Designing an inclusive playground

Allow all children to play on a playground without any physical, sensory or mental discrimination. The idea is simple! However, implementation can be more complex than it appears.

Playgrounds accessible to everyone

Play is vital for children's development. It is practised spontaneously by the child from a very young age. It contributes to his development and psychological balance. It is essential to consider that all children have the right to play, including children with temporary or permanent disabilities.

From design to layout, all stages of the project must be thought through to ensure playful and functional games. It is also fundamental that children with disabilities feel confident and safe both physically and psychologically on the playground.

In order to make an inclusive playground a success, it is above all necessary to take into account the disability as a whole!

Understanding disability

Understanding disability is one of the essential keys to making a playground a success with children.

The most visible is the physical or motor disability. It covers all disorders that can lead to partial or total impairment of motor skills, in particular of the upper and/or lower limbs.

Mobility impairment also includes disorders that may result in partial motor impairment, particularly of the upper and/or lower limbs. We are no longer talking about wheelchairs but about plaster, crutches, motor difficulties...

But disability is more than just an impediment to mobility. It can also be sensory when a child has visual impairments for example. Blindness can be partial or total and therefore generates a visual handicap.

The sensory handicap can also be auditory. Total hearing loss is rare, most hearing impaired people have prostheses. Depending on the case, this disability may or may not be accompanied by difficulty in speaking.

Mental or intellectual disability is a limitation in the speed of mental functions in terms of understanding, knowledge and cognition.

4 expert tips for a successful playground

Even if the disability is singular, it is essential to make the playground as inclusive as possible.

Here are 4 pieces of good advice:

• Choose a type of flooring that not only makes it easier to move around but also awakens the senses.
• Work the different floor surfaces to bring lucidity to the playground: cast-in-place floors, synthetic turf, swept concrete, stabilised driveway, safety grass...
• Selecting games adapted to different disability situations: ramps to access the games, games at adapted heights, sound, visual and tactile manipulation panels, attractive and bright shapes and colors....
• Organise the space to allow users to be directed by age group but without dividing it into sectors so that people can move around easily and enjoy all the spaces to the best of their ability. Discovery is essential!

For many years, QUALI-Cité has been designing and manufacturing numerous games adapted for people with reduced mobility (PRM), convinced that playgrounds must be accessible to all children.

Because all children have the right to fulfilment through play and awakening, QUALI-Cité is committed as a craftsman to the happiness of all children!

 

Discover our range of PRM adapted games!