Community leisure in partnership with schools

In March this year, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that primary school sport is set to be transformed due to a £150 million-a-year boost that will improve coaching for the youngest pupils and inspire sporting stars of the future. Cameron commented, “With this new approach to sport, we can create a culture in our schools that encourages all children to be active and enjoy sport, and helps foster the aspirations of future Olympians and Paralympians.”
    
While this financial boost is aimed at the primary sector, it is positive to see that investing in physical education is on the government’s agenda. Schools should have the opportunity to offer sporting opportunities to young people, to develop a lifelong commitment to health and fitness.

Accessibility
Furthermore, in order to develop school and community relationships, the availability and accessibility of school buildings and facilities for community use is highly important. The community surrounding the school is, after all, where students will grow up, make friends and potentially live and work for the rest of their lives. Community leisure is one of the key responsibilities for The Forest of Dean District Council and this is delivered in partnership with local schools including Five Acres and Wyedean School.
    
In order to improve and enhance the overall PE experience for students at both school sites and in a drive to enhance sports provision and opportunities for the local community, we decided to completely overhaul the current dual use facilities, improving each school’s revenue stream.

Financial implication
As a public facility, the leisure facilities we operate are subsidised, but under increasing financial pressure we have been forced to reduce the subsidy so that the year-on-year revenue running costs come down. With capital in a savings account which had accumulated a small amount of interest, we realised that if we invested this, and could guarantee the return on investment (ROI) would be greater than the loss of the interest, then we would reap lower running costs year-on-year in the long term.

A solution to meet our needs
Deciding to completely revamp the sports facilities at Wyedean and Five Acres schools was a decision not to be taken lightly. With the heavy financial implications, choosing the right organisation for the job was crucial. The new offering would need to stand up to thousands of students and members of the community using the gym and sports hall every day, so we knew it was essential to offer high-end quality facilities, without compromising on ease of maintenance and durability.
    
In late 2007, we were introduced to Createability by Alliance Leisure Services who funded and project managed the facility developments. Based on Createability’s extensive experience and in depth knowledge of the design and build of dual use facilities, they were appointed for both projects.

Areas for improvement
The existing sports hall viewing area and single squash court at Wyedean was converted into a fitness suite, which included a studio space and a junior gym. The sports hall’s roof was replaced, the changing rooms were upgraded and changing ‘pods’ for the public were built to effectively manage the social mix of local residents and students during the daytime.
    
In the majority of schools, space is important. Aside from being used for their primary function, sports halls are often used for assemblies, exams, fetes, and concerts too. Therefore, space that isn’t being used efficiently needs to be reassessed. At Five E  Acres, the lounge bar area on the first floor was vastly underutilised and for the space it took up, was not generating anywhere near the level of income it should have been. Justifiably, a decision was made to convert this into a fitness area for families. The area was completely stripped, joists were reinforced, air conditioning installed, new flooring was laid and everything was redecorated.

Counting the benefits
Membership uptake has significantly increased since the renovations at both sites and much to the schools’ and the council’s delight, Wyedean and Five Acres are able to compete with private sector leisure centres, offering high-end quality facilities at public sector prices.  
    
The refurbishments have also resulted in plenty of occasions after school hours where students, staff and the public are all using the sports facilities, bringing the whole community together.
    
Several studies have shown a positive correlation between exercise and good behaviour in young people, “According to the stimulation seeking theory, low arousal represents an unpleasant physiological state. In line with this theory, antisocial individuals purposely engage in antisocial and aggressive acts in an attempt to increase stimulation and achieve more agreeable arousal levels. If the function of antisocial behaviour is to increase physiological arousal levels, then exposing antisocial individuals to functionally equivalent forms of arousing situations (e.g. aerobic exercise) should result in a reduction in maladaptive behaviours.” (Folino, 2011). On account of the new facilities, both schools have reported a marked reduction in anti-social behaviour and greater self esteem in their students.

Looking to the future
We are pleased to announce we are looking to enlarge the fitness facilities at our largest dual use site in Lydney. With high membership figures, we want to be able to offer the school and the local community state of the art facilities to continue to foster a love of sport.  Furthermore, over the next five years the town is set to grow substantially so we aim to attract new residents. We feel confident that another investment will reap the same rewards.

Conclusion
Schools and local authorities need to be actively committed to raising the profile of sport and healthy living in their communities. Working alongside Five Acres and Wyedean School to create successful working sports facilities has raised a collective sense of pride. While the benefits can be clearly measured in monetary terms and increased membership uptake, there is no greater benefit than a happier, healthier community.