What is ELHAP?

ELHAP is an adventure playground designed and built for children and young people with disabilities. ELHAP is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee.


What does ELHAP do?

ELHAP offers adventure play opportunities to children and young people with disabilities through school visits, holiday playschemes, Saturday clubs and youth clubs to the local community. ELHAP also runs a small Adult Training Service throughout the year.

Why ELHAP began

Whilst working with local playgroups in the early 1970's, Mrs Diana Casswell first had the idea that many children she was working with would benefit from adventure play but had no opportunities to do so. Mrs Casswell had the vision of an adventure playground in Greater London that would provide much needed adventure play to hundreds of local disabled children. Along with a dedicated group of local people, Mrs Casswell worked tirelessly and after 2 years of development, fundraising and hard work ELHAP opened in the summer of 1977.
 

Why does ELHAP exist?

ELHAP's aims to:

1. Promote integrated free-play opportunities for young people with a variety of special needs. 

2. Provide a safe, secure and stimulating environment where children and adults are able to make their own choices and learn through self-expression free from constraints that are necessary in other settings.

3. Provide a service that includes support for the whole family where necessary.

4. Provide positive role models for people with special needs

.ELHAP's objectives are to:

1. Offer children and adults with special needs the opportunity to explore and experience themselves and their world, allowing them to take acceptable risks (that is, to freely undertake actions and involve themselves in situations that push against the boundaries of their own capacities) in an environment that is challenging and stimulating. This process fosters the development of skills and is broadly educational in that it allows children to learn what cannot be taught.

2. Promote Equal Opportunities in respect of all activities.

3. Provide some services that include the whole family and not just the young person with a disability. This includes siblings and parents who can meet regularly and offer each other support.

4. Encourage people with special needs to be involved in active work throughout the organisation, e.g. as volunteers, committee members etc.

5. Encourage outside help and promote active networking.

6. Provide a service to children and young people offering the most challenging behaviours, where appropriate.

7. Work co-operatively with other professionals and representatives from the Local Authority.

8. Provide a needs-led Day-Care service for no more than eight adults with special needs.