Playday 2025 takes place on Wednesday, 6 August, and celebrates children’s right to play, alongside the spaces that help bring that right to life. This year’s theme, “Spaces to Play,” highlights how every child should have access to safe, inclusive spaces that support physical activity, imagination, and social development.
While play equipment often takes centre stage, it’s the surfacing beneath that sets the standard for accessibility. Whether a child uses a wheelchair, is sensitive to sound or texture, or navigates the world differently, inclusive playground surfacing helps provide the foundation for meaningful, shared play experiences.
At Abacus Playgrounds, we collaborate with councils, schools, leisure and hospitality, and playground equipment suppliers to ensure every surface within a play space supports safe, inclusive access. In line with this year’s Playday theme, this guide explores how safety surfacing helps remove barriers to play and encourages freedom of movement for all.
Why Inclusive Play Needs Inclusive Surfacing
An inclusive playground is one that welcomes everyone. This doesn’t mean having a single wheelchair-accessible roundabout or one quiet area. It means ensuring every part of the play space can be accessed, explored, and enjoyed, regardless of physical or sensory need.
According to Playday.org.uk, play is essential for children’s physical and emotional well-being. Yet not all children have equal access to high-quality outdoor play spaces. Inclusive design helps close that gap, and surfacing is a critical part of the solution.
Without the proper surfacing, playgrounds unintentionally create obstacles that may include bark chippings, uneven ground, or large gaps between surfaces can prevent a wheelchair user with mobility challenges from accessing the main play area. Hard tarmac or worn-out mats can increase injury risk during falls. Overwhelming textures or visual clutter can discourage children with sensory sensitivities from engaging.
When surfacing is considered from the start, it transforms how every child can move, interact throughout the play space.
What Makes Surfacing Inclusive?
Inclusive surfacing supports more than physical safety. It creates a space where children can:
- Move more independently with the help of mobility aids, wheelchairs, or prams and buggies.
- Explore safely through fall protection and cushioned landings.
- Engage with their senses via tactile materials and natural textures.
- Better understanding of space through visual zoning or defined play zones.
Playgrounds that meet these needs become more inviting for children with diverse abilities. Inclusive surfacing contributes to this by being both functional and enriching.
Surfacing Materials That Support Inclusive Play
Wetpour
Wetpour is one of the most widely used surfacing options in inclusive playgrounds. It consists of a rubber granule base mixed with a polyurethane binder, poured on-site to form a smooth, continuous surface.
Key Benefits:
- No joins or gaps: Ideal for wheelchairs, prams, and walking aids.
- Assessed for safety: Meets British safety standard BS EN 1177 for impact absorption.
- Colourful and engaging: Can be installed in bright colours to define zones, mark out trails, or include educational elements like numbers or letters.
- Drains well: Its porous structure prevents puddles and ice from forming, keeping surfaces usable in wet weather.
Wetpour is particularly valuable where fall protection is needed beneath climbing frames, swings, and other pieces of playground equipment. Its seamless finish also supports children who use visual cues to navigate space, making it an excellent choice for a range of needs.
At Abacus Playgrounds, we offer wetpour surfacing in a variety of thicknesses and colour schemes to suit any space, including full graphic design for added interactivity.
Bonded Rubber Mulch
Bonded rubber mulch offers a natural appearance while keeping the durability and safety of a high-performance surface. Made from shredded rubber bonded with resin, it can be laid directly onto grass, soil, or prepared bases.
Why it works for inclusive play:
- Natural appearance: Ideal for parkland or woodland settings.
- Firm underfoot: Unlike loose bark, bonded mulch stays in place and doesn’t shift, making it accessible for wheelchair users.
- Good for gradients: Can be installed on sloped or uneven terrain, supporting inclusive routes across more challenging areas.
- Soft and quiet: The textured surface helps dampen sound, which may help children who are easily overwhelmed in busy environments.
Bonded mulch allows for a nature-inspired play setting without compromising access or safety. Its colour range includes browns, greens, and reds, which blend into rural surroundings while keeping a friendly feel.
Artificial Grass Surfacing with Shock Pad
Artificial grass surfacing includes a synthetic turf laid over a safety shock pad. It replicates the look and feel of real grass but stays flat, dry, and usable year-round.
Inclusive features:
- Consistent surface: No mud, divots, or worn patches, being wheelchair and pram-friendly.
- Encourages barefoot play: Soft and tactile, ideal for sensory engagement.
- Durable and easy to clean: Especially suitable for early years settings where hygiene and fall protection are priorities.
- Visual clarity: Can be edged with different surfacing materials to define boundaries or activity zones.
This surface is often chosen for nursery playgrounds or EYFS-specific outdoor areas. When installed with a shock pad underneath, it provides certified impact protection beneath play equipment, encouraging open movement and safe exploration.
Crucial Role of Pathways
A playground isn’t inclusive if children or carers can’t reach it. The approach to the play space, including paths and footways, must support equal access. Traditional paths, such as loose gravel or uneven slabs, can cause issues for people using wheelchairs, walkers, or prams. Poor drainage can lead to slippery conditions. By selecting the right surface for access routes, a play space becomes fully usable from entrance to exit.
SUDS Bond Surfacing
SUDS Bond is a surfacing solution that combines decorative stone or rubber granules with a binder. It is highly porous, allowing water to pass through easily and reducing surface runoff.
Key benefits:
- Wheelchair and pram accessible: Smooth finish with excellent grip.
- Slip-resistant: Stays safer even in wet or icy weather.
- Environmentally conscious: Made using recycled materials and supports sustainable urban drainage.
- Visually versatile: Blends into parkland, woodland, and landscaped surroundings.
SUDS Bond is well-suited for connecting play areas with surrounding paths, car parks, or outdoor classrooms. It provides an inclusive, practical route without disrupting the natural feel of the setting.
Resin-Bound Gravel
Resin-bound gravel combines natural aggregates with a clear resin binder to create a stable, attractive finish.
Features that support inclusive design:
- Solid under wheels: Doesn’t shift or form ruts like loose gravel.
- Low maintenance: No weed growth or uneven surfaces.
- Good drainage: Prevents puddles and surface water.
- Aesthetic flexibility: Comes in various natural tones to suit any environment.
It’s an effective alternative to concrete slabs or block paving, which can become uneven over time. Resin-bound gravel works well in visitor attractions, parks, and large outdoor spaces where safe navigation is essential.
Why Surfacing is the Foundation of Inclusive Play
Inclusive design is about removing barriers. Surfacing helps level the playing field literally and figuratively so that all children can move safely, confidently, and with purpose.
When surfacing is chosen to support inclusive access, the entire space becomes more usable. Children can transition smoothly from paths to play zones. Those with sensory sensitivities can engage with natural textures or soft finishes. Carers and siblings can take part in the play experience without restriction.
Playday reminds us of the social and developmental power of outdoor play. As mentioned by Playday.org.uk, play improves physical health, reduces stress, and strengthens friendships. Every child deserves to experience that, and surfacing plays a vital part in making it possible.
How Abacus Playgrounds Can Help
We specialise in high-quality surfacing solutions for inclusive play spaces. Whether you are upgrading an existing area or developing a new site, we can advise on materials that support your goals for accessibility, safety, and long-term use.
Our range includes:
- Wetpour in full colour or with graphic designs.
- Bonded rubber mulch for natural-style settings.
- Artificial grass with integrated shock pads.
- SUDS Bond and resin-bound gravel for inclusive pathways.
All Abacus Playgrounds surfacing is installed by experienced in-house teams and meets BS EN 1177. Our recommendations are based on how children use space, how equipment is positioned, and how the space can best support inclusive play.
If you are planning a new playground or pathway, now is the perfect time to create a space where every child can play safely and confidently. Get in touch with our team today to arrange your free site visit and consultation.