The Governing Body is seeking to install a multi-sports playing surface, up to 1,820m² (34.5m x 52.75m) in size with floodlights and boundary fencing on our existing grassed playing field to enable all-year round sports and play provision during and after the school day.

We are inviting stakeholders, including neighbours, local residents and parents, to shares their views about our proposal so that we can make this change for our pupils and community in the best way possible.

The school playing field is important to the school sports curriculum, and highly popular with children during dry periods, but it is prone to water-logging and becoming slippery with mud, which means much of the year it is not used.  With the nationwide emphasis on increasing sports and physical activity for primary school children we need a space that we can use all year round. This is why we are proposing a new multi-sports playing surface.  

Intended benefits include:

1. All-year round use for teaching of National Curriculum PE, unrestricted by wet weather, improving the flexibility, continuity and progression of sports skills, knowledge and understanding. 
2. All-year round extra-curricular clubs.  The school will be able to provide a full, all-year programme of extra-curricular sport, unrestricted by wet, mud or darkness, enabling our provision to match current demand from pupils and parents.
3. All-year round lunchtime provision.  Pupils will be able to take part in coaching and intra-school competitive sport led by external sports coaches unrestricted by wet weather, improving flexibility and continuity of sports provision.
4. All-year round competitive inter-school sports.  Pupils from local schools will be able to take part in competitive events unrestricted by wet weather.
5. Provide exit route opportunities to local sports clubs and groups for pupils and their families resulting in further take-up of sports opportunities in addition to the school’s provision.
6. Provide a facility for established Ealing sports club(s) who are seeking a base for training junior members.
7. Make a positive contribution towards one of the Council’s three main priorities, ‘Making Ealing a Healthier Borough’.
8. The all weather surface will give pupils an additional 1,820m² for use during break times, resulting in 60% more outdoor space for all-year play, when the playing field is unusable during winter and spring months.

Many parents cherish the school's open space.  Other parents acknowledge the school's successful development of our site including our kitchen garden and Fielding forest.  Through our proposal, we are seeking to continue to best use our outside space for pupils while maintaining the sense of open playing fields.  Sport England works to protect playing fields from development.  Our proposal must gain its approval or planning permission will not be granted. 

The capital cost of the proposed multi-sport playing surface will be fully funded from the school’s reserves.  Reserves have accrued as a result of a surplus from the school’s traded activities, including childcare, school meals contract rebate, services to other schools and lettings.  Funding is not being used from the school’s annual income from the government, intended for the education of pupils.  We are spending some of this additional income now on improving our facilities rather than employing more staff to work with pupils in class because the school faces a large deficit in 2-3 years time when the government's National Funding Formula takes full effect.  We will then use our additional income from our traded activities to offset this deficit and preserve our current provision.

Please read our consultation information and share your views with us:

• Consultation information