School sport is meant to be fun, but at some stage this crucial point must have been forgotten as cost-cutting ruled the day. Children of the 1980s had to make do with cold, barren changing rooms and, in some areas, blaize football pitches that matched a Stanley knife in their ability to cut through bare skin.
The government, to its credit, recognised that school sporting facilities were in need of a major upgrade, and in 2000 the Prime Minister announced the creation of the New Opportunities Fund for PE and Sport programme.
Its role was to allocate 750m of Lottery money to bring about a "step change" in the provision of sports facilities for young people and communities in general. However, it has emerged that only 8.5m from the fund has actually been spent since the programme officially launched in November 2001. What's more, none of Northern Ireland's 33.75m has filtered through to projects yet.
Reports have suggested that a falling out between the New Opportunities Fund and Sport England, which has acted in an advisory role, has led to delays in the final stage of the grant process.
But both parties deny there are any problems, and NOF insists that the programme is running on schedule.
Detailed proposals
All local education authorities have been allocated an amount from the programme and it's up to them to decide how their money is spent. In the first stage of the bidding process, which has now closed, they had to submit a broad outline of their plans. The second stage, however, requires more detailed proposals, including, in many cases, planning permission for facilities. This, say local authorities, is causing the delays, although they also claim it's not unexpected.
It's worth noting that the deadlines for stage two bids haven't been reached yet. In England and Wales, they have to be received by March 2004, while in Scotland it's January 2005 and in Northern Ireland it's March 2005. NOF also introduced a fast-track scheme for schools that were well advanced in their planning for new facilities, and some benefited from the first round of funding in July 2002.
Leicestershire County Council certainly has no complaints about the funding process. Dale Mortimer, its leisure and access officer, says the council didn't expect money to come through any faster because of the level of planning involved. NOF has been "very co-operative", he says, and points to a scheme within the city of Leicester that was given fast-track status and is already up and running with its new facilities.
Glasgow City Council is also happy with the process. It has been awarded 1.15m for a new sports hall for the Haghill Primary School Community Sports Facility in a disadvantaged area of the city, although the bid is still to be concluded. And three of the city's secondary schools are also bidding for synthetic football pitches, while a swimming pool in Castlemilk is set for refurbishment. A spokeswoman says the length of time it's taking to get final grants is "quite right because of the money involved".
Sport Scotland has been conducting a study on the country's indoor sports facilities and has found that a lot of money is needed to upgrade the existing stock. However, there is also a shortage of facilities and there is a need for more within easy access of most people. This is a role schools can fulfill, says Ian McKenzie, the organisation's head of facilities development.
He thinks schools should be at the core of strategic planning for sport.
Because schools tend to be "at the heart of the community" they can be widely used. But they have to be "designed to be attractive" to encourage more people to use them, he says.
Community facilities
McKenzie also points out that local authority sports centres are often empty during the day if no children are using them, while many school sports facilities aren't used in the evenings. A logical approach would be to use schools to deliver sports for the whole community, not just children.
When Tony Blair announced the 750m investment, he said it was "not just a sports policy - it's a health policy, an education policy, an anti-crime policy, an anti-drugs policy". It highlights how important sport can be in making children's lives better, so it's crucial that money starts to reach the areas of most need as soon as possible. P
LATEST RESULTS
- Wales: 5.79m of 48.75m committed
- England: 183.2m of 581.25m committed
- Scotland: 40.5m of 86m committed
- Northern Ireland: none of 33.75m committed, although the first full grants are poised to be announced.
