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Funding will support keeping school facilities open for activities

Sport England has announced an additional £10.1m of national funding to help schools open their sports facilities during evenings, weekends, and holidays.

This new investment announcement, which builds upon the initial £1.6m provided in 2019, provides a welcome opportunity for schools to apply for funding to keep their facilities open outside of school hours, helping more children and young people to be active and take in sport and activity at a time when they need it most.

The additional funding is open to the network of Active Partnerships to apply for based on the number of schools in their area, which equates to an additional boost of circa £200,000 to help Norfolk children access physical activities outside of school hours.

The aim of the funding is to predominantly support schools with a high percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals, the least active, and to provide more opportunities for pupils with special educational needs to take part in activities.

The funding will enable schools to apply to receive support to help reduce the burden on school staff of taking steps to open their premises (when it is safe to do so) outside of the school day to deliver both extra-curricular and community sessions to benefit young people.

Schools will be able to apply for funding to help offer extra-curricular opportunities including opening facilities in a COVID-19 secure manner. Examples may include: costs incurred to help school pools reopen safety; helping schools meet wider COVID safety measures; purchasing additional activities and storage equipment; improving the accessibility of features; and meeting short-term staffing challenges.

The application process is under review at Active Norfolk, and an announcement will be made shortly to confirm the application process for Norfolk schools.

Read Sport England’s full announcement about the funding here.