Sometimes concerns about risk, and health and safety, can limit a child’s opportunities to play, especially when it comes to children with physical disabilities or medical needs. When disability charity Sense conducted a public inquiry into the provision of play opportunities for children with multiple needs, a number of other barriers became apparent, such as negative attitudes from other parents and insufficient funding.
‘We held several roundtable discussions with a variety of professionals and parents,’ says Anne Cheesbrough, children and family support worker at Sense, which supports people who are deafblind or have other sensory impairments or complex needs. ‘We were shocked by some of the issues that families raised: many spoke of not being able to access play environments, and others had actually been turned away. You would think that kind of experience would be a thing of the past, but it is still happening today.’
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Unlimited access to news and opinion
-
Email newsletter providing activity ideas, best practice and breaking news
Already have an account? Sign in here
