What is Sensory Playground Equipment?

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Sensory play is crucial in supporting the cognitive, emotional and physical capabilities of children – regardless of ability.

Especially useful in engaging children with neurodivergencies such as autism and ADHD, sensory play helps regulate calm and focus while teaching children about the world around them.

Read on to learn about the ins and outs of sensory play from the inclusivity experts at Playdale playgrounds.

What is sensory play?

Sensory play is any activity that engages children through one or multiple sensory experiences, including touch, sight, taste, sound and smell.

Activities that engage these senses help to nurture key developmental milestones, such as:

• Fine motor skills – pouring, gripping, hand-eye coordination.
• Cognitive development – problem-solving skills, curiosity and creativity.
• Language – communicating experiences through description.
• Social skills – cooperation through group activity, turn-taking and empathy.
• Emotional regulation – emotional management via stimulating or calming sensory inputs.

Sensory play activities can involve nature, musical accompaniment, tactile and specialist equipment – all of which have their own individual benefits.

Sensory play equipment

Playdale sensory play equipment can be used to create a sensory hub or as an addition to an existing playground, allowing children to explore, play and learn.

Sensory play equipment favourites include:

• Mud Kitchens.
• Sand and water play equipment.
• Play panels, including musical panels, sign language panels, our Interactive Panel with Discs & Trail Timer and more.
• Outdoor sensory play games tables.

Sensory play activities

Once your sensory play equipment has been installed, there are several games that children can play independently, as well as teacher- or play assistant-led activities.

Sensory activities often fall in – but aren’t limited to – two categories:

1. Nature play, where children explore sensory play with sand, water, mud and other natural stimulants.
2. Educational play, where children enjoy manmade sensory stimulants, including musical equipment, team-based games and more.
3. Environmental play, where children can learn to nurture plants and learn about the natural world.

Sensory activities for Playdale sensory play equipment:

• Using your Mud Kitchen, why not lead a “mud pie cooking class”, teaching children to both follow a recipe and play with mud as it breaks, moulds and takes new forms?
• Using Playdale’s Sand and Water Basin and Water Wheel Attachment, teach children about textures, weight distribution, gravity and changing states of matter! Sand and water play is also fantastic for construction tasks, such as river bridge building or sand castle moat construction – teaching children about basic construction principles.
• Teach children the basics of sign language with the Sign Language Panel, helping children communicate inclusively whilst also developing their fine motor skills.
• Why not allow children to create their own fun with a White Board Table? This blank canvas allows children to sit, collaborate and create their own board games or artistic designs, teaching independence and sparking creativity.

These sensory activities only scratch the surface of sensory play equipment’s potential in the playground, with hundreds of games available within our core range of equipment.

Sensory playground ideas

Seamlessly incorporate sensory play equipment into an existing playground or build a sensory playground from scratch – we can help you satisfy the sensory needs of your space.

A good place to start is by choosing your playground equipment centrepiece(s) and inclusive playground surfacing that is wheelchair friendly, such as Playdale Bonded Rubber Mulch or Wet Pour.

For your equipment, consider a centrepiece such as a Mexico City Plus, a large, tactile and wheelchair-accessible course designed specifically for sensory play. For smaller frames, try a combination of the Timber Team Swing and Inclusive Orbit roundabout for a splashing of playground favourites.

Once you have chosen your sensory play equipment, you can place them in dedicated sections or one large sensory play zone.

For example, you could have one section dedicated to sensory music equipment, consisting of Drums, Boom Tubes, Cow Bells, Washboard Chimes or Xylo-Chimes – and another area dedicated to nature play, consisting of a Modular Planter, Mud Kitchens and a Sandbox with canvas cover.

You can be as creative with your sensory playground ideas as your children will be with our sensory play equipment, so be sure to check out our case studies for fantastic real-world examples.

How to make a sensory playground inclusive

As mentioned above, making sensory playgrounds inclusive begins with choosing wheelchair-accessible playground surfacing that doesn’t affect traction.

Play equipment that is accessible to children with visible and non-visible disabilities will also help to make the playground a more welcoming place to children of all abilities.

This is especially important, as children with disabilities have every right to experience the joys, socialisation and immense psychological and physical benefits provided by outdoor play.

For a full guide to designing an inclusive playground, consult our blog – How to Create an Inclusive Playground.

Funding for sensory playgrounds

Knowing where to start when securing playground funding can be overwhelming – but it doesn’t have to be.

Playdale is committed to helping schools, nurseries, local authorities, community groups, housing developers, leisure operators and anyone who wishes to enrich their communities with a sensory playground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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