At this point in the year you may well be starting to add more information about your Fun Palace to your Fun Palaces page on the map, or your own personal website. The Fun Palaces Access Consultant Faith has added some things to think about here when it comes to access, so people can plan for their visit.

People like to plan their visits in advance, so it’s best to have access and sensory information such as a visual guide available alongside your Fun Palace event information.

The information should include:

• Detail on how to get to your venue from the car park and local transport links (with photos)
• Detail on lighting and acoustics in your Fun Palace spaces
• Detail of the floor layout of each floor of your Fun Palace building (with photos), to include notes on seating, toilets, lifts, cafe, etc.
• Availability of BSL interpreter(s)
• Availability of audio described activities
• Wheelchair / step-free access (wheelchair access includes having wide enough doors/corridors and enough space to turn, low gradients on ramps or slopes, and smooth ground surfaces that are accessible for a wheelchair to move on)
• Relaxed hours (e.g. autism friendly times)
• Availability of a designated dimmed lighting quiet space/section, ear defenders and/or sensory backpacks (and where to collect them)
  Images and descriptions of all spaces open to the public
• Any sound / video guides about your Fun Palace and activities so visitors can make their own decision as to whether it is suitable for them

Remember: You don’t need to know someone’s medical condition, just their access requirements, to support them.

Transparency

Be transparent about what access provision is available, e.g., what parts of your building has step-free access, are there lifts, do you have accessible toilets and/or changing places toilets, what sort of disabled parking is available and where is it located, etc.

Don’t forget to include sensory access information. Consider sounds, temperature changes, lighting, floor texture changes, etc. Describe the properties of a space, e.g., toilets with loud hand dryers, the large atrium becoming acoustically challenging when busy, sounds that carry and echo, the open staircase that looks out across several levels of the building and may cause problems with balance. 

Ask us for help

If you feel you need extra advice around any of this, consult with Faith, our Access Consultant at faith@funpalaces.co.uk. You can book a free, 30 minute 1:1 session with them on Zoom to discuss access at your Fun Palace.

Visit the Toolkit

Although it may feel like it’s getting late in the day now to make your Fun Palace more accessible, you’d be surprised at the things you can do to make your Fun Palace inclusive to as many people as possible. Read the Access Toolkit here: