To celebrate their new playground communication board, Luton invited a group of preschoolers with special educational needs and their families for a multi-sensory story time and welly walk in Wardown Park, Luton.
The deputy mayor, councillor Babatunde Ajisola unveiled the board, alongside councillor Khtija Malik, portfolio holder for public health.
Sue White, head of education at Widgit, said: “Up to 14 million people in the UK experience communication difficulties at some point in their lives.
“Asking a friend to play a game or go on the roundabout together can be challenging if children are non-speaking or have language and communication difficulties. To help overcome this, we have created a range of bespoke playground communication boards for Luton parks. They feature an array of clear and colourful symbols - large visual illustrations of typical playground vocabulary like climbing frame, sharing, feeling cold and having a picnic.
“Luton is at the forefront of improving inclusivity across their green spaces and joins other forward-thinking councils around the country.”
This communication board marks the 300th board in children’s playgrounds around the country, and is the first of six playground boards Luton Family Hubs will install in the town.
Having access to these boards in parks means that a child who finds it hard to communicate or has limited vocabulary can indicate what they like and dislike. Just by pointing to the relevant symbols, they can communicate their needs, wants and interests. They can share whether they want to carry on playing a game with a friend, or stop to have a snack, for example.
To celebrate the new playground communication board, Luton Family Hubs held a family activity morning with sensory story time and a park trail.
Councillor Khtija Malik, portfolio holder for public health at Luton council, said: “It was a pleasure to see the children using the new playground communication board. This board, and the five others to be rolled out in our most popular parks this week, will improve inclusion and accessibility.
“The boards have a QR code that links to a wealth of resources and support for families in Luton.
“We couldn’t have done it without a collaborative approach across Luton and the help of our partners Flying Start, Bedfordshire Community Speech and Language Service, the Luton Parks team, and the Early Years Alliance. Together, we worked with symbol experts at Widgit to make this happen. For us, this is just the beginning, and we look forward to more playground communication boards to come in the future.”
The children had a chance to experience the story ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ in an interactive way with water, soil, foam balls and ribbons to represent different parts of the story, including a large dark tent for a cave with a bear hiding inside. The children enacted the scenes from the story, and went on their own welly walk through the ‘long wavy grass’ and ‘thick oozy mud’.
They took part in a scavenger hunt and searched for items from the story and nature around them. Visual resources from Widgit supported them so all children could join in, whatever their needs. The trail led them to the playground where they used the new playground communication board for the first time.
Luton chose the well-known Grade II-listed Wardown Park for the official launch. During the week of half term, the team will roll out the rest of the communication boards at the following locations:
Hockwell Ring Park and Lewsey Park, 18th FebruaryLuton Memorial Park and Brantwood Park, 19th February Leagrave Park, 20th February
For more information on the symbols and resources Widgit has developed for individuals of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds, and to sign up for a free trial of its software for creating symbols, visit www.widgit.com
For more information about Luton Family Hubs and the communication boards, please visit https://familyhubs.luton.gov.uk/home-learning-communication