Inclusive Playground

Divide the watch into 3-4 subgroups and let the subgroups move around the playground and examine how it works. 

Tasks

1. Playgrounds can offer many opportunities for children to further develop physical, cognitive, sensory and social skills.

2. Imagine you are the Experience Designer for the inclusive playground. Redesign the playground now to make it even more inclusive to encourage play among all children.

3. Be creative! Put yourself into the shoes of both a special needs child and a normal kid. How can you redesign the structure to encourage inclusive play?

4. Use the paper and pen to craft your model and be prepared to share them with the watch. [Show and Tell or Gallery]

Safety Brief

Do not play with the structures! They are meant for children aged 5-12 and may

not be able to take your weigh and frame.

Background of drawing:

• Picture is from a Facebook post by a Mummy of a special needs child who just entered into mainstream school. The boy came back one day and locked himself in the room and refused to talk.

• When he finally emerged from the room, this drawing was shown to his mum. He tried to ask his friends in school: “Can I play?”

• Refer to the response he got from his friends in the drawing. They jeered and laughed at him and told him, “No!”

• His conclusion? “Mummy, I have no friends.”

Food For Thoughts

✓ What does it mean to be truly inclusive?

✓ Should special needs children enter mainstream schools? Or should they

remain at a special needs school?

✓ How can you be more inclusive at the watch/ school/ family/ community level?

1. Who won Singapore’s first Olympic Gold Medal?

• While Joseph Schooling won Singapore’s first Olympic Gold medal in Rio 2016, Yip Pin Xiu has already won Singapore’s first Paralympic Gold Medal in the Beijing 2008 Games! This is the equivalent of the Olympics for Para-athletes! So who actually really won the first Olympic Gold Medal?

• Yip Pin Xiu have set world records in her swim events. The Paralympic Games were designed to emphasize the participants’ athletic achievements and not their disability. Should Yip Pin Xiu have gotten the $1 million dollars sports achievement reward instead?

2. Is there any representation in Singapore’s government for special needs persons?

• Yin Pin Xiu has been nominated as a Non-Member of Parliament (NMP). This is to drive further representation in our government for persons with special needs.

3. What is the Purple Parade?

• Purple Parade is a ground-up movement that supports the inclusion and celebrates the abilities of persons with special needs. There are a series of awareness-building activities in Oct and Nov each year with a campaign and carnival. Have you ever participated in one?

• The core of The Purple Parade movement is to ensure that people with special needs are included in the main chapter of Singapore’s growth and have equal access to education, employment, transport and social networks.

• The Purple Parade’s vision is for the spirit of the movement to continue for many more years to come; and for the special needs community to be fully included, valued and celebrated in Singapore.