How the Opening School Facilities Fund is Giving Young People More of a Voice and Choice

The Opening School Facilities Fund helps schools deliver extra-curricular activities and open their facilities outside of the school day during evenings, weekends and school holidays.

But aside from the funding, provided by the Department for Education and distributed by Active Sussex, it is also a great way to give young people the chance to share what they would like to do.

A great example of this is one of the projects at St Wilfrid’s Catholic School in Crawley.

The school joined forces with Gianni Sutton from Ashcombe Volleyball Club to start a student-requested volleyball club.

PE subject leader Chris Iddles said: “With the help of the OSF funding we were able to purchase sports hall space, the coach and equipment to support the club.

“The initial promotion brought in 40 plus students from across Crawley aged 14-18, which was refreshing, but also too many for the group to get a focus.

“We had to cut this down, but there is definitely room for a Crawley-wide volleyball club.

“St Wilfrid’s club has seen a regular 16 attend, all enjoying the opportunity to train, play and get coached in an activity they would not usually be coached in.”

To continue reading more on this case study, please visit the Active Sussex website.

Case study courtesy of Active Sussex.

Image courtesy of the Sport England Image Library.