Bringing all abilities together
Special Education Needs
Special education needs school playground equipment
Discover how inclusive, accessible playground equipment and designs enable children with wide-ranging abilities to play together and learn through a shared medium everyone understands - play.
Outdoor play is vital for children with special needs to develop their health and offers opportunities for positive learning environments and increased social inclusion. Our adapted school playground equipment and educational play structures for special needs offer a safe environment to stimulate the senses, encouraging imaginative play and prolonged concentration while providing an inclusive space for group play with other children.
Why are inclusive school playgrounds important?
Allowing children to naturally move and explore their bodies is essential for physical and cognitive development. Being outside helps to stimulate and develop their senses. Accessible outdoor playground equipment is important for children with special needs as it improves coordination, mobility, balance and proprioception. It's simple to understand why play is important for children with special needs - because it allows them to be included.
Our SEN playground equipment must consider children of all abilities, helping them feel valued and included during play.
Tips for designing inclusive school playgrounds
When designing school playgrounds with a focus on inclusion and accessibility, it helps to incorporate the following school playground equipment and design features:
Sensory Play Elements: Add play panels and musical play elements that can be reached from ground level.
Playground Surfacing: Sand and loosefill woodfibre can be hard to manouvre for children with mobility disabilities. By choosing poured rubber as your surface you get a high quality, easy to maintain and accessible surface. It also allows you to create colour contrasts on surfaces to assist guidance.
Accessible playground structures: Choose playground equipment with ramps or wide access points for wheelchairs to use.
Ground level playground equipment: Incorporate ground-level play options on your playground towers or climbing equipment, they are easy to access and make it possible for children of all abilities to play together.
Quite Areas: Make sure your school playground offers an area with benches and shading - this space offers children the option of having some quite time close to the play.
Solitary Play Areas: These can be individual play pieces, like playground carousels or play panels which help include children of all abilities in the play.
Below you can explore a selection of playground equipment to add to your inclusive school playground.
What SEN Playground Equipment should you choose?
6 Design Principles for Universal & Inclusive Design
Our philosophy is that children of all ages and abilities have the right to play, so our products are designed to follow 6 principles for universal and inclusive design.
Accessibility
Multifunctionality
360-Degree Design
Diverse Play Opportunities
Clear in Colour & Design Signals
Providing Solutions for Special Needs
Learn more about how to plan and design inclusive playgrounds here.
"I would definitely suggest to anybody who is the head teacher of a school to do the same thing and to provide more equipment for children to play with, it has a huge impact on attendance, behaviour, confidence, friendship"
- Gayle MacDonald, Head Teacher at Corpus Christi Primary School, Glasgow, Scotland
Universal playground equipment derived from research and user participation
The KOMPAN Play Institute work closely with schools, education centres and parents to build dedicated areas for safe, accessible and interactive play. Our special needs outdoor playground equipment is designed to develop motor skills, stimulate children's senses and encourage socialisation.
You can learn more about how to plan and design inclusive playgrounds here.
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