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Often playgrounds are built following standards and regulations neglecting what children prefer and wish for their outdoor play. This is especially true for children who are identified to be most at risk for play deprivation such as children with disabilities. Research and practice require solutions to evaluate existing playgrounds to ensure children’s right to play. The purpose of this workshop is to introduce and test a newly developed evidence-informed audit tool. This audit is an observer-rated evaluation of the environmental qualities in community playgrounds. The audit aims to evaluate a playground’s “potential play value for inclusion” by rating observable qualities of the environment that contribute to play value for inclusion. The workshop will introduce the audit tool, its development process, its intended use, and will elaborate on the play value for inclusion construct. Participants of the workshop will be invited to test the audit (through video observation). As this audit tool is currently under development the participants will be invited to share feedback. The workshop is open to anyone but especially people responsible for playground provision and evaluation, advocates for children's right to play, and professionals who work with children with disabilities are addressed.

Background: Children with and without disabilities consider playgrounds as significant places in their life, which offer opportunities for play and social interactions. Playgrounds are especially important in times when opportunities to meet are restricted, for example, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Even though the primary purpose of playgrounds is to be a place for children to play, playground design is mainly determined by adults. Children`s voices regarding their use of playgrounds, and their wishes and needs to enhance participation on playgrounds are seldom addressed. In particularly perspectives of children with disabilities are often absent. The aim of this presentation is to give insight into how the perspectives of children with disabilities may contribute to playground design. Method: The presentation draws on an international project that explores children's perspectives through literature reviews and semi-structured interviews. Results: Children make important contributions to playground design. For example, children with disabilities show a unique understanding of their own situation and propose inclusive playground adjustments. Their unique perspectives on play could help playground providers to adapt playgrounds to their needs and wishes to ensure participation in play including opportunities for social interactions and challenges according to their abilities. Discussion: Children are the main user group of playgrounds. Child-focused participatory methods that include children with different abilities and a variety of needs and backgrounds should be included in processes of playground planning, evaluating, and monitoring to enhance playground design. This project has received funding from the European Union & Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 861257.