INTERPLAY

Interplay is an organisation aiming to balance a small part of our society's inequality which has devalued people because of the label that they carry of "special needs". Interplay aims to provide equal play and leisure opportunities for young people in the City and County of Swansea and the County Borough of Neath Port Talbot area who have been labelled. These opportunities should be within the local community so that the ignorance that breeds fear and suspicion of people with special needs is attacked at its root. The integration and eventual inclusion into play and leisure can be both in existing activities and in some cases in activities initiated by Interplay and integrated from the start.

Interplay was started as a summer play project under the NCH organisation. It involved a segregated provision becoming integrated by siblings, then friends and finally other local young people. The idea of moving young people with disabilities into their local playschemes was then acted on. A pattern of supporting integration by employing additional workers for the schemes was started. These workers were not employed as care workers for the children with special needs but as extra support workers to help the scheme integrate and accept all children. The core funding for Interplay was transferred to the joint management by West Glamorgan Council for Voluntary Services and West Glamorgan Play Association with CVS taking the main financial management and Play Association adding their expertise in the area of children's play.

In addition to direct services Interplay provides

• Development work to identify needs and establish new projects
• Training - for disability awareness and good practice for workers in both counties
• Supervision and support for students on placement, from work experience through to post graduate qualifications (Dip S.W. etc..)
• Networking with other play providers throughout Wales and the U.K.
• Development of new play and integration training packages
• Monitoring, advising and facilitating other local initiatives about the integration process

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