Funding Generation

Having worked in the education sector for many years now, we at TG Escapes know how tricky it can be for schools to secure funding for capital projects, no matter how pressing the need. We were, therefore, delighted to collaborate with Pebble, an organisation that specialises in educational income generation, at one of their recent workshops.

We were extremely interested in what they had to say about the grants that are currently available for schools (full details of which can be found on the Pebble website) and one, in particular, caught our eye. The Premier League and The FA Facilities Fund are offering significant grants to schools to develop or improve their football facilities for community benefit, including buildings to provide changing facilities.

In fact, TG Escapes have recently worked with a school whose new sports facilities were funded by the sporting community, via the rugby inspired charity Wooden Spoon. The Heart of the Forest School caters for children who are all living with severe or profound learning difficulties, often with complex medical conditions and additional physical disabilities. The difficulties that their students have to live with day to day, coupled with the lack of facilities available, meant that many were unable to participate in outdoor sports activities because their health, safety and wellbeing could not be guaranteed.

Enter Wooden Spoon, whose primary aim is to harness the power of rugby to positively transform the lives of disadvantaged and disabled children. A while ago, the fundraisers of Gloucestershire approached the Heart of the Forest School to see if they could do with a bit of help in getting their students more fully engaged with sporting activity. The charity offered a generous amount, sufficient to build a fantastic outdoor classroom that is fully equipped with toilet, changing and hoisting facilities together with kitchen fittings that allow staff to provide food and drink for the students, without having to return to the main building. Thanks to their new Learning Escape, all students now have the opportunity to get outside and enjoy participating in activities such as sports day and Duke of Edinburgh pursuits.

So, if your school is crying out for new sports facilities, take a look at what is being offered by the Premier League and the FA and should you be successful in securing some funding we would be delighted to assist you with your plans.