Accessible Play for all

They, together with services and organisations from all sectors, form a well established network that collectively places Nottingham at. Demographically it is a young city and, although like any other major city Nottingham has many challenges associated with poverty, crime, educational attainment and health, it is in many ways is a playful city.

Children’s needs, and in particular their play needs, are taking root in the development of sustainable communities and the development of spaces for all.

Nottingham’s new market square and its fountains exemplify the city’s commitment to allowing residents and visitors alike to access great public spaces and it has become an iconic play space for the city.

As a Pathfinder, Nottingham is creating an accessible play network right across the city, looking at how they connect neighbourhoods and opportunities. They have been using computer mapping software to analyse opportunities, in order to evidence how accessible their current network of play is to those user groups who need it most. They have combined this reviewing the ‘play value’ of places to target developments where they are needed most.

When visiting Nottingham’s play provision it becomes apparent quite quickly that its strength lies in how it is accessible to all, whilst still meeting the needs of communities and individuals who require most support. Nottingham play is not only innovative and creative but provides accessible experiences for all children and young people. The inclusiveness and ability to meet individual needs was recently highlighted by KIDs - the disabled children and young people’s charity. In the publication ‘Inclusion by Design’, it outlines how Nottingham provides personal support, transport and other resources needed to participate in the full range of play opportunities.

Nottingham’s play workers have been quite creative in meeting individual need enabling children with a high level of need access universal provision. For example one 10-year old boy with autism frequently threw and smashed up toys/equipment, which made it difficult for him to integrate with other children. In consultation with
his parents, play workers have created him a safe area where he can express these feelings appropriately and safely when they arise. It has had an extremely positive effect by providing boundaries for his behaviour and has reduced the amount of damaged equipment and conflict with other children on site.

On another playground a boy with limited verbal communication skills loved to climb the many low-level trees on site. Play workers initially found it difficult to manage the risk, as he struggled to understand verbal instructions and had a
l i m i t e d understanding of how to manage risk for himself. So staff painted lines around different levels of branches enablingthe boy to know when he was climbing into the higher and more dangerous zone and therefore manage risk for himself. Play workers are also trained to meet a range of personal care needs that normally would be a barrier to children attending sites without additional support. These have i n c l u d e d tracheotomy care or the administration of various medications and have allowed a further opportunity of respite for the primary carer, as well as a more inclusive approach.

Many children accessing play provision in the city exhibit challenging behaviours. Nottingham’s play workers have been trained to look for the message that an individual is trying to communicate through their behaviour and, by using locally developed and nationally recognised reframing techniques, they bring about new behaviours. These techniques have allowed children to remain at provision when previously they may not. Nottingham is now packaging this into training specifically for parents and carers, as well as for other professionals as part of the Pathfinder initiative.

Much of Nottingham’s focus is now on improving unsupervised opportunities for all children. Combinations of climbing walls, large landscaped contours and natural materials have been used to challenge users to push the boundaries of their play experience. One of the main features of developments in Nottingham is the engagement of children, young people and their families.

Developments past and present have seen children and young people work with designers to identify how their individual needs and those of their peers can be met by designs. Recent consultation with disabled children has identified their desire to have more access to natural elements and, in particular, to water. By combining
Pathfinder funding, developers’ contributions towards community infrastructure (section 106 funding) and local area funding, Nottingham has been able to begin developing a landmark water park. Using a combination of capital funding in this way, Nottingham is maximising the potential of this development and many others. Nottingham has also explored the involvement of the Local Education Partnership in the design and delivery of play builds. This is intended not only to bring better economies of scale to the projects but also to ensure that the learning of innovative play design is integrated into the Primary Strategy for Change. Plans being drawn up will therefore include play design that radically redevelops primary school grounds.
Creating places in which children are able to roam, to explore the natural environment and are free to create their own opportunities inside and outside of the school day. As all these developments are realised Nottingham will truly become the playful city where there is play for everyone, and if you choose to visit that could mean you too.

Case study: The Pro 5 consortium

Five professional buying organisations with a combined purchasing power of £2 billion are set to offer local authorities outstanding deals in key markets following an historic agreement to work together.

The Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation, Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation, Central Buying Consortium, West Mercia Supplies and the North Eastern Purchasing Organisation
have agreed to work together as the ‘Pro5’ and have agreed a business model to underpin their collaborative efforts.

Under these arrangements, the Pro5 will identify and promote the best deals for local authorities, including those offered by other professional buying organisations. Pro5 contracts will be opened out and be available nationally.

The Pro5 recognises that local authorities are facing increasingly demanding efficiency and improvement agendas and by working together and with other buying organisations, they can provide local authorities with a far more effective service than if they were working separately.

One of the categories that Pro5 is engaging the market for is outdoor play equipment and multi-use games areas. This category also includes:-

• Safety surfaces for all outdoor play
adventure
• Adventure and fitness trails
• Skate parks
• Urban gymnastics
• Inspection and maintenance

The framework contract will also provide arrangements for councils who want a design and build solution, which will include landscaping capabilities if the customer wants a complete solution.

The Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) is leading on this procurement exercise with input from the other Pro5 organisations, together with feedback from various councils with regard to the content and specification of the various products and services contained in the Invitation to Tender document.

The market engagement will take place during July and following the evaluation and consultation processes, the contract will be available to the public sector from 01 December 2008.