A Multi-Use Games Area for a variety of sports
Our Managing Director, James Collis-Pritchard, met with the Head Teacher of St Barnabas CofE Primary School, Mrs Claire Hill, to discuss the school’s needs for improving their outdoor physical education provision.
The existing grassed area was a real hindrance due to waterlogging and becoming muddy and unusable at many times of the year.
The school really wanted a dedicated MUGA Pitch with all-weather surfacing, so that the children could benefit from regular outdoor sports lessons and games on site, no matter the weather.
This would mean they would be able to promote good health and wellbeing for their pupils, both physically and mentally.
After removing all of the old fencing and disposing of the old hedgerow, we cleared the area ready for the installation of a brand new All-Weather Multi Use Games Area.
Our MUGAs can be designed and installed exactly to a school’s requirements, with 2G, 3G, 4G and other Polymeric surfaces all including a shockpad underlayer.
All of our MUGAs are built to Sport England’s standards, and we prepare and install the base layers to ensure excellent drainage.
St Barnabas opted for a 20m x 12m All-Weather Enclosed Sports Arena with Multisport Carpet and Recessed Goal Ends, which we installed for them alongside their existing playground.
View our wide range of MUGA Pitch offerings which include 2G, 3G, 4G and other polymeric surfacing here
The area is enclosed from the rest of the playground with a robust, 2m high welded mesh Rebound Fencing System.
We added Sports Lines to the surface with a half way line, centre spot and two coloured goal areas (for a red team and a blue team of course!)
Physical activity is beneficial for mental health and wellbeing, too. It has an important role to play in building resilience, enabling and supporting mental health recovery and tackling stigma and discrimination.
Government supported recommendations from the likes of Sport England are that schools should be providing at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day.
Logistically, this means that many schools need to make more use of their outdoor spaces if they are going to be able to achieve this.
Thankfully, improvements in product technology, recent increases in government funding specifically for schools’ PE and Sport and the availability of grant funding, means that high-end resources, such as our MUGA Pitch installed at St Barnabas, are becoming more of an affordable reality for many schools.
We manage the entire process from design through to installation, to make it much easier for a school’s wishes for outdoor physical education provision to be brought to fruition.
The Open University’s OPENspace Research Centre also suggests that there is considerable evidence that time spent outdoors increases a child’s ability to function in school.
Where children have more regular opportunities to be physically active, in addition to better wellbeing, teachers report improved concentration, better ability to focus and learn, increased productivity, better behaviour and better relationships.
After the installation at St Barnabas, we returned to the school to see the impact our new MUGA has had on the school and the children.
The pupils were having a wonderful time and they were certainly very active! It was fantastic to see so many happy faces running around and enjoying getting exercise in the fresh air.
We are sure that it will give them all much enjoyment over the years to come and the Great British weather won’t be getting in their way!
Did you know your Sports Premium can be used to fund fantastic playground developments such as the MUGA Pitch here at St Barnabas. Visit our Sports Premium Page for advice and ideas which will help you use your sport funding effectively.
Are you interested in creating a new dedicated space for sport on your playground? Have you ever wondered about the cost of a Multi-Use Games Areas? With 20 years’ experience in the industry, we’re experts in this field and will advise you on the best solution for your school. To get in touch, simply complete our Online Form or call 01625 890 330 (Northern Office) or 0117 379 0899 (Southern Office).
