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Inclusivity in playgrounds
While many people think of inclusivity in playgrounds as simply providing accessibility features, true inclusivity goes much further. It involves thoughtfully designing play spaces that accommodate children of all abilities and developmental stages. An inclusive playground creates an environment where every child can connect, grow, and have fun together. By focusing on diverse needs, we foster a play area where learning and enjoyment are universal, ensuring that no child feels left out.
Landscape Structures equipment helps ensure that your playground features different types of inclusive equipment designed to accommodate various developmental and sensory processing needs, as well as engaging events that are accessible.
Social Play
Imagine how much more enjoyable seesaws could be if more of your friends could join in the fun. Let me introduce to you We-sawâ„¢!
With 4 seats and a central platform, this unique structure triples the fun of an average 2-seater seesaw by allowing over 6 participants to ride. Its gentle rocking motion invites kids and families of all ages and abilities to participate, while encouraging the development of social skills through teamwork and collaboration.
The OmniSpin® Spinner offers an exciting experience where volunteers spin the bowl while others enjoy the motion inside. This activity teaches kids the importance of taking turns, both while pushing the spinner and while riding it. This not only promotes patience but also ensures a lot of laughter and fun.
It features a high back for enhanced safety and lower openings that ensure easy accessibility. Designed to be inclusive, the OmniSpin® Spinner allows children of all abilities to participate, fostering social interaction and cooperative play.Â
Sensory Play
Our Sensory Play Centre offers a wide range of sensory and learning panels, including tactile, auditory, and visual elements. This station is designed to help kids develop their sensory receptors through engaging activities. It is particularly beneficial for children with varying developmental abilities, encouraging them to explore different textures, sounds, and shapes.Â
Sensory play is often used in therapeutic settings to help children with sensory processing disorders or autism. These panels ensure that every child feels included, offering engaging play equipment that allows them to interact and play with others, fostering a sense of community and belonging.
4. Rollerslide
When a child goes down a plastic slide, static electricity can build up, which isn't safe for kids with cochlear implants. If the static electricity discharges into the cochlear implant's external processor, it can temporarily disable the device or erase its programming.Â
Adding metal or roller slides to the playground can solve this issue. Rollerslides not only reduce static but also offer a fun, sensory experience that's inclusive for children of all abilities.
Accessible Play
The Sway Fun® Glider (16") is the first glider designed for wheelchair accessibility, bringing the joy of motion and play to children of all abilities. This innovative equipment accommodates two wheelchairs, with additional benches for other passengers, promoting inclusive group play and social interaction.
A 10-foot-long, 42-inch-wide wheelchair-accessible ramp, designed to attach at 8-inch deck increments, offers a vital solution for inclusive playground design. By integrating ramps into playgrounds, we ensure that children using wheelchairs can easily and safely access elevated decks, expanding their play opportunities beyond ground-level activities. This not only allows them to fully participate in the fun but also fosters a more inclusive environment where all children are encouraged to engage with one another, promoting empathy and understanding through shared play experiences.
Inclusive playground structures
7. Super Netplex®Â
What seems daunting at first is designed for everyone. The Super Netplex by Landscape Structures offers thrilling, yet safe, challenges with accessible features like a spiral belt with a grippy texture, making it easy to crawl to the top. This ensures that everyone can join in the fun.
Check out this video with Inclusive Play Specialist, Jill Moore, trying out Super Netplex®.
8. Crab Trap®
The Crab Trap offers a rich variety of climbing experiences, featuring different materials and contrasting colours that enhance its visual appeal and draw children in. With varying levels of difficulty, it allows children to choose challenges that match their abilities. This dynamic structure sparks curiosity and invites the question, "What should I try next?" with its multiple engaging routes both inside and out. The combination of vibrant visuals and diverse challenges ensures endless exploration.
9. Nook
The Nook playground structure is designed for early childhood learning, offering toddlers social play activities that help them explore and understand the world. Each corner of this cozy nook features a learning panel that stimulates their senses, enhances literacy, and develops motor skills. Parents can engage their children with questions that encourage critical thinking, supporting early brain and language development.
Playground rest zone
10. Cozy Dome®
The Cozy Dome serves multiple purposes in a playground, offering a space for climbing, sun protection, and a quiet retreat from the playground's hustle and bustle. For children who become overstimulated, it provides a calm environment where they can collect their thoughts and emotions, helping them prepare to rejoin play with their peers.
Planning and designing an inclusive playground transforms the overall dynamic, creating a space where everyone can benefit and feel included. It makes play enjoyable and inspiring for all. Well-designed playground equipment enhances the play experience, and Landscape Structures is dedicated to innovating high-quality equipment with the well-being of their end users in mind.Â
As we move towards a more inclusive society, designing playgrounds that welcome every child is not just an option—it's a responsibility.
Looking to plan an inclusive playground? Contact Retro-Max playground specialists now for a consultation.
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