Children at Highbury Primary School now have access to a new inclusive playground designed to improve accessibility and support students with disability to play alongside their peers.
The playground is the first of more than a dozen inclusive playgrounds planned for public schools across South Australia as part of a partnership between the state government and Variety, the Children’s Charity.
The facility includes accessible bridges, slides, swings and other purpose-built equipment aimed at creating a space where children of different abilities can play together.
The initiative is intended to improve access to outdoor play and physical activity for students with disability, while also supporting social interaction and participation in school life.
Variety has committed $2 million across the first two rounds of the program, including a $135,000 grant for the Highbury Primary playground in the school’s Disability Unit.
The remaining playgrounds funded through the program are expected to be completed by early 2028.
The charity has also separately funded upgrades to wheelchair-accessible swings at Riverland Special School.
The playground program forms part of the South Australian Government’s broader investment in student wellbeing and physical activity. The government has committed $76 million to initiatives aimed at increasing activity during the school day, including mandatory active learning for public school students up to Year 9.
An additional $10 million has been allocated for inclusive facility upgrades across 20 public schools, with projects intended to create safer and more supportive learning environments.
Education Minister Lucy Hood said accessible school environments helped students with disability participate in outdoor activities with their friends and could support learning in the classroom.
Variety SA board member Peter De Cure AM said the playground program reflected the organisation’s focus on inclusion and equal access to play.
Highbury Primary principal Belinda Smith said the new playground had already had a strong impact on students in the disability unit.
She said the equipment had helped students play alongside children from the mainstream part of the school and supported the development of social and gross motor skills.
Parent Brooke Holmes said the playground had created a welcoming and inclusive space where children could play together. She said her daughter Stella, who had previously waited at the school gate after classes, now spent time playing in the new playground before heading home.
Inclusive playgrounds have become an increasing focus for schools and local governments across Australia, with educators and disability advocates arguing that accessible play spaces can improve participation, social connection and physical activity for children with disability.
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