Workshop 13 from our 2016 Conference.

1. Let’s show the world what a ball
can do: Creating a Unified
generation in school
Karen Erikson
Jon White

2. When you pick up a ball- and throw it to
one another it’s amazing how things can
change

3. What inclusion is…and isn’t…

4. People seem to be much
more comfortable around
people with more ‘visible’
disabilities (physical or
sensory disabilities), than
they are around people with
less visible disabilities
(mental health conditions or
learning disabilities).
Well over half (58%) of disabled
people responding to a survey in
2013 said that they had not
noticed any change in people’s
attitudes towards them as a
disabled person following the
2012 Paralympic Games – a major
moment for disability in the UK.
Negative attitudes towards disabled
people are widespread
Nearly four in ten (38%) people surveyed
think of disabled people as less productive
than non-disabled people, over three
quarters (76%) think of disabled people as
needing to be cared for, and 13% think of
disabled people as getting in the way some
or most of the time.
(Scope 2013)

5. Special Olympics
Unified Play
Why do we need to get this
ball into play?
Research has highlighted that
____ of young people in the UK
with an intellectual/learning
disability are bullied - that is
280,000 children. This bullying
not only destroys young people’s
capacity to enjoy life, but also
devastates their opportunity to
achieve at school, and limits their
life chances

6. INTERNALISING NEGATIVE ATTITUDES
“If [the young people I work with aren’t] dealing with
cultural shame or shame from their home life, they’re
dealing with their own internalised shame. And there’s
not that visibility of disabled people for them – so who are
the disabled people that they look up to – to see hope
from?” Emily, London
Experts interviewed during the research were particularly
keen to see more disabled people as role models and in
the leadership positions which are responsible for
championing change. They felt that this would be
powerful in changing wider society’s attitudes towards
disabled people

9. #PlayUnified
#Let’s Get The
Ball Into Play

10. School Outcome How can Play Unified support schools in
demonstrating its commitment to improving the
educational, personal development and welfare
of all young people?
•Helps all children and learners to make progress and fulfil their
potential, particularly disabled children and learners and those
who have special educational needs
•Actively promotes equality and diversity, tackles bullying and
discrimination and narrows any gaps in achievement between different
groups of children and learners.
•Helps young people to develop the knowledge of how
to keep themselves healthy, both emotionally and
physically, including through exercising and healthy
eating
•Promotes young people’s personal development, so that they are well prepared to
respect others and contribute to wider society and life in Britain

11. What can Unified sports do for your
school?

13. Special Olympics Unified Sports promotes
inclusion
through bringing together people with
intellectual
disabilities (known as athletes) and
people without
(known as unified partners), to train and
compete on the
same teams and in the same
competitions. Unified Sports
participants can improve their physical
fitness, sharpen
their skills, challenge themselves through
competition
and have fun whilst participating in a
variety of
sports, ranging from football to
basketball to tennis.

14. All Unified Sports® players, both athletes and Unified partners, are of similar age and
matched by sport skill ability.
Unified Sports® teams are placed in competitive divisions based on their skill abilities,
ranging from training divisions (focused on skill-learning) to high-level competition.
‘Teachers take the educated risk to support the
vision and insight of young people use Unified
Sports to create inclusiveenvironments in
their schools.’
‘Young people withand
without disabilities contribute
to a more inclusiveand
positive ethos and
cultureacross the whole
school.’

15. Educate – Motivate
Activate

16. Unified Sport –
Basketball England vision
‘For everyone in England to have the opportunity
to discover, enjoy and experience the game.’
Kieran “ I love the opportunity to play basketball
and make friends
with people from other schools, it’s fun”
Berkshire– 2 community clubs deploying coaches to 9
schools
Reading Rockets, Bracknell Cobras

17. Unified Sport –
We are all more alike than different!
Caption
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“Be the change you
wish to see in the
World”- Ghandi
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18. “Unified Play is something that we
liked the sound of (as it was different
but similar to what we do), and really
wanted to be involved in the pilot. It
matches up to our priorities and our
work.
Ryan Moignard
Liverpool FC Foundation Community Manager

21. PlayUnified at Clare Mount!
Our Unified Play
team!
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Just playing as a
movement
break!
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Intra Unified now
ready for real
play unified!!!
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25. “Let us all remember that when we ask, give
or go the extra distance to fight for our
athletes, we are fighting for life itself… a
soccer ball isn’t about a nice event for ‘them’
but rather an urgent movement designed to
save lives and offer hope and dignity to all of
us.”
Tim Shriver Chair, Special Olympics
Unified Sport

26. #PlayUnified
End the injustice, intolerance and inactivity of people with
intellectual disabilities, by building a unified generation
through sports.

27. If you are interested in Play Unified, and
would like further information on how to
get involved please visit
www.playunified.org and
www.youthsporttrust.org/playunified