Following the end of the academic year, the final report for the Opening School Facilities (OSF) programme has been published, demonstrating its incredible success.
The report confirms that the programme smashed all targets originally set, with 251,543 pupils and 93,264 members of the local community taking part in 189,071 activity sessions in 1,580 schools. Through the programme, pupils took part in activities on a combined total of 3.2 million occasions.
As well as surpassing the targets that were originally set, the final report outlines additional educational outcomes from the programme. This included a vital contribution to the physical development in Early Years children in participating schools, especially those children who had missed out on key experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The programme, which was allocated up to £57 million by the Department for Education, was focused on opening up school facilities outside of the school day, providing opportunities for pupils as well as members of the local community to take part in movement, physical activity, and sport sessions.
It was specifically designed to help four key groups to move more, supporting underserved communities and those that have traditionally faced barriers to being active.
OSF funding was prioritised to projects that encouraged women and girls to be more active, those living in low-income areas, ethnically diverse communities, plus projects supporting people with special educational needs, disabilities or long-term health conditions.
The report shows, for example, that more than 5,000 projects were created to specifically support women and girls to be active, with Active Partnerships using the funding to explore and tackle some of the barriers this group often faces.
In the report, Active Partnerships also highlighted how they had not only supported the key groups that were outlined at the start of the programme, but also others that were important in their specific local area, including helping children attending alternative provision such as behavioural or pupil referral units to be more active.
Swimming was also a focus for the programme with 568 swimming projects funded. This included supporting schools to upgrade their facilities. Along with pupils benefitting from swimming projects and learning a lifesaving skill, some schools were supported to open up pools to the community and even to local care home residents, who were previously faced with very limited options to be physically active.
Schools and Active Partnerships also reported being able to offer new and more unusual sports and activities, thanks to the OSF funding, with yoga, archery, climbing, roller sports, fencing and handball projects all featuring.
Claire Lee, Strategic Lead for Children and Young People, who led on the delivery of the OSF programme for APNO said: “We couldn’t be prouder of what has been achieved through the Opening School Facilities programme. To open up school facilities to so many pupils and community users, especially those who have traditionally faced barriers to being physically active, has been remarkable.
“I’m in no doubt that the success of the programme has been due to the fantastic partnership which has been established between consortium members and because of the strong relationships that Active Partnerships across our network have been able to establish with schools in their local area. They’ve used their local knowledge and expertise to really make this programme work.”
Thanks to the hard work of the consortium, the local Active Partnerships and the schools themselves, despite the funding for the programme ending in March, some of the projects created by the programme will continue to operate, allowing even more people to take part in physical activity sessions.
The Opening School Facilities programme spanned three academic years, running from January 2023 until March 2025, and it was implemented by a consortium of partners.
These partners, including the Active Partnerships National Organisation (APNO), StreetGames, ukactive and Youth Sport Trust, worked alongside the 42 local Active Partnerships who, using their local knowledge, approached schools who they felt would benefit most from the funding.
Emily Reynolds, Director Children and Young People for Youth Sport Trust, said: "It has been fantastic to see OSF create rich participation opportunities for schools and communities, shaped by local needs and informed by youth and community voices. The real strength lies in the partnerships built both nationally and locally, with stakeholders aligning strategically and building on strong relationships across schools, Active Partnerships, School Games Organisers, local NGB sports clubs, and an increasing range of community sport environments.”
Jane Shewring, Place Director for StreetGames, said: “StreetGames is proud to have played a key role in the Opening School Facilities programme, helping to unlock school spaces for young people and communities who often face the greatest barriers to being active. Through our Youth Voice consultation sessions, we engaged young people typically less involved in sport to shape activities that reflected their interests, needs, and realities.
“By connecting schools with community partners and supporting workforce development through our Training Academy, we helped create more inclusive, youth-led provision that will leave a lasting legacy. The OSF programme has shown the power of collaboration and community insight in making sport and physical activity more accessible to all.”
Huw Edwards, CEO of ukactive, said: “The Opening School Facilities programme was a great success and helped get hundreds of thousands of children active. Despite this, the programme has not been extended by the Government, which is frustrating for the physical activity sector.
“The decision to not continue programmes like this means young children have more limited access and opportunities to get active and experience the physical, mental and social benefits of physical activity.
“The Government needs to take advantage of the leisure and sport facilities which are available and ready to support programmes like OSF. In light of this decision, the Government must continue working with the sector to find new ways to support young people and get them more active.”
Major learnings from the programme will now be shared with the Department for Education and other Government departments to determine any next steps for the development of this project. The insight the report and partners can provide is considered to be very timely following the recent Government announcement on a new approach to school sport.
It is hoped that this insight will be effectively utilised to help inform the new long-term strategic approach and to ensure that programmes like OSF can continue to support the activity levels of children and young people across the UK.
The final Opening School Facilities report is available now.
