Chinley Primary School delighted as Ruth George MP visits new facility
Ruth George, MP for High Peak, was delighted to visit Chinley Primary School yesterday (Thursday 5 October), to see their new multi-use games area (MUGA). The new playing surface was installed thanks to investment from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, which provides grants towards developing new or refurbished grassroots football facilities.
The grant enabled the school to install a brand new sand-dressed artificial grass playing surface. The new MUGA will greatly benefit Chinley Primary’s youngsters, who will use the facility for football and other sports during PE lessons. It will also be made available to the community for use outside of school hours, helping to increase football participation locally.
The school worked in partnership with the Derbyshire FA to secure the £9,055 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, delivered by the Football Foundation, which helped to bring the project to fruition.
Ruth George MP was very pleased to see the new MUGA in use during her visit. She also toured the school, and enjoyed a question and answer session with pupils from the School Council.
Since 2000 the Football Foundation Funding Partners’ investment has provided 217 grants worth £9.1m towards grassroots sports projects worth over £17.5m across the whole of Derbyshire.
The Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund is funded by the Premier League, The FA, and the Government, via Sport England. It is delivered by the Football Foundation, the country’s largest sports charity. Since it was launched in 2000, the Foundation has awarded around 15,000 grants worth more than £580m towards improving grassroots sport, which it has used to attract additional partnership funding of over £800m – over £1.4bn of investment into the grassroots game.
By providing more high-quality facilities, coupled with coaching at the appropriate age group, the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund aims to improve the experience for regular players as well as attracting new players to the game. Many of the new state-of-the-art facilities will serve to strengthen the connection between professional football clubs and their local communities, particularly in the most deprived areas of the country, through the professional clubs’ community trusts’ outreach work.
Ruth George, MP for High Peak, said: “I’d like to thank Chinley Primary School for inviting me to see their new multi-use games area, and I’m pleased to see it already having such a positive effect on pupils. It’s so important for children to have access to facilities such as this one, which encourage them to have fun and enjoy themselves whilst also getting active.
“The Football Foundation is doing excellent work for communities in High Peak, by making these state-of-the-art grassroots sports facilities available. I’d like to congratulate the school on their hard work in securing the funding and making the project a success.”
Peter Lambert, Chinley Primary School Head Teacher, said: “We are really proud that the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund chose to support our school. The children were so excited as the project unfolded and are now making full use of the pitch and improving their football skills in both PE lessons and their free time. The new pitch is a fantastic asset to our school and locality.”
Paul Thorogood, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, said: “I am delighted that a grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund has enabled Chinley Primary School to install a new MUGA. This development will provide a real boost to football in the local area.
“Since 2000, the Football Foundation has supported grassroots projects worth more than £1.4bn, investing into areas where the need is greatest and where it will have the biggest impact in terms of getting more people playing football and a wide range of other sports.
“With this funding, provided by the Premier League, The FA and the Government, through Sport England, we are helping to improve community sports facilities across the country and thereby the playing experience of those who take part.”