Adam Sernoskie fears his son won’t be able to play like other schoolchildren when the boy enters school due to a lack of accessible play structures at Yukon schools.
Four-and-a-half year old Lennox Sernoskie, Adam's son, was born with an undiagnosed neurological disorder. Lennox is old enough to be starting school soon. The father fears the child will have a "tough time" when he gets there.
“It just dawned on me that the schools don't have accessible play structures, and when the time comes that he does go to school, that's just one more hurdle that he'll have to face,” Adam told the News by phone.
“Every kid deserves the right to be able to play at school.”
That drove the dad to start a petition, which was recently tabled in the legislature.
In a moment of unity, the Yukon Party and the Yukon NDP co-signed a letter calling on the Education department to ensure all Yukon schoolchildren have opportunities to play.
Their joint demand comes after more than a hundred Yukoners signed Adam's petition calling for accessible playgrounds at Yukon schools.
Yukon NDP Leader Kate White and Stacey Hassard, the Yukon Party MLA for Pelly-Nisutlin, penned the Oct. 24 letter to the Education minister.
“There are currently no fully accessible playgrounds in Yukon schools, and there are no accessible play structures at all in many Yukon schools,” the letter reads.
“All children deserve the right to play and no child should be left out. Children with mobility challenges or other disabilities that may prevent them from using non-accessible play structures deserve to experience the joy of play just like any other child.”
The letter from the opposition cites the importance of joy that play brings, as well as the cognitive, physical, social and emotional aspects.
They are requesting that the Yukon government swap out aging play structures that are due to be replaced with accessible ones, add accessible play structures to schools with newer play structures and make sure all new schools include accessible playgrounds.
Hassard said the two parties were separately working on the matter, so they decided to do it collectively. The NDP brought forward the petition, and each party introduced a motion on it.
Hassard hoped the joint letter would carry more weight.
In response to the petition tabled earlier this fall sitting, Education Minister Jeanie McLean assured opposition MLAs and the public that “all upgrades to existing playgrounds, as well as the installation of new ones, will include accessible equipment.”
“We understand the importance of play for children’s development, and this influences our decisions as we build or renovate schools in the territory, including making accessible playgrounds,” McLean said.
McLean said the newly built Whistle Bend Elementary School, which opened to students this school year, has two playgrounds, one of which is fully accessible, and plans for a new school in Burwash Landing will incorporate accessible features.
“It will take some time before all schools have fully accessible play infrastructure,” McLean said.
Adam contradicted what the minister said about accessibility at the Whistle Bend school playground.
“It most certainly isn't," Adam said.
"I have a feeling they're using a very generalized term of what accessible means. I've had my son there a few times, and he's not able to use that play structure."
For example, Adam noted people in wheelchairs can’t easily get through sand at playgrounds.
He pointed to the play structure at Shipyard’s Park as a positive example for Yukon schools to learn from.
“It doesn't matter what a child's abilities are. Anybody can go there and enjoy it,” he said.
“You could be in a wheelchair, you could be on crutches, you could just need some other sort of assistance, or you could just be a fully capable child.”
However, the father is overall pleased with the minister’s commitment.
“I don't expect them to go and change every existing play structure that's out there. I know that that's just unfeasible, but what I'm asking is that they take accessibility into consideration when they're doing these upgrades or building new schools or new playgrounds,” Adam said.
Adam suggested the minister’s team branch out to consult with groups like Autism Yukon, LDAY Centre for Learning and the Child Development Centre, as well as families with lived experience — in addition to school councils, teachers and schools — to “see actually what works for these families and for these kids.”
The NDP leader said McLean’s response is a “good start.”
White hopes the territorial government will learn from the reality on the ground and reach out to experts in the field including those with “lived experience” to do better.
The Official Opposition will hold the minister accountable and ensure she lives up to her word, per Hassard.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
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