Over the last 20 years, Inclusive Play (UK) Ltd has evolved from a grassroots “problem-solving” Scottish start-up to a global leader that has fundamentally changed how we think about public spaces.
The journey began in 2006 in Edinburgh, with a single, clear goal: to stop tokenism in the play industry around complying with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995.
Why, in 2006, were children with disabilities still relegated to the sidelines of the play park? We were fed up with seeing a basket swing included in a design to meet this requirement, even though in many cases it was on a bark surface.
Our Mission and Early Innovation
From day one, we adopted the Social Model of Disability, which argues that people are “disabled” by societal barriers, like poor design, rather than their own impairments.
We created products that would offer challenge and risk so that every child, regardless of ability, could experience that. We wanted to give every family the same opportunities. Products were created with our belief that inclusion should be invisible, and no product should look out of place in any play area.
The Revolve, a large spinning bowl, was our first product, aptly numbered IP01, provided dynamic play opportunity by both rotating and oscillating. It was the first piece of play equipment on the market creating that type of movement. It was designed using a large bowl that would provide postural support when inside, and the opportunity for multiple children, parents or carers to play together. The bowl had a rim around it at a height that would make it easier for transfer from a wheelchair to the rim and into the bowl.
Groundbreaking at the time, it set the tone for how we designed products, creating challenge and risk in a safe and controlled way. We then worked with many groups and manufacturing companies, building our product portfolio focusing on spinning, rocking, swinging and sensory play.
With every product, we concentrated on how our design could engage with the six senses of play: proprioception, vestibular, sight, touch, smell and sound, making sure this was built into our product design methodology.
Early Business Structure
Our journey started as a subsidiary of Jupiter Play & Leisure Ltd and continued as part of that business for our first eight years, selling products through Jupiter Play in Scotland and Proludic Ltd for the rest of the UK.
Becoming Independent and Driving Change
In 2014, it was time to go alone, and Inclusive Play became an independent business. Along with our inclusive product range, we had a strong desire to make a difference in the industry beyond selling inclusive products. We wanted to help and support others to make a difference to the communities we serve. So we created a toolkit that local councils could follow to ensure their entire park was inclusive, from the car park to the equipment.
The Creation of PiPA
To ensure the toolkit was credible and rigorous, we created a working group between three distinct sectors:
- The Charity Sector: KIDS, the disabled children’s charity, provided the perspective of families and children with lived experience.
- The Clinical Sector: we engaged with world-class Occupational Therapists from both the UK and the US to ensure the playground design addressed the six senses of play: proprioception, vestibular, sight, touch, smell and sound.
- The Play Sector: Inclusive Play, Jupiter Play, Proludic and Park Leisure provided technical knowledge of playground manufacturing, design and landscape architecture.
In 2016, this cross collaboration resulted in the launch of PiPA, the Plan Inclusive Play Area Design Toolkit. This was not just a guide; it was a methodology scoring system that evaluated a site based on:
- Plan to Go: how do you get there, transport links, parking.
- Plan to Access: path networks and surface types, can a wheelchair reach the heart of the park?
- Plan to Play: the variety of equipment and sensory engagement
- Plan to Rest: availability of seating, shade and “quiet zones”
- Plan to Engage: community outreach and feedback
The impact was immediate. The toolkit was endorsed by the UK Government’s Accessible Britain Challenge and was highlighted by the British Design Council as a blueprint for best practice. This elevated PiPA from a small initiative to the “gold standard” for UK local authorities.
By 2022, the initiative matured into a formal Community Interest Company known as PiPA Play, now led by Becky Maddern, a parent campaigner who has also been a key figure in Scope’s Let’s Play Fair campaign.
Before PiPA, inclusion was often an afterthought or a tick-box exercise. The creation of PiPA supported the industry to adopt Universal Design, where the playground is designed for everyone from the start, making accessibility invisible rather than a separate, segregated area. The creation of PiPA is a story of how parent-led activism merged with professional design and clinical expertise to create a national standard for accessibility in the UK.
Inclusive Play is proud that it continues with its original mission, adopting the Social Model of Disability and funding PiPA Play CIC so that it can continue making a difference in our communities and training other like-minded play companies on how to improve their play area designs. More information can be found at www.pipa-play.org.
Growth and Global Expansion
The momentum shifted again in 2018 when the ownership transitioned fully to Paul Hoenigmann. Under Paul’s direction, the company pivoted toward a “partnership-first” strategy, resulting in a significant expansion, and our reach moved well beyond the UK, with our products appearing in over 24 countries.
In 2019, Inclusive Play and GameTime, a PlayCore company and the largest play company in the world, announced a partnership that made GameTime the exclusive distributor of Inclusive Play’s signature products in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
While Inclusive Play focuses on inclusive product design, GameTime provides the scale and distribution to get our products into thousands of parks. Both businesses believe inclusive equipment should punctuate, not define, a play space. We hold regular ideation sessions and work collaboratively on many design projects, working with world-class industry leaders and accessibility experts. It is a perfect match and a relationship that continues to grow year on year.
The collaboration brought several of Inclusive Play’s most famous invisible inclusion products to the North American market. These pieces are designed to look like standard playground equipment but have features that make them accessible:
- The Inclusive Whirl: the first roll-on roundabout, sitting flush with the ground, allowing wheelchair users to roll directly onto it without needing a transfer.
- The Fusion: a multi-user spinner designed with a wide rim for easy transfers and high-back seating for children who need extra postural support.
- The Infinity Bowl: a single-user spinner at transfer height with a dipped edge, making it easier for children with varying mobility levels to get in and out independently.
- The Surfboard: a modern balance activity that teaches cause and effect. It moves based on the child’s weight, providing sensory and vestibular feedback.
Manufacturing and Investment
As most play companies in the UK are taking manufacturing overseas or importing from international suppliers, Inclusive Play decided to buck that trend. In 2023, we opened our own manufacturing facility in Loanhead, just outside Edinburgh.
Bringing our manufacturing entirely in-house was a strategic pivot that occurred alongside our rapid global expansion. While we began as a design-heavy consultancy that worked with third-party fabricators, we transitioned to becoming a primary manufacturer.
Inclusive Play products are built to specific standards and tolerances. Not only do we comply with EN standards, we also work to ASTM and other global safety standards. External manufacturers often treat playground equipment as heavy metal fabrication. However, inclusive pieces, like the Inclusive Whirl, require extremely tight tolerances to ensure they sit perfectly flush with the ground for wheelchair access, with no finger traps during rotation.
By manufacturing in-house, we can oversee every weld and material choice to ensure that production is executed perfectly. This allows our designers to walk from a computer screen to a welding bay in minutes, significantly shortening the time it takes to iterate on new products like the recently launched Aurora.
We continue to invest heavily in research and development and expand our manufacturing facilities to keep up with demand. Inclusive Play is the only manufacturer in the world 100% dedicated to inclusion. Most large playground companies have a standard line and an inclusive line. We are different. Inclusive Play’s entire identity is built on our mission.
Reflecting on 20 Years
As we celebrate our 20th birthday and reflect, we cannot be prouder of what we have achieved. To be shortlisted for this year’s Scottish Business of the Year Awards for international trade is a testament to the work we are doing.
We manufacture over 65 products and account for 20% of all exports of play equipment from the UK. Many people and companies have played a part in our success, and we thank everyone for the part they have played. We have a network of partners, both in the UK and internationally, who share our passion. We are a growth and manufacturing success story.
The one disappointment is that, sadly, our industry has not moved at the same pace, and inclusion in many play spaces is still an afterthought or tokenistic. However, we will not stop, as we believe disability is not a barrier to play, it is still poor design.
Looking Ahead
As we look forward, we do so with drive and enthusiasm. Regardless of your ability at this time, we will all, at some point in our lives, face ability challenges, whether through age, illness or accident. That should not limit your ability to play on your own, with a child or grandchild.
We still have so much work to do and are driven by our mission for change. We have many new products in the pipeline. We continue to expand in the US and across the globe. We will continue to advocate that all play spaces must be inclusive, regardless of size or space available.
If our first 20 years of Inclusive Play (UK) Ltd were about proving that everyone should play together, the next 20 will be about perfecting the ways in which they do. We are not just building playgrounds; we are building the social fabric of a more empathetic future.
Paul Hoenigmann, Managing Director