£10 million to be invested in school facilities

The first phase of the schools transformation initiative has been launched by the government, which will see tens of thousands of school children benefit from new, modern, energy efficient school buildings and investment in school sports and swimming facilities.

More than £10 million will be invested to support school sports and swimming facilities in England, and will be distributed through Sport England. This targeted investment to selected schools will build on existing funding to help schools open their facilities outside of school hours, and encourage pupils to be more physically active.

The money from the Department of Education will go to Sport England to be distributed through Active Partnerships and is to be used to enable community usage of school facilities, with them being able to open in the evening, at weekends and during holidays to the public.

The most recent Sport England Active Lives Survey showed that young people’s activity levels had been impacted by the pandemic, something which Together Active is keen to address.

Our CEO, Jude Taylor, commented;

“We are delighted the the government has recognised the need for increased access to physical activity facilities, both for pupils and the local community. This additional funding is very much welcomed by a sector which has struggled with the restrictions of the past year. The most deprived areas have suffered the greatest decline in the activity levels of young people, with and average 3.6% reduction in activity reported. We hope that schools with a high proportion of children on free school meals and SEND pupils are targeted for the investment as we have seen these groups disproportionately effected by the pandemic and in need of increased support and focus.

“The opportunity this presents for collaboration on a local level within communities is huge, and we’ll be working closely with Sport England and our local groups to ensure the greatest benefit to the residents of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.”

Learn more about the schools transformation project.

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