Special Educational Needs and Inclusion Studies
Assignment Front Sheet
(Attach this document to every piece of coursework)

Student Name:
Samantha Funnell
Student ID:
FUN06951426
Module Code:
MSLMD1PSD
Assignment Title:
ACCOMPANYING ESSAY FOR ENVIROMENTAL AUDIT
Programme Pathway: (tick one)
 Single Honours  Joint & Combined Honours

I have a Special Consideration form 

I have used the Turnitin Sandbox prior to submission 

I DECLARE THAT THIS ASSIGNMENT IS MY ORIGINAL WORK, THAT I HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED THE WORK OF OTHERS, I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THE CANTERBURY CHRIST CHURCH UNIVERSITY REGULATIONS REGARDING PLAGIARISM.
Signed:
SAMANTHA FUNNELL
Date
3.01.15

An environmental audit of Nethercourt Park, Ramsgate was carried out to ascertain how accessible a play area was for children with physical and sensory disabilities; it took into account the layout, the equipment and the overall accessibility of the play space. The play area is targeted at 4-8year olds (Thanet district council, 2007). This rationale for change will look at the importance of play on the developing atypical child, how and why improvement should be made as well as ensuring that the child’s voice is always heard.

Play is a vital tool in enabling children and young people to all round develop, Meggitt states that play provides opportunities to develop confidence, self-esteem and a sense of security, as well as learning how to control their emotions whilst understanding and interpreting the world around them. (Meggitt, pg5, 2012). Without the accessibility to play children may not develop at the typical rate of their peers. Whilst Missiuna and Pollack 1991 speak about how the deprivation of normal play for a child with disabilities can be viewed as being a secondary disability due to their independent behaviour potential being hindered.

Typical physical and sensory development needs to be explored before being able to state what is atypical; as the park is targeted at the age range of 4-8yrs the typical for this will be explored.
Physical development- children at the age of 4 are able to walk, jump, hop and skip and should have a good sense of balance (Meggitt, 2012). They should be able to kick and catch a large ball as well as climb up and down steps independently (livestrong.com,2013).
Sensory development-most of a child’s sensory development is complete by the targeted age range, these things include; tracking objects with their eyes, exploring different environments with their mouths and hands. By the age of 1-2years children should be able to copy sounds that you make, 5-6years children should have 20/20 vision (childdevelopment.com.au,2014).

When does delayed development become atypical? This is a question that needs to be answered in order to establish whether a child has a severe delay/ disability or whether they are slowly developing. It is vital to discuss that all children develop at their own pace and thus the developmental milestones have a range rather than a definitive age (abilitypath.org,2014). Children also have patterns to their typical development these are: from simple to complex, from head to toe and from inner to outer; this means that a child should hold their head before they can roll and then sit. They gain strength down their body from their head control through to their arms and back and they must learn their gross motor skills, to reach for an object, before they can use their fine motor skills, picking something up. If these patterns are followed then the child may be a slower developer rather than having atypical development (Meggitt,2012).

The law behind including people with disabilities is complex, there are many acts that state that things need to change but are things really being done to achieve overall inclusion.
The equality act 2010 stated that reasonable adjustments should be made to ensure that everyone has equal opportunities, the term reasonable adjustments seems to be a grey