Consultancy

We at KIDS believe that every child has the right to play, and should have equal access to play facilities throughout the UK.

KIDS workshop Disabled children and young people have an equal right to be involved in ordinary experiences. We are committed to delivering equality for disabled children alongside their non-disabled peers, by helping to make play areas accessible and inclusive for all.

A play space is an optimal environment for children to learn, develop, and exercise; therefore we need to create accessible and inclusive playgrounds for children of all abilities in every community.
 
All children need and want to take risks in order to explore limits, gain new experiences and develop their capacities from a young age. Creating an inclusive, inviting, challenging and exciting play space will entice children to play while at the same time testing their capabilities, allowing all children to play alongside each other without segregation.
 
Children need to feel free, regardless of their abilities. Through consultation it has been proven time after time that “Children have a voice, and have asked for choice”. A good play space will offer facilities for everyone; it should be designed with inclusion in mind, to allow all children to experience play in a safe setting. You can read KIDS consultation research here

Consultancy for children and young people’s service providers and commissioners
Good inclusive practice is good overall practice.

The Centre of Excellence can assist you to identify and promote inclusion within your play, childcare and youth settings. We can also help you to develop support services and tools, which increase the quality of your inclusive practice.

We have worked over the past decade to support play and childcare services to increase the number of disabled children and young people accessing local provision, and have a wealth of research, knowledge and experience to draw upon. We can provide tailored mentoring and consultancy to support with areas such as:

  • policy development and implementation
  • auditing current practice and providing support to tackle any identified issues
  • creating induction packages for new staff
  • embedding change within service delivery to be more inclusive
  • marketing and publicising your services to disabled children, young people and their families

It is important that disabled children, young people and their families are involved in the design and delivery of services and resources. We can help you to develop this through collaborative working with local agencies as well as with KIDS’ Inclusion into Practice team.

For more information on how we can help you to develop your inclusive practice, please contact coe@kids.org.uk

Consultancy for play companies, developers and architects
When designing a play space, incorporating accessibility into the design should begin early in the process, with a good, thorough consultation. A mix of ground-level opportunities should be integrated with elevated opportunities accessible by a ramp or transfer platform. Special attention should be given to make sure that the activities designed for accessibility provide easy access and use for all disabled children, not just wheelchair users. The accessible elements should also be fun, and should encourage interaction between children of all abilities.
 
KIDS has already collaborated with some play companies to ensure they develop inclusive play equipment. You can read more about our work with them here

We also have a publication, Inclusion by Design which can assist you in creating an inclusive play environment. It can be ordered here 

For more information on how we can help you design inclusive play spaces, structures and equipment, please contact coe@kids.org.uk