Who are we?

We are the Parents Staff Association for the wonderful Chestnuts Primary School, Haringey, North London. This 2 form entry school offers a happy and engaging learning environment for 420 children from 3 to 11 years old. Our school serves a diverse population and brings together people from around the world with a range of languages spoken by the school community. 

The Parent and Staff Association (PSA) is a group of committed parents and members of staff who are determined to raise funds to be able to support the children's education as well as offering them enriching, exciting experiences.  

Why do we need your help?

Many of you may already know about the recent decommission and removal of the play equipment in our Key Stage 2 (KS2) playground. This has left our children missing valuable play environment. This is why we need your help!

We need your help and support in our current campaign to raise funds to build a small Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) to replace the play equipment which has been decommissioned and removed from the KS2 playground. A MUGA is a fenced area with a 2G multisport synthetic surface. This surface maximises the number of sports we can use the space for. It is an efficient way to offer excellent sports facilities for a school on our limited site. The fence surround contains the area for sports while allowing play in the remainder of the playground. 

The proposed MUGA will be approximately 180m2 (10m by 18m) and will have ground markings for both football and netball. This will offer a small but very valuable sports facility in this area. We recognise that a larger facility would be desirable but it is important for the school to also maintain space to play in the KS2 playground. The exact location and orientation of the MUGA within the playground is still to be decided.

We need to raise £20,000 to add to the funding already in place in order to be able to build this MUGA this summer. 

How will it benefit the School?

This MUGA will be of benefit to the children attending Chestnuts Primary School by improving their sports facilities and increasing activity. Sport and physical activity is so important for all children. Sport and physical activity has been shown to improve self esteem, develop team work, social skills and leadership skills and to be protective for mental health. It is important that physical activity is included within the school day and for schools to have the equipment and facilities to promote it because it has been shown to reduces stress and improve concentration within lessons.

How will it benefit the Community?

Chestnuts Primary School is at the heart of our local community. By developing excellent sports facilities at the school we are also increasing the access for all members of our community to access a range of sports and to benefit from the improved health and well being outcomes associated with this. 

This MUGA will be of benefit to the wider community as it will be available for external organisations and individuals to hire it when it is not in use by the school - opening the way for more opportunities for sport within our local community.

We are in contact with community organisations who are keen to use this facility including as a training space for both girls and boys football teams which are forming at the moment. 

A local personal trainer is interested in using the facilities to offer opportunities to adults for increasing activity and improve fitness. 

The Markfield Project (www.markfield.org.uk), a local inclusive community hub targeting support at families with a disabled child, has expressed interest in using the facilities. We are excited about the building this link to benefit the community and specifically populations with more limited access to sport. 

The Health@theHut project, run by the Bridge Renewal Trust based at Chestnuts Community Centre, has the aim of increasing activity, reduce isolation, promote health and well being. They regularly organise free community activities and would like to use facilities at the school in the future. 

The overwhelmingly positive response and levels of interest in the MUGA demonstrate a lack of affordable, local, high quality sports pitches in our area.

How can you help up?

We need to raise £20,000 to be able to build the MUGA this summer. 

Every contribution big or small is so appreciated by the School and PSA and each one takes us one step closer to being able to build the sports facilities our children deserve.

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a donation. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fundraising page joined to this one - give us a shout and we will guide you through it!

We appreciate any contribution big or small and we know that together we can make sure our children and the community can have the facilities they need.