Community use of school sports facilities

Introduction - Richard HuntHead of Service Development (Culture, Sport &

Communities) Suffolk County Council and Chair of CLOA

Suffolk County Council

• Community use on school sites– Interest in over 20 schools– Commitment to support community use across

the county• Community use review pilot– Partnership with Culture First, Improvement East

and Sport England• Efficiencies & improvements– Local authority leading the agenda

Wider context

• Size and scale: 76% sports halls, 73% AGPs on school sites

• Access & growing participation

• Delivery models and relationships between school-local authority

Challenges• Economic situation

– Subsidy from local authority?– Efficiency & improvement

• Changing policy– Academy status– Community use agreements– Strategic role of local authority

• For schools– Balancing the books– Benefit to school curriculum?– Organisational pressures & capacity– Grant funding

Purpose of today

• Share the learning from Suffolk• Consider the wider agenda• Outcomes– Understanding & debate some of the issues &

considerations– Consider different approaches/models to community use– Consider how to advocate to schools– Consider & discuss tools for business planning,

management & operational delivery