COMMUNITY FEEDBACK

INCLUSIVE PLAYSPACE 12-MONTH REVIEW

Team: Eureka Gold

Municipality: City of Ballarat

Report date: 28 February 2017

Video Presentation:

Permission Statement:

It is the understanding of the Eureka Gold team participants that a summary report of the Pre-Challenge Task submissions will be prepared and distributed to the sector as a resource after the Management Challenge. Any material which is copied or quoted from the task will be attributed as ideas or opinions of Eureka Gold team members, but may not represent those of the City of Ballarat. Pre-Challenge Task videos may also be used at sector events and as online resource material.

Executive summary

Stage One of the City of Ballarat’s first Inclusive Play Space was completed and officially opened in March 2016. In February 2017, following direction from the City of Ballarat Leadership Team, Eureka Gold engaged with the community to obtain feedback on their experiences of the Inclusive Play Space. Interviews were conducted with members of the community representing both stakeholders involved in the development and implementation of the Inclusive Play Space as well as general users of the site. Findings of the consultation identified that while there is room for improvement, the Inclusive Play Space has been a huge success. As a celebration of achievement, feedback obtained to date should be shared across the many Council departments and community organisations that contributed to the development of the Inclusive Play Space. It should also form a starting point to gain further community feedback, providing a solid understanding of what is working and where improvements can be made to shape future enhancement of the Inclusive Play Space.

Background

In 2012 the City of Ballarat undertook extensive community consultation around the future utilisation and enhancement of Victoria Park. During this consultation process a need was identified for an enclosed play space that was inclusive of people with a disability. Due to its: proximity to schools and transport; large open spaces, and; existing amenities and parking provision, Victoria Park represented the ideal location for a regional sized inclusive play space.

An inclusive play space enables children, parents, grandparents and carers of all abilities and ages to socialise and play side-by side on the same equipment, in the same environment. It is not a dedicated playground for people with disabilities but a play space designed for the use and benefit of all community members, ensuring full integration of children and families and improved community connections.

The Inclusive Play Space at Victoria Park was delivered by the City of Ballarat through a model of partnership with the Touched by Olivia Foundation.The first stage of the Inclusive Play Space was completed and officially opened in March 2016.Twelve months on, community feedback has been sought around current utilisation of the Inclusive Play Space and opportunities for improvement. The results of this consultation will form the basis of the next 12-month plan to be developed with key council officers.

Engaging with management at the City of Ballarat

In January 2017 Eureka Gold team members engaged with the City of Ballarat Leadership Team to prioritise a council service or project that would benefit from community feedback. Given constraints around both the engagement timeframe and Leadership Team availability, Eureka Gold planned a two-step approach:

  1. To identify a short list of topics that would benefit from community feedback. Six topics were suggested grouped into two categories: service/operations and community events.
  2. To meet briefly with members of the Leadership Team to present topics for consideration and obtain a decision regarding preferred topic for community feedback.

Following a discussion of the merits of each topic, the Leadership Team determined a 12-month review of the Inclusive Play Space as ideal for community feedback. In addition to the engagement

planned by Eureka Gold, the Director of Community Development requested supplementary videos (30 second vignettes) be created from the community feedback to showcase the Inclusive Play Space.

Engaging with our community

The Inclusive Play Space 12-month review process has been informed by the City of Ballarat Community Engagement Framework 2016 and the Municipal Early Years Plan 2015-18. Questions were shaped around the following themes:

  • What do you like about the Inclusive Play Space?
  • What can be improved?
  • What do you believe should be protected and enhanced?

This followed a similar format to the highly successful Ballarat Imagine (the City of Ballarat’s largest ever community conversation undertaken in 2013).

To determine if the Inclusive Play Space was living up to its definition as a play space that enables people of all abilities and ages to socialise it was important feedback was sought both from stakeholders who had been involved in the development of the site as well as general community users. Six community members were interviewedincluding:

  • A member of the Child Friendly Ballarat Committee
  • A member of the City of Ballarat Disability Advisory Committee
  • A disability worker
  • A family day care worker
  • Parents (both mums and dads) with children of varying ages from new born to teenager

The interviews were filmed to produce a five-minute video to summarise the community feedback. Given concerns around outdoor sound quality, interviews were not conducted at the Inclusive Play Space. Instead the City of Ballarat library was chosen due to its: central location; inviting child friendly atmosphere; and good access to families in the library who could be asked at random to participate in the community feedback process.

A one page flyer was developed (in electronic and hard copy format) to inform participants of the community feedback process. This was accompanied by the City of Ballarat Talent Release Form. To gain trust, committee members included in the engagement process were initially approached by Council staff with whom they already had a strong working relationship before being introduced to a Eureka Gold team member.

The findings

Community feedback indicates the Inclusive Play Space has been a huge success with local families:

  • The mix of play equipment and activities is appealing to a range of age groups from young children through to teenagers;
  • There is a good balance of structured activities and natural play;
  • The nature and size of the equipment lends itself to adults joining in play activities;
  • The perimeter fencing creates a sense of safety for parents and freedom for children to run and explore;
  • The large open space in the centre (originally a product of limited funding) is a winner providing space for ball games, frisbee throwing and hosting events and picnics;
  • Families enjoy the range of amenities – toilets, BBQs and ample parking.

Areas for improvement include:

  • Ensuring the grassed open space remains in good condition all year round;
  • Providing greater shade coverage for play equipment;
  • Addition of a climbing structure such as spider web, climbing trees or ropes;
  • Cubby huts for imaginative play;
  • Increased provision of tables and chairs and barbeques.

Conclusion

A year on from the Stage One opening, community feedback has identified the Inclusive Play Space as a much-loved asset for the Ballarat community, indicative of a highly successful cross-departmental community initiated project. Given the limited nature of the consultation undertaken to date, further feedback should be sought from the community to inform how to best enhance the Inclusive Play Space and identify priorities for the next twelve months.

Recommendations

  1. As a celebration of achievement, feedback obtained should be shared across the numerous Council departments and community groups that contributed to the development of the Inclusive Play Space.
  2. Given the limited community feedback obtained to date, the City of Ballarat should use the filmed footage as a tool to promote further community consultation. A specific focus should be consulting with children who use the Inclusive Play Space, including children with a disability to determine if their needs are being met.
  3. Community feedback is used to both identify enhancements as well as prioritise what should be implemented over the next twelve months.
  4. Once priorities have been identified and costed an internal working group is formed to determine what can be delivered utilising recurrent budget and if a budget bid is required to deliver the shortfall.