​Kincardine Community Living's All Kids Can Play training now available on-line

Community Living of Kincardine and District’s impactful All Kids Can Play training program is now available on-line – free of charge and on-demand - at www.clkd.ca/all-kids-can-play.

The six-part video series and downloadable resources are designed for recreation leaders – staff, volunteers, coaches, small-business owners, educators and parents – who want to create more welcoming, inclusive and accessible programs.

In-person All Kids Can Play workshops have previously been held in Kincardine, Tiverton, Ripley, Port Elgin and Chesley, reaching leaders who serve more than 4,800 children across Grey and Bruce counties. By making the program available free on-line, even more recreation leaders will be able to enhance their learning at a time and pace that works for them.

The All Kids Can Play training program was first created in 2023 by Kincardine Community Living’s family support team in partnership with the Grey Bruce Inclusive Playgroup. Training materials and workshops were launched with funding from Community Foundation Grey Bruce and its continued support has enabled further expansion of the program, including the creation of the on-line program.

Just like the in-person workshops, the on-line training helps leaders to identify positive changes to their program structure and environments while sharing strategies and tips to better accommodate children with higher support needs. In addition to the videos, the training program has a significant number of downloadable resources, worksheets and templates that leaders can adapt for use in their own programs. The entire program takes between 45 minutes and one hour to complete.

Local families and children with disabilities have shared that a key barrier to accessing recreation programs is a lack of knowledge about how to include those with intellectual and physical disabilities. All Kids Can Play was designed to help fill in that gap and feedback from those who have taken the training, show this approach is working.

Prior to All Kids Can Play, 43 per cent of participants felt very unprepared or unsure about how to include children with disabilities in their programs. After completing the training, 100 per cent of participants said they felt prepared, with 57 per cent feeling ‘very prepared.’

To access the on-line All Kids Can Play on-demand training program, visit: www.clkd.ca/all-kids-can-play.