The accessibility of school sports facilities for pupils with motoric disabilities in the Savinjsko, Zasavje and Spodnje Posavje regions

By thoroughly changing and modernising the school legislation in Slovenia, we have gradually begun to enable for education to be accessible to pupils with special needs, among whom is also the population of children with motoric disabilities. For a pupil with motoric disabilities to be successfully integrated it is not enough that (s)he has the support of a law; (s)he also needs the support of the surroundings, which have to create an environment where (s)he can satisfy the need to have a feeling of belonging and develop a positive self-image despite his/her special needs. The research work for my diploma dissertation meant I checked how the chosen elementary and secondary schools in the Savinjsko, Zasavje and Spodnje Posavje regions are prepared and equipped for a potential inclusion of a pupil with motoric disabilities in their programme. I focused primarily on examining appropriate solutions to overcome architectonic obstacles when entering the school and the gym. My research also included checking the accessibility and spaciousness of the bathroom facilities and changing rooms in the area of the school gym for the pupils with motoric disabilities. Apart from that, I reviewed how suitable the passage is to bring bigger equipment into the gym and how easy it is to access to the outdoor sports fields. The sample consisted of 19 elementary schools and 2 secondary schools in the Savinjsko, Zasavje and Spodnje Posavje regions. The results of the study matched the data obtained from references. The unsuitable bathroom facilities are still one of the main problems for pupils in wheelchairs since they are accessed via steps and a door that is too narrow, which in combination with too small a manoeuvring space makes the facilities inaccessible to such students. The most common architectonic obstacles for which the schools have not yet found a solution also include the accessibility and spaciousness of changing rooms and the accessibility of outdoor sports fields. Leading to the latter are unpaved paths, steps and high doorsteps. The highest scores were given for the suitability of the passage to bring in bigger sports equipment and for the accessibility of sports equipment