is there an app or widget that does this?

[dr4sight]

On my LG Pad 8.3, like with other Android devices, it is necessary to swipe down from the top to view the notification screen. Is there an app or widget which I can put on my home screen that when pushed will take me to the notification screen?

 

[Hadron]

Many third party launchers, such as Nova, allow you to specify your own gestures or customise some of the buttons. So for example with Nova you could set a swipe down to do this without having to reach the top of the screen, or a long press on a button, or a swipe up on one of your dock icons, or...

There are doubtless other apps that can do this. This is just the one I know.