What is Sports Premium Funding?

Sports Premium Funding is a government programme designed to help primary schools to gain access to sports equipment and facilities so that they can provide physical activities for both P.E. lessons and break times. The initiative seeks to build a positive relationship between the children and physical activity so that they will continue to be active throughout their lives, as the habit is easier to form when they are young. Every young person should have access to the tools they need for a healthy and active life and it is the aim of the programme to achieve this.

Will Sports Premium Funding be available later?

During the 2019/2020 school year, not all the funding was spent and so the rules were relaxed so that the remaining budget could be spent for the 2020/2021 school year as well. This has since been relaxed further so that the remainder (where schools have some left) can still be spent in the 2021/2022 school year. This money should be spent by 31st July 2022.

How can we help?

Getting active is so important for the health and wellbeing of your school’s children, which is why we work hard to make sure that they have many great options to get some fresh air and exercise. One way recommended by the programme to use the funding is by including an active mile. We offer Mile a Day playground markings and Build Your Own Trail playground markings that have been designed to make moving around more interesting for the children. The children will be having so much fun that they won’t mind getting active and can take it at their own pace to make it more accessible for them.

Getting children into sports from a young age can help them to progress further in that sport and aid the development of their mobility. If you provide sports courts, it will enable the children to spend the maximum amount of time engaging with sports like tennis, football, basketball and netball, which are all fantastic for getting hearts pumping and improving agility. If you’d like a colourful, anti-slip surface, take a look at our sports coating which offers a brighter, friendlier play area.

It doesn’t have to be all about sports though, there are many other ways to get children active, like with roadways where the children can pretend to be cars zooming around or adventure trails where the children will avoid obstacles and weave their way through the course.

Get your playground markings here

We want to help you get the best playground for your school so we can work with you to find the best solutions for your space, budget, needs and wants. We have many space-saving tips and can help to advise you on what would work best for you so when you’re ready to plan your playground, we’ll be here to talk it through with you. Get in touch with our team for more information.

Halloween is a much-loved occasion amongst children, both younger and older – whether they like to dress up and go on a search for sweets and treats around their neighbourhood, snuggle up at home and watch a scary movie, or have a go at pumpkin carving. Why not start the seasonal fun at school and adapt some of your favourite activities to celebrate? We’ve come up with a few ideas below to get you in a spook-tacular mood!

Creepy Costume Relay Race

Try your hand at a creepy costume relay race and see who’s the fastest team! Encourage your students to wear fancy dress – be it a vampire, witch, wizard, skeleton, ghost, zombie, fairy-tale creature or anything they like! Put them in to four teams and use our running track or bleep test playground marking to race up and down the track, taking it in turns to go. Whichever team of little monsters finishes first, wins!

This game is a great idea to play during breaktimes or in PE lessons. Not only will it spark excitement for Halloween, but also help to keep students active as well as practising their team building skills.

Marvellous Monster Mirror Me

Lift your spirits with our Marvellous Monster Mirror Me game! Organise your pupils into groups of 4 or 6 when using our Mirror Me playground marking with 3 or 5 stations. Each student can stand on their footprints and then choose one person (child or teacher!) to stand in the circle at the front, acting as the leader. Here, they can do their best monster impressions and make different movements and noises that the rest of the group then have to copy. You can create sequences with the movements and if a student gets the movement wrong, they’re out and another child can take their place.

This activity can be played without the playground marking too and with more or less pupils. It’s a great way to improve on memory, co-ordination and co-operative play skills!

Broomstick Flying Obstacle Course

Create an arena in your playground and use our trail playground markings as an obstacle course for broomstick flying! This activity is best for exercising your imagination as young witches and wizards hop on their broomsticks and see how fast they can fly around the trail.

With movements such as jump, skip, hop, climb, crawl and sprint, you can encourage children to imagine they are flying over and under, dodging obstacles and whizzing to the finish line.

Spooky Spelling Bee

The spellbinding activity is sure to improve your pupils’ literacy skills! Prepare a list of Halloween related words – all things spooky, ghoulish and fang-tastic. Let your students have some time to learn the words before venturing outside to the playground and spelling the words on one of our letter playground markings.

Children can line up around the marking, and take it in turns to hop to each letter, spelling out the wicked words as they go. This is a healthy way to encourage some competition too as the pupil who spells the most words correctly, wins.

Whichever activity you choose, there’s sure to be something for all ages! We hope your school has fun celebrating Halloween this year and hope that you feel inspired to learn and be active whilst doing so.

If you’re interested in introducing some colourful and engaging thermoplastic playground markings at your school, contact our friendly team to arrange a free, no-obligation site survey. We would be pleased to help you!

 

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Installation of disabled car parking spaces in schools

Benefits of thermoplastic markings over line paint

Playground games to improve fitness

Line paint has been used for many years but is it time for a change? There are several benefits to switching to thermoplastic markings, including durability, accuracy and short installation times, not to mention the safety standards that they must pass to be used on roads and other surfaces.

Quick to install

Our markings are created and assembled before coming to your location, so we’ll only need to install them. We won’t need to spend as much time on the day marking up, as they will have already been made according to the specifications from the survey. The markings themselves are very quick to install and can be used almost straight away, so you won’t lose lots of time waiting for individual lines to be painted or for large areas of paint to dry.

Greater accuracy

As paint is a liquid, it is possible for there to be spills or for there to be mistakes made, which are less likely with thermoplastics as the lines or shapes have already been made. This increased accuracy makes it easier to create more complex shapes and designs too, giving you many more options. For example, it’s a lot easier to make curved shapes with thermoplastics than with paint so you’ve got more options with less risk. You’ll see a mock-up of the lines or shapes during the design and survey stage so if something isn’t right, you’ll be able to change it then and it’ll be exactly as you expected when they are installed at your grounds.

Endurance over time

Our thermoplastic markings last up to ten times longer than paint so when the time comes to replace the thermoplastic markings, the paint could be on its tenth refresh! This means that not only would you have to pay for all those refreshes if you used paint but it would also be a lot of extra time where your surface was out of action.

Better for safety

Our thermoplastic markings have an anti-slip finish to make sure that accidents are reduced. We offer sports coatings which are fantastic for making the areas more visible and attractive but – more importantly – have a Slip Resistant Value of 60, making them safe for play in all weathers. All this is achieved while still being eco-friendly, so if you’re concerned about slips and trips, it’s something you need to view. If your surface isn’t the best, don’t worry, we also have water and solvent binders that are used to bind the top surface of the court before applying the sports coating to make it safer for your users. Our markings conform to BS EN 1436 standards, which means that they are suitable for road use and playgrounds.

Need thermoplastic markings for your playground?

Get in touch with our friendly team today to organise your thermoplastic playground markings and to make the most of your space. If you know what you want for your space, why not use our quote form or if you need some advice, we can talk that through with you. We’d love to help you and can’t wait to hear from you!

 

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Playground games to improve children’s fitness

Best playground flooring for your outdoor space

Playground markings that help teach maths

Now that the children have returned to school, it’s important to make sure that there are plenty of activities available to keep them fit and healthy. One great way to encourage activity is through fun games that the children will want to engage in. Take a look at the games below and see how many you can include at your school’s playground.

Sports matches

Sport is a great way to encourage friendly competition, as well as build up endurance, co-ordination and co-operation. Team sports like netball, basketball and football are fast-paced enough to get hearts pumping and will help to develop strategic skills. Try sports like tennis or long jump to allow pupils to progress on their own.

Target practice

Chest throws are great for building muscle in the arms as well as the core, so get a target playground marking and use those throws to see who can hit the best score. Why not mix it up with some bounce passes between children, encouraging them to bounce the ball on a specific number to get a particular score?

Assault courses

Assault courses can include lots of different types of movement, as well as an element of speed. The children will jump, hop, weave and run as they make their way through the course – a fantastic activity for fitness and agility. If you want to make it even better, you can create your own trail that will be unique to your school. Simply pick the stations you like and we’ll be able to install it in your playground for hours of fun.

Bleep tests

The bleep test is used to gauge the fitness levels of the children, who need to make it from one set of markings to the other between diminishing numbers of seconds. The longer they last, the better, and it’s a good activity to do once at the beginning and again at the end of term so that they can see how much they have improved. You can also have races on a running track, which are usually more for sprints rather than a test of endurance (and speed) like the bleep tests.

Move a mile, every day

Doing a mile a day, whether that is walking, jogging or running (or even skipping), is very beneficial for your physical health. Students can go at their own pace and feel a sense of achievement when they reach the end, no matter how they got there. The track can be installed wherever is convenient for your school, although playground perimeters work well, and includes a series of colourful dots, lines and markers to make it enjoyable for the students. Consider breaking it into sections so that the mile starts with a walk, then switches to a jog, then back to walking so that the children are doing an extra bit of exercise.

You can find many more ideas for games designed to improve children’s fitness in our fantastic range of playground markings and if you need any advice for what ones to use, talk to us and we’ll be happy to help. Many of our playground markings can be used for more than one game or activity so the only limit is your imagination!

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Fun Playground Games for KS1 children

Fun & Active Playgrounds are excited to announce that we’ve been awarded Leading Provider of Thermoplastic Playground Markings 2021 and Customer Service Excellence Award 2021 as part of the 4^th consecutive Southern Enterprise Awards, hosted by SME News.

We were delighted to receive this news a few weeks ago during the Summer Holidays. After what has been a challenging 18 months for many, it’s great to know that our hard work and dedication has paid off and has been recognised alongside other selected businesses across the South.

Adapting to the economic climate changes that Covid-19 brought upon us, we were able to continue to transform the playgrounds of many schools across the country with minimal disruption.

Our install teams formed bubbles of two and followed the recommended guidelines as set by the government, as well as regularly testing and taking their temperatures on the morning of each installation. Our team, who would usually visit the schools in person to carry out site surveys before installation, managed to continue to do this virtually to ensure a more Covid-friendly approach.

Headteachers and other school staff were able to join our playground specialist, Connor, and one of our talented designers on a video call, to talk through their project. Together, we would create a scaled design, adjusting the position of their chosen markings to suit each schools’ individual requirements. Being able to see exactly what their new playground would look like is useful for many schools, and doing this virtually turned out to be just as effective as our in-person site surveys.

Marketing Executive, Jess, says “We were fortunate to be able to adapt and continue our amazing work without forfeiting our five-star customer service. Offering virtual surveys has been a great success and we will continue to offer these as an alternative to our free site surveys.”

Fun & Active Playgrounds were nominated directly by SME News, after being recognised as an industry market leader and innovator. After being shortlisted, SME News’ panel of judges made the final decision.

As well as our efforts to adjust to the challenges of the last year or two, we’ve also introduced a Tree Planting Scheme, whereby Fun & Active Playgrounds will donate a tree for every playground project we complete. This made us the first and only UK playground marking company to commit to offsetting our carbon footprint, with an aim to be carbon neutral by 2022.

We are very pleased to have been awarded both titles and are very proud of the Fun & Active team for working tirelessly to overcome the hardships over the last 18 months. We’d like to thank SME News for the awards and look forward to continuing to offer our industry experience and first-class customer service to all the schools and companies we work with in the future.

Keep an eye out in November when SME News will announce the full list of winners.

You want your playground to be a safe place, where the children (and adults) can get the most out of the space, so it’s important to consider their needs when you are deciding on new flooring. Popular outdoor flooring materials include tarmac, woodchips, rubber and grass, all of which have different advantages to them. Your choice may be determined by your needs, budget and capacity for maintenance but there’s sure to be something to suit you.

Tarmac

Tarmac is a classic in playground flooring and it’s no wonder why, when it’s hardwearing, long lasting and requires very little maintenance. It is also a very cost-effective way to change the appearance of your school so you’ll be able to achieve a lot with this one change. Tarmac can easily be brightened up with thermoplastic markings, such as our Roadway playground marking and its signs and junctions! If you like to take your lessons outside, we have an amazing range of engaging educational playground markings that would support your teaching.

Woodchips

Woodchips can be used in playgrounds as they are easy to maintain as well as shock absorbing for any falls. They are also bio-degradable, which means they won’t have a negative environmental impact, but they will need to be replaced every two or three years. Woodchips can also hide sharp objects, be swallowed by young children and get into people’s eyes so consider the age(s) of the playground’s users, as you won’t want them to be picked up and eaten!

Shredded rubber

If you have a climbing frame or similar equipment, shredded rubber is a useful material as it will offer an element of safety by absorbing shock. You will need to make sure that you are monitoring the temperature though, as it can get very hot and is not always accessible for those in wheelchairs, so it may not be the best material to use for all your flooring needs.

Grass

Grass is commonly used in schools and fields and is great for sports such as running, rounders and other athletics. It’s also good to have a grassy area to encourage different wildlife and support habitats, but it’s important to remember that it can be high maintenance. The grass will need to be cut regularly and also repaired – especially if there are lots of football studs going into it! So if you don’t have the time or resources for that, you may wish to look into an alternative. You can still include some nature in your playground with a wildlife area or fun activities like our Nature Trail playground marking.

Artificial grass

For those that like the look of grass but not the upkeep, artificial grass is a great option. It is cost effective and doesn’t need maintenance so you’ll be able to have it in your required space and enjoy it as it is. The artificial grass will also offer some shock absorption that may come in handy for sports. Don’t forget to consider adding some sports playground markings to save on setup time.

Whichever one you choose will depend upon your needs but it’s important to remember that you can ‘jazz up’ most outdoor playground flooring with our playground markings or by using a combination of different materials for different areas. For more information, get in touch with our friendly team today!

 

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Playground markings that help teach maths

Fun playground games for KS1 children

How much time should children spend looking at the screen?

There are so many benefits to using playground markings, including getting fresh air and being active, and yet there are so many other applications for these wonderful designs. You can use our playground markings to make your maths lessons more interesting and give children a way to absorb knowledge differently.

Playground markings that teach sums

Our Maths Maze is great at developing both problem solving and maths skills. The children go through the maze trying to find the way out and pick up numbers and sums as they go, such as ‘+ 3’ and ‘x 4’ that will change their original number. Even once a child knows the quickest way through the maze, it can still be used as you will give them a different starting number each time.

In a similar way, the Maths Caterpillar playground marking offers targets to be hit that will give two (or more) numbers to multiply, divide, add or subtract based on where the beanbag or marker lands. A blend of the two structures is the Maths Target, which offers the opportunity for different start numbers with pre-selected sums that are within a target for the children to hit.

Darts may be a less obvious educational opportunity compared to the other three but the game involves doubling or tripling the numbers and adding the results to the other throws, so there are some great lessons available – not to mention being fantastic for hand-eye co-ordination too.

Playground markings for learning multiplications

Times tables take up a lot of time in the classroom but having them laid out in your playground will help your students. They can spend time looking at them and they may even pick up some of the numbers just by seeing it on their way around the school. Our Multiplication Grids go from 1 x 1 up to 12 x 12 and so cover many different school years.

We also have a Times Table Hopscotch that helps with multiplying six, seven, eight and nine, as the traditional numbers have been replaced with the multiples of those numbers. You can still play hopscotch as usual with this marking and skip numbers.

Playground markings to help count

If your students are a little young for those markings, they may benefit from the Snakes and Ladders marking, which is designed to help children add on numbers and count to the next position, at the same time as having fun. For a purely counting approach, we have Snails with numbered shells and games like What’s the Time, Mr. Wolf? that rely on moving a specific number of counted steps.

These markings make learning through play so much easier and disguise the lessons in games. As these markings will be available during playtimes, the children can use them with their friends and have a great time together. They offer great value as you can play them many times with different outcomes and experiences so you’re not going to have any bored students on your hands. If you’re looking for some educational playground markings, our team will be happy to help you so get in touch today!

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Fun Playground Games for KS1 Children

How much time should children spend looking at the screen?

Football pitch markings for a playground full of fun

Nowadays the reliance on technology has become heavier than ever, not only for adults but for the majority of children too. Reports show that children spend more than a year on digital devices before even reaching the age of eight. So, what is the recommended time to spend in front of a screen?

More and more kids choose to stay at home on the sofa and watch TV all day. Instead of going out and playing games with their friends, children prefer to play games and entertain themselves on their iPads, PlayStations, Xboxes and other digital devices. As tempting as it is to have children sit and behave, it is incredibly dangerous for both their physical and mental health to be stuck in front of the screen for more than two hours a day.

Two hours a day is a good amount of time, allowing children to do their homework or unwind, but then when it comes to games and friends, the outdoors is the best place to be. It is vital to teach children how to socialise and be open to new friendships and people in general. This is why playing outdoors has proven to be incredibly efficient and important when it comes to a healthy social life.

 

The effects of children spending more time on their devices than they should

Letting your child play all day may sound harmless, but it is something that easily becomes a habit. Due to this, more and more children choose the “sitting” way of life, which in turn may lead to them developing obesity. The lack of physical activity and the easy access to fast and unhealthy snacks is something that almost always comes hand in hand with the problem. Unfortunately, obesity amongst children has rapidly increased over the years.

Another negative effect to unregulated time in front of the screen is that more playgrounds are likely to close if children refuse to go out and play. Some seem to find playgrounds less entertaining in comparison to all the possibilities that online games are able to provide. Not going out to play means that those who do have less friends to play with.

Constantly looking at the screen for long periods of time is extremely dangerous and unhealthy for their eyes. Having children exposed to this from an early age leads to them developing eye problems earlier in life and having to wear glasses. Poor vision and dry eyes are just some of the many problems that may appear thanks to the constant exposure to computer screens. As well as making for an unhealthy lifestyle and increasing risks of health issues, more time in front of the screen from an early age can be damaging to the social skills of a child.

How you can help

It is really important to encourage children to go and play outside at every opportunity they have.

Parental monitoring

Parents should not let children stay in front of their devices all day. Keeping an eye and establishing some restrictions is really important in order to prevent such problems for your child. Create a time slot to allocate to outdoor play and make sure you are both clear on the maximum amount of time to be spent looking at screens.

Creating interesting playgrounds

Having playgrounds that are in a good condition is also very important in order for children to take interest and go out and play. The more colourful and fun the playground looks, the more kids will want to play. One way to accomplish this is to keep the playgrounds clean and renovated, while some playground markings will also help when it comes to making the playground aesthetically pleasing and entertaining.

Spending more time together

Reading, drawing and playing games at home is also a great way to divide kids’ attention from technology. Choose reading time instead of letting children watch videos, get together and play some games instead of just leaving them to play on their phones.

Ultimately, it is up to us as adults to help our kids be healthier! Make sure you teach children that they should not spend more than two hours a day on their devices and encourage them to spend more time outside playing and meeting new friends!

 

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Football pitch markings for a playground full of fun

Why a King Square playground marking is right for your playground

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Football is one of the most popular sports of our time, and in an age where technology is so often used, it’s very important to have games such as football to encourage children to play outside and socialise. Our Football Pitch Markings provide a well-defined area, where kids and adults alike can enjoy this much-loved sport.

Why football markings?

Football is a sport that can be played by boys and girls at any age. It’s fun, dynamic and modern. Many young children look up to professional football stars and dream to be like them one day, so encouraging them to play football will be both enjoyable and helpful for their development. Playing football will also help kids maintain a good physical and mental health, and due to its popularity, it proves to be an easy way for children to create new and lasting friendships.

It’s a great way for children to bond with their parents and other adults around them who enjoy playing the game. Plus, it’s beneficial for developing skills that are important for academic performance too.

Football and other team sports require concentration and determination throughout the whole game so as a result, children’s focus is constantly improving. They learn to pay more attention to what is happening around them and to always stay vigilant.

Football also enhances teamwork as it helps children to learn how to get through difficulties together and work as a team. It gives them a sense of belonging and helps them understand the people around them better. And even if the children want a change from football, the pitch playground markings can still be used for various other games.

Our playground markings are guaranteed to be long-lasting and durable, so children – present and future – can have the opportunity to play for a very long time. By adding pitch markings, you will make your playground much more appealing and fun for your pupils.

Why trust us?

We always make sure to use the best thermoplastic materials to ensure environmentally-friendly and durable markings. Our preformed thermoplastic is the best on the market and all our playground markings are water-jet cut so we can deliver the best value for money, durability and design.

Our markings bring excitement everywhere they are installed. There’s no need to take our word for it – take a look at some of our customer testimonials and case studies. We always make sure to deliver a first-class service, and answer all of our customers’ queries so they are 100% happy after working with us.

What are you waiting for? Check out our amazing range of playground markings and don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team if you have any questions. We are here to answer them!

Playground markings provide fresh, new activities for children, as well as reliable options when you have to change your original plans due to scheduling conflicts, building maintenance or other issues.

The markings don’t need to be set up or put away for each game, meaning that you don’t have to spend that extra time doing so and you won’t have to spend money on extra equipment to mark out the court. This will leave you with more time for playing games and having fun.

Playground markings are easier to maintain, as there is no grass to cut back or painted line refreshers needed at the start of the year.

Our King Square playground markings

King Square – also known as Four Square – is a fun game that requires coordination and focus so it’s perfect to help your students develop their skills. We have two different sizes available if you are interested in adding King Square to your playground.

Our first option is the King Square 3m Playground Marking, which has a three-by-three metre square, divided into four squares, with each one labelled K, 1, 2 or 3. If you’d like a little more space, we also have our King Square 4m Playground Marking, which works as above but is a four-by-four metre square.

Remember, as these markings will be there all the time, you just need to show up wearing appropriate clothing, and with a ball in order to play.

How to play King Square

In this game, the aim is to make it to the square marked K for king and then hold onto it for as long as possible. To play this game:

• Four people need to take up one space each
• The person in position ‘3’ will bounce and hit the ball to another player
• Players hit the ball to each other so that it will bounce in the other person’s square
• There is no pattern to where a ball should be hit, therefore requires and improves focus
• If someone misses the ball (but it has bounced in their square) they will be out
• If someone hits the ball out of bounds, they will be out
• Everyone moves up one position so that if you were in position ‘3’ you would go to ‘2’ and from ‘2’ to ‘1’ and ‘1’ to ‘K’
• If there are more than four players, someone else joins the game in position ‘3’, else the person who is out moves to position ‘3’.

King Square is adaptable for the players

If the game is too easy, then players can use ‘cherry bomb’ shots, where the ball is hit harder to bounce harder in the other player’s square, making it harder to hit back. It might be a good idea to use a warning first though. You could also pair your players so that every other hit in that square is done by a different player, with them swapping in and out of the square after each hit.

To make the game easier, players could move closer with lighter bounces or call out names to make sure the next person is ready for the ball. Having an order to the bounces may also make the game easier, as players will know in advance where the ball will be coming from.

Order your King Square playground markings today

Get a quote from our team today for your new King Square markings and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible to discuss your requirements.

Interested in something else?

We have lots of other games that you could add to your playground and if you would prefer sports playground markings or trails, we can help you. Take a look at our amazing range to see these other options or contact our team to go through your needs. We can’t wait to make your playground more active and fun!

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