Teaching · Related Services

Recess is for everyone.
Check the ground first.

Walk the playground with the student’s route in mind: the surface, the narrowest gap, the transfer platform and the eight things that decide whether a child on wheels can get to the play. Then record what they can reach and how they play with classmates.

Check a playgroundWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Related Services toolkit, $99 for 96 items.

Playground checks

The worked example compares two made-up playgrounds for a kindergartner who uses a manual wheelchair. Checks stay in this browser.

Loading the playground check form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Teaching · Related Services$5 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A check per playground with the student code and mobility; the surface, narrowest route width and transfer platform height; eight checks marked Meets, Problem or N/A; the kinds of play the student can reach; whether they play with classmates; the adult support plan; problems reported; flags for loose surfaces, routes under 60 inches, platforms outside 11 to 18 inches and open problems; kinds of play reached per playground.
Who it is for
School physical and occupational therapists, adapted physical education teachers, special education teams and the principals and facilities staff they report to.
Format
Browser checklist with any number of saved checks. Prints one check, all checks or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Related Services toolkit ($99) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Related Services space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Walk the route from the school door with the student, or the way they would go.
  2. Note the surface, measure the narrowest gap and the transfer platform height.
  3. Mark the eight checks, looking hardest under swings and at slide exits.
  4. Watch a recess: which kinds of play the student reaches and whether they play with classmates.
  5. Report problems and write the plan for recess until they are fixed.

Check a playground

The ground decides

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A rough guide drawn for this page, not a test result. Surfaces are tested for accessibility under ASTM F1951; ask the installer or district for the result.

What the standards cover

The 2010 ADA Standards include play areas: an accessible route to and through them at least 60 inches wide, no steeper than 1 in 16, on a firm, stable surface, with ground-level play of each kind and transfer platforms 11 to 18 inches high for elevated pieces. Whether a playground complies is for the district to decide; this checklist records what one child meets.

Play together

The point is not only reaching equipment but playing with classmates. A student who can only use the sand table while friends are on the climber is included on paper and alone at recess. Record it, and plan games and peers into the support.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Justice. 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, sections 240 and 1008: play areas (ada.gov).
  2. U.S. Access Board. Guide to the ADA Accessibility Standards, chapter 10: play areas (access-board.gov).
  3. ASTM International. ASTM F1951: Standard Specification for Determination of Accessibility of Surface Systems Under and Around Playground Equipment.
  4. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Public Playground Safety Handbook (cpsc.gov), on surfacing.

The worked example is made up. Figures are the general ones in the 2010 ADA Standards for play areas; the district decides whether a playground complies. Checks stay on this device until you print or export them. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.