Without accessibility kids with disabilities are sitting on the sidelines

Esther Holmes says there isn't much available in Maitland for children who have physical disabilities or are neurodiverse when it comes to playground equipment.

She said not only is most equipment not accessible, but often the playground area is covered in woodchips or sand which means those in wheelchairs, prams, or wearing ankle orthotics can't even get close to the equipment.

Ms Holmes has two children; Maya, who is five, and Archer, who is 18 months old and has multiple physical disabilities.

"We all know that play and physical activity and social engagement are needed for everyone and currently these children are either sitting on the sidelines watching their siblings play, or they're sitting at home unable to participate, they're not engaging in activities that can help build their core motor skills, their gross motor skills, their social skills," Ms Holmes said.

"Having playgrounds that can cater to them, where they can play along their peers who are physically able but also their peers who are like them and do need that bit of help, they can see that, they can engage with them and they can not be left out because they're being excluded right now."

A spokesperson for Maitland City Council said there are playgrounds in Maitland which are suitable for children of all abilities.

"Maitland Park has a Liberty Swing that is operated by a MLAK (key), which you can get from the Maitland Administration Centre," the spokesperson said.

"A further four playspaces provide accessible footpaths and playing surfaces, as well as accessible musical items: Bakers Brickyard Park in Raworth, Harold Gregson Park in Maitland, Wirraway Park in Thornton and Vi Denny Park in Telarah."

The spokesperson said council's Disability Inclusion Action Plan outlines its commitment to continuing to improve accessibility in public spaces.

"This includes consideration of accessibility in concept designing for our playspaces and consultation with our Access and Inclusion Reference Group on these designs," they said.

The spokesperson also said council carried out community consultation on playground needs earlier in the year, speaking to 800 residents through an online survey and four community pop up events.

"In January and February this year, council undertook extensive community consultation to gather community input on playspace needs and preferences, with the aim of this informing a strategic approach to playspace development and management," they said.

"We are currently reviewing the feedback from this consultation, and residents can expect an opportunity to provide further feedback on the draft Playspace Strategy once it is placed on public exhibition in the coming months."

Ms Holmes said being able to use playgrounds has lots of benefits for children.

"It's a way that they can make friends, they meet new people, they can get them out and they can find other children in the community who they might not necessarily meet whether that's at school or at daycare or if they're just at home because they are immunocompromised or have a health issue," she said.

"It's a chance for parents to be able to get out and connect, especially if the parents are socially isolated themselves. When you're a parent of a disabled child it is very socially isolating because there is not much you can do with you child a lot of the time.

"It's a need for all areas of a child's life, from physical health right up to social and emotional wellbeing as well."

Her ideal playground would feature a stable soft-fall surface, wheelchair ramps and some swings with solid backs.

"It would feature soft-fall that isn't something like sand or woodchips because it needs to be a soft and stable flat ground that can have wheel chairs or prams or gait trainers pushed over it, or people with ankle foot orthotics can walk stably on the ground, or those that are still crawling can crawl on it without their hands and knees being scratched and poked by the wood chips," she said.

"It would have wheelchair ramps, so it would be inclines and declines that are not too steep so that children can go up them and down them without having to worry about stairs.

"It would have swings that have full back postural supports so children that don't have a lot of tone within their trunk can sit and enjoy swings."