Playscheme saved by Children In Need cash

A GROUP helping autistic children and young people in Huddersfield has received a five-figure boost to safeguard its summer playscheme.

Members of the Huddersfield Support Group for Autism (HSGA) which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, had feared that the popular playscheme would have to be scrapped after Kirklees Council initially axed its funding before approving a £12,800 grant.

Now BBC Children in Need has awarded £80,900 to support the playscheme over three years. The handout from the charity’s main grants programmes, also brings the total currently invested in West Yorkshire by Children in Need to more than £4.9m.

The playscheme runs for three weeks during the school holidays and enables young people across the autism spectrum to have fun with their friends while developing social skills and building confidence.

The first portion of the £80,900 grant – amounting to £28,000 – has gone towards the £40,000 cost of this summer’s playscheme, which is now under way at Kirkheaton Primary School, which is also supported by HSGA’s own fundraising efforts and donations.

The biggest cost of running the playscheme is paying the helpers who provide one-to-one supervision for the 100-plus children taking part.

Playscheme co-ordinator Laura Griffiths said: “We’re so pleased that we will be able to run our playscheme for the next three years, Drumming workshops led by Katie Mallard, of Rhythmstick Drumming, shown during the Support for Autism playscheme held at Kirkheaton Primary School which will provide invaluable opportunities to children and young people on the autism spectrum.”

Kate Falkingham, president of HSGA, said: “We gritted our teeth and applied for the major grant not thinking we stood a chance of getting it. It was a relief to know we could run the three-week playscheme this year and it takes the weight off us for the following two years.”

Isabel Farnell, BBC Children in Need regional head of the North, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting Huddersfield Support Group for Autism Playscheme which will work with disadvantaged children and young people in the local community and make a difference to their lives.”

The newly-awarded grant comes as BBC Children in Need celebrates a record-breaking £60m raised during the charity’s 2016 appeal.

The money raised will go towards projects that work with children and young people affected by a range of issues, including disability, homelessness, neglect, deprivation and poverty, serious illness or bereavement. In the last year alone, BBC