Inclusive Parks Scotland Report 2019 (Play Scotland)

Inclusive Parks Scotland (2019) Report This report was produced by Play Scotland in support of playful families and the Play Strategy for Scotland, valuing play, every day ©2019 Author Sarah Goldsmith Inclusive Parks Scotland (2019) Report Dear Parents and Carers This report has been compiled to give you easy access to information about the inclusive nature of parks across Scotland. We hope this will enable more children with disabilities to access and be included in opportunities for play, as well as provide more opportunities for disabled and non-disabled children to play together. This report is in two parts: Part 1 is a summary of key findings across Scotland and includes tables with details of the parks which are fully inclusive, working towards being fully inclusive, and staffed provision. Part 2 is an overall summary of the parks in each local authority, the types of inclusive equipment they contain, any details about toilet and changing facilities and any relevant parking information. There is also a map on the Play Scotland website. This information was correct as of August 2019. However, we recommend that you contact the local authority before visiting a particular facility, as access to specialised equipment and toilets with specific changing facilities may require making arrangements in advance. This report will be updated annually. As well as asking local authorities to update their information, we will be happy to receive comments and photos from you after using the parks. Yours playfully, Play Scotland 1 Inclusive Parks Scotland (2019) Report The Inclusive Parks Scotland (2019) Report builds upon the ‘Playing with Quality and Equality: Review of Inclusive Play in Scotland’ (Scottish Government, 2015), which states that the principle of inclusion is a thread which runs right the way through the Play Strategy and accompanying Action Plan, it also highlights the importance of play rights for disabled children and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This report has been compiled from information provided by 31 of the 32 local authorities across Scotland, about the inclusivity of parks in their areas (the report will be updated at the end of August to include West Dunbartonshire). Local authorities were asked to provide information about any fully inclusive parks in the area; the number and type of inclusive equipment within the parks; information about toilet/changing facilities; accessible pathways and nearby parking. Not all the information enquired about was readily available, but it is anticipated that this database will be refreshed on an annual basis. All local authorities were asked to identify if the parks contained the following equipment: wheelchair swings; high backed swings; inclusive dishes; pod/basket swings; inclusive roundabouts; inclusive seesaws; embankment/inclusive slide with access ramp/double width chute; springer with back support; accessible trampolines; sensory play, including sand/water/activity panels and outdoor gym equipment. City of Edinburgh and Highland did not detail the equipment the parks contained but did indicate where parks contained inclusive equipment. 2 Inclusive Parks Scotland (2019) Report Part 1: Overall summary Details received from the local authorities have provided information for 1345 public parks around Scotland. This part of the report provides an overall summary of that information. Any omissions or errors will be corrected in future versions of this report. Fully Inclusive Local authorities were asked if any of their parks were fully inclusive. Informed by Casey & Harbottle (2018), a space would be considered fully inclusive if it provided the opportunity for all children, disabled and non-disabled, to play together. This would mean that barriers to access and the environment have been minimised and accessible toilets and changing facilities were readily available, this could include a Changing Places toilet or equivalent. The park would also have to be free to enter. Stair Park in Stranraer is currently the only park in Scotland which meets this criterion, although MacRosty Park in Crieff, is fully inclusive when they are serviced by Mobiloo. There are three other parks in Scotland that are working towards becoming fully inclusive, three parks which are inclusive (inclusive equipment but not disabled changing facilities). The Yard in Edinburgh, Dundee and Fife and Linn Park, Glasgow are organisations which provide staffed play provision specifically for disabled children, but are open to everyone at certain times over the weekends. This report does not include information on parks that charge a fee for entry. For further information please see below and Table 1. Fully inclusive: • Stair Park, Stranraer has a range of inclusive equipment including high back swings, a sensory maze and an inclusive roundabout. There is a Changing Places toilet which is accessible with a RADAR key, and there is a car park with disabled bays. Three accessible picnic tables are also currently being installed. • MacRosty Park, Crieff has a range of inclusive equipment including a high back swing, inclusive roundabout, accessible trampoline and sensory panels. There is an accessible toilet which is open 9-7 or with a RADAR key outside of these hours. Mobiloo services the park on a regular basis. The dates and times are advertised in the park and wider community. Working towards being fully inclusive: • Eglington Park, Irvine has an inclusive play area with a wheelchair swing, the key is available from the visitor centre. They are currently investigating installing a Changing Places toilet to become fully inclusive, otherwise there is an accessible toilet and public toilets. There are also disabled parking bays in the nearby car park, and accessible paths. • Zetland Park, Falkirk is currently seeking funding to become a fully inclusive park. It is hoped this will be achieved by September 2020. There are disabled parking bays in the nearby car park. Zetland Park is currently able to use the Changing Places toilets situated in Grangemouth Sports Complex, Abbots Road, FK3 8JB, about 200 metres from the play park. Once all the renovations have been completed Zetland Park will be fully accessible and will be seeking PiPA assessment. 3 Inclusive Parks Scotland (2019) Report • Catherine Street Play Park, Dumfries are currently working on creating an inclusive park Inclusive • Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline has an inclusive play area with a wheelchair swing, the key is available from the Peacock rooms & the Glen Pavilion. There are public toilets and accessible toilets at the Glen Pavilion and disabled parking bays behind the Pavilion and the inclusive park. • Harestanes Countryside Visitor Centre, Ancrum has an inclusive play area with a range of play features including a wheelchair swing, a key is available from the visitor centre for £5.00 returnable deposit. There are disabled parking bays in the near-by car park and accessible paths. There are two accessible toilets, one at the park and one at the visitor centre. • Camperdown Country Park, Dundee has a Changing Places toilet and accessible toilet (we are currently awaiting further information about further inclusive features). Staffed Provision: • The Yard is an adventure play service for disabled children. They have a permanent adventure play centre in Edinburgh and two facilities in temporary, shared, community settings in Dundee and Fife. The Edinburgh centre has a wheelchair swing which is available when the park is open. Although The Yard is specifically for disabled children the Edinburgh venue does have a ‘Sunday Funday’, which is open to everyone between 10am - 4pm. Membership is required after the first visit. Linn Park Adventure Playground Glasgow is an indoor and outdoor play centre for children with additional support needs. On weekdays, Linn Park is open to school groups only, while the membership youth clubs run on Thursday and Friday evenings. The centre is open to everyone on Saturdays and Sundays. They have a wheelchair swing.(See table 1 for further details of all these parks) Inclusive Equipment The most common piece of inclusive equipment in Scotland was the pod/basket swing, with 22% of parks containing them and 12% had an inclusive dish. A springer with back supports was the next most common but these were mainly focused in Aberdeen, Ayrshire and Lanarkshire. 13% of the parks included sensory play, sand/water/activity panels with Aberdeen having the most. Inclusive roundabouts and inclusive slides were in 9% of Scottish playgrounds. All the parks in Argyll and Bute contained inclusive roundabouts and all but one of the parks in Shetland and Fife also contained inclusive roundabouts, while Perth and Kinross have the most inclusive slides. 5% of playgrounds had inclusive seesaws, shared mainly across Aberdeen, Ayrshire, Dundee and Argyll and Bute. When it comes to inclusive swings, Scotland’s parks have 14 wheelchair swings, 71 high back swings, 285 inclusive dishes and 291 basket swings. 2% of parks listed had outdoor gym equipment. City of Edinburgh and Highland do have inclusive equipment in their parks however, the equipment in each park was not specified at the time of this report. This will be updated in future versions of this report. 4 Inclusive Parks Scotland (2019) Report Table 1: Fully inclusive, working towards and staffed provision - by local authority Local Park Name Website Useful Information Toilet/changing Wheelchair Wheelchair Swing Authority & Contact Details Information Swing Access Information

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