More space for sports (From Swindon Advertiser)

More space for sports

10:20am Saturday 20th March 2010 in

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NEW sporting facilities at Swindon schools have been credited with strengthening community ties.

Anne Snelgrove, South Swindon MP, yesterday praised the progress while on a tour of Liden and Goddard Park Primary School’s multi-use games areas (MUGA).

Both institutions saw more than £100,000 ploughed into their school-yard MUGAs six years ago by the National Lottery Fund.

The visit was organised by the fund in order to investigate the sort of impact the cash and the facilities have made to the surrounding community.

Mrs Snelgrove said: “Six years on from the investment we can now see that contact between the community has been increased with three football teams using the MUGA.

“We can also see the school are using it a great deal with students using the facility for a phonics lesson this morning.”

Liden primary’s MUGA, which measures 20m x 40m, benefits 374 pupils at the school, 186 from other schools and can benefit up to 400 community users.

While at Goddard Park more than 1,000 pupils from neighbouring communities are able to use the football, netball, hockey and tennis MUGA for sporting activities.

Gary Perkins, cabinet member for children services at Swindon Council, said: “Obesity levels in Swindon have dropped over the past few years.

“I would say that some of the facilities have played a role because it all helps.

“It is all very well telling children to get outside and do something but if they have nowhere to go then youth activity and fitness goals will go unfulfilled.”

Across the UK more than £750m from the fund’s New Opportunities for PE and Sport (NOPES) programme has been invested into close to 3,000 separate sites.

A fund evaluation published last year showed 41 percent of pupils say that their family uses the same school facilities they do to take part in physical activity.

Vikki Marsh-Ballard, Liden primary’s deputy head, said the school has benefited immensely from the MUGA.

She said: “The games area has helped us make the school a sort of hub of the community.

“It raises the school’s profile and brings people here that wouldn’t normally come or even know we existed.

“We have three football teams playing here after school hours and on the weekends, but it is also used for activities and barbecues on the weekends.

“Our pupils too are using it on a constant basis not only for sporting activities but for learning purposes. ”