Awarded £3,941.23 towards a project to create an Outdoor Sports Facility. The yard markings and play area provided an area where children could learn and take part in new activities and allow school teams to practice and develop skills of their netball, basketball and football teams. Previously they were travelling to a facility outside village which took time and money.
“The difference that this project has made has been amazing, the children spend all their outdoor time racing and playing team sports. We also created a sensory area and the younger children live completing the sensory challenges, all the kids are so happy and relaxed. The school sports teams now have somewhere to train and bond as teammates and benefit from all the good things that come with team activities. We were really pleased with how easy it was to speak and deal with representatives of the community fund, we had great help with queries we had about process and once the grant was accepted it was brilliant how quickly they sent us award and made payment.” (Emma)
Why we supported this project: whilst the fund cannot support statutory or curriculum activities, this active Friends of Group had a clear plan to improve outdoor experience for all children, reduce travelling costs and bring in the wider community. The area and equipment can be hired for a small charge, providing a small income for Friends of Group and hopefully local Cubs and Beaver groups will be able to start using the facility. The project didn’t run completely smoothly, the markings took longer than expected and delayed the project and from that the group have learned that they need to do more research and planning with future projects and set realistic deadlines. We hope the children and community make use of and enjoy this facility for many years to come.