Opening Schools Facilities

School facilities are valuable community assets which provide a safe, familiar environment for many young people. Active Essex recognises the importance of utilising this resource effectively to benefit not only children and young people and school staff but the whole community.

Active Essex is now taking expressions of interests for Opening School Facilities Projects. Please read the programme objectives below and our priority audiences. The deadline for expressions of interest is 26th May.

Programme Objectives

1. To support schools to open their facilities outside of the normal school day (before school, evenings, weekends, and holidays) to allow children & young people and the wider community to access more opportunities to be physically active.
2. To open school swimming pools focusing on swimming and water safety lessons both during and outside the school day for pupils at their school and for pupils at other local schools.
3. Participants are provided with a range of stimulating and enjoyable opportunities to take part in physical activity and sport, in addition to that experienced within PE lessons and extra-curricular activities. This means NEW and additional extra-curricular activities are eligible.
4. Participants are signposted to take part in the same or similar activities in their local community, following the end of their participation in the programme.

Benefits to schools

• Short Term: Schools will receive support to help the facilitation of opening their school premises outside of the school day, to deliver both new extra-curricular and out of school hours community sessions, to benefit young people and adults in the community.
• Longer Term: Schools will be able to develop a sustainable business model from hiring their facilities to external organisations at affordable rates. Pupils will also benefit from having greater access and opportunity to take part in activities after school, at weekends and during holidays in their local area.

Our priority is to work with secondary schools that:

• Are based in IMD (Indices of Multiple Deprivation) areas 1-3
• Are based in IDACI (Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index)
  areas 1-3
• Have a Pupil location IMD score between 1-3
• Have a Pupil location IDACI score between  1-3
• Have high percentage of children that are eligible for free school meals
• Are based in ECC Levelling Up areas
• Have swimming pools
• Are willing to open to the community or expand their existing offer based on local need

Special schools, PRUs and primary schools will also be considered.

You can find your school’s IMD and IDACI data here.

To express your interest for Opening School Facilities support, please fill out the short form below. A member of the team will then be in touch.

Opening your school for community use:

Many schools across the county are effectively demonstrating a ‘community hub’ model and through promoting and sharing good practice, use of our ‘how to guide’, targeted support offer and the dissemination of any future funding, we hope that all schools will adopt this approach in a way that works for them.

Please download the brochure below to read more about opening your school facility, and to provide ideas on how you may be able to utilise funding or additional support.

Sport England have also produced useful “Use Our School” guidance which can be found here

Contact Information
For any queries or questions around the Opening Schools Facilities Funding please contact: