Opening School Facilities Fund

Opening School Facilities Fund

On the 8th March the Department for Education (DfE) announced Phase 3 funding for Opening Schools Facilities (OSF).  Phase 3 OSF will see a £57 million investment programme to meet the goals of the Government’s School Sport and Activity Action Plan. The aim is to help schools to open their existing sport facilities, including school swimming pools, for a broader range of young people and to support the wider community by partnering with sporting organisations, who can help deliver activities in these settings.

The programme will focus on the following -

• Driving a youth informed community offer of activity on a school site in the most underserved communities.
• The upskilling and capacity building of schools to create longer term plans to open their facilities for the benefit       of the community.
• To provide inspiring (young people want to), accessible (they can) and meaningful (they benefit) provision that         helps improve physical activity levels and participation in their area.

Opening school facilities outside of the normal school day to school and community users, to create sustainable change in physical activity levels.

Who can apply?

Schools will be contacted by their local AP on a ‘place-based’ approach which targets the most deprived areas/areas of need, based on local insight and data.
Applications from schools who fall within Wesport’s place based approach to CYP work will be prioritised.  Schools outside of these areas can still apply if meeting the key criteria of the fund and have an IDACI ranking of 1-4.

Community Organizations, Sports Clubs and National Governing Bodies can support school applications but cannot apply for funding themselves.  Groups of schools or local networks (eg. Multi Academy Trusts or School Sport Partnerships) can collaborate to add additional value however individual agreements and plans must be submitted for each school.

Key Criteria for Development Plans

  • Tackling Inequalities: provision should focus on people from lower socioeconomic communities; disabled people and those with long term health conditions; women and girls; people from ethnic minority backgrounds
  • Engaging the school community: programmes to be co-designed with young people
  • Engaging the wider community: opportunities for continued participation and for community engagement (including co-designing with community organisations / local young people)
  • Developing a sustainable workforce: youth leadership and volunteering opportunities
  • Added value: linking to other policy areas, HAF, community safety,
  • Youth voice: must include youth voice when developing plans

What we need from schools interested:

First, please contact CYP@wesport.org.uk to express an interest in this funding pot and arrange an initial discussion.

We are asking for schools interested in accessing funding and support from Wesport to do the following:

  • Read the school guidance document,including Frequently Asked Questions before completing the online application
  • Complete the School Information and Delivery Plan form
  • If approved, complete monitoring and evaluation as part of the programme

 

Community Groups seeking to access school facilities out of school hours please contact the Wesport team on        CYP@Wesport.org.uk , and your local school.

Apply below!

Year 2 Deadline 27th November, 5pm.  

Year 3 Deadline 19 March, 5pm   *Please talk to the Team before submitting an application

Further information

To hear more about the DfE OSF investment programme click here.

To hear more about the governments announcement on 8th March releasing a new set of standards for equal access to sport and physical activity,  click here.