
Woodpeckers Caving
Woodpeckers had a special treat on Thursday and the children had an amazing time finding their way through all the tunnels, sometimes even in the
Home » Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) Project
The MUGA
The MUGA will provide a new sports area that can be used by our school children of all ages, whatever the weather. This will be used every day during breaktimes, PE lessons and for after school clubs.
The area of ground where the MUGA will be situated used to house our trim trail that was built over astro turf. This was used by the children throughout the year as the ground was an all weather surface. Unfortunately the trim trail, that was over 10 years old, was condemned during the last play equipment inspection, due to being rotten and unsafe for children to use. As the equipment was beyond repair, we had no choice but to remove it. Shortly after this, the astro turf on the remaining ground was severely damaged during a storm, and also had to be removed for safety reasons. This has left an area of ground that is not in a condition suitable to be used by the children for exercise or for play.
Prior to the COVID Pandemic, Children’s mental health and well-being was of concern. However, the pandemic has undoubtedly exasperated the issue. We believe that we have a duty to address some of the issues raised by organisations such as the Children’s Society and BBC Children In Need referenced below:
As decision makers develop guidance and families adapt to the COVID-19 response, the best way to maintain and improve children’s levels of well-being is through the ‘five ways to well-being’. These five types of activity improve well-being and have been identified using a wide ranging international evidence base. For children and young people, the five ways to well-being are: By aiming to maintain friendships, provide opportunities for physical and creative recreation and support children to continue learning, there is much society at large can do to ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic does not have wide ranging and significant implications for well-being. The Impact of Covid-19 On Children and Young People Briefing (2021). Children’s Society.
Increased emotional wellbeing and mental health challenges: the pandemic was impacting on existing mental health and new issues were emerging for children and their parents. Anxiety, fear and stress are particular concerns.
Risks to physical wellbeing: children’s physical wellbeing was at risk through reduced nutrition or physical activity for fitness, for those with health conditions, from the pandemic itself. Understanding the impact of Covid-19 on children and young people Early Pandemic Period April – May 2020 (2020). BBC Children In Need.
Due to the expansion of our school during recent years, any outdoor space and play equipment that we do have is becoming increasingly crowded by the children during breaktimes. The field is waterlogged during the winter months so the children are limited to the playground areas for a lot of the year. These factors have an impact on PE lessons too, with many of these having to be carried out in the school hall. A MUGA could be used in all weathers, for PE lessons, breaktimes and afterschool clubs, giving the children more space and opportunity to exercise outside.
Advice from the NHS states that children need to be active for at least 60 minutes a day. Being active also helps with mental health. Evidence shows that children and young people who are more active have more confidence, higher self-esteem, less anxiety and stress, and better social skills – attributes that can help them deal with the challenges they face in daily life. Having a positive attitude towards physical activity has also been associated with children being happier.
MUGA surfaces make it possible to provide facilities for multiple sports. Designed to provide optimal playing properties and protection against injuries, they are also hard-wearing, long-lasting and easy to maintain.
The MUGA is designed to last for a minimum of 10 years before any further expenditure on it is required. During this time over 1260 pupils and pre-school children are expected to have been on role at the school and benefited from the facility.
Children will become more active during school time, with less indoor breaktimes and PE lessons.
Children will be introduced to a broader range of sports as the area can be used for a whole host of sports in all weathers. This will help develop Children’s key physical skills as well as aid their mental health.
The complete cost of the MUGA, grounds works, goal ends and netball posts is £73,695.
We have been able to allocate / raise a large portion of this amount, and are now pursuing the following in order to cover the shortfall:
In return for a donation we will recognise your business or organisation on a specific ‘MUGA Sponsors’ page on our website, as well a mention on our parents’ newsletter. In addition to this, for any donation of £1000 and over, we will put a small ‘sponsor plaque’ on the MUGA fence which will be seen by parents during school drop off and pick up times.
If you would like to find out more, or if you would like to donate to this project, please email the School Business Manager or give us a call on 01242 674312.
Our aim for our Crowdfunding campaign is to raise £15,000 towards the project.
If you have ever been part of our school community, or plan to be in the future, please can you consider digging deep and helping us reach our goal? Every donation received will be very much appreciated and will make a huge difference.
We hope that with the support of our fantastic local community we can reach our goal and install the MUGA during the Summer holidays this year.
Please PLEDGE YOUR DONATION and spread the word to your friends, family and business contacts by email and social media (Facebook, Instagram, twitter, etc).
We are also very excited to announce that we have been successful in being accepted by the Tesco Community Grants Scheme meaning that our MUGA project has been put forward to a customer vote in the following Tesco stores:
Voting is open now and will continue until 30th September 2022.
To vote, you just need to make a purchase within store of any value. You will then receive one token per transaction which you then drop into the voting pot.
3 projects will appear and the project with the highest number of votes will receive £1500, the second placed project £1000, and the third £500.
Please help us to win by voting for the project and asking your friends and family to do the same!
Woodpeckers had a special treat on Thursday and the children had an amazing time finding their way through all the tunnels, sometimes even in the
In Reception our theme this term is celebrations. One of the celebrations we found out about was the Diwali. We had a visit from Mrs
In Reception we have been learning about the changing seasons from Autumn to winter. We particularly enjoyed exploring our outdoor area in the snow.
This term, Y3 have had a go at making some Stone Age Tools! We got the idea from reading the book ‘Stone Age Boy’ where
In October, a group of Year 4 and 5 pupils attended The Cheltenham Literature Festival. We began our morning at the story telling tent; listening
This term, Year 5 were very lucky to be visited by Darren Rees; the host of the “Football For Kids” podcast. Darren was invited to