SAVE OUR ASTRO PITCH! CROWDFUNDER

Aim

Help us with our final fundraising push for resurfacing the multi use Astro pitch used by 600 pupils and the local community.

A Further Update!

We are so grateful to everyone who has supported this Crowdfunder and we are delighted to have reached almost £12,000. Your generosity has allowed us to move forward and replace the Astro in time for the new academic year. We have just 16 days to go before the Crowdfunder ends, so if anyone hasn’t yet donated and would like to, please donate by Friday 11 August! The extra funding received will go towards providing better lighting and fencing solutions around the Astro facility. Don’t forget there are several rewards to choose from (see below) when you make a donation so why not reward yourself in the process! 

• Sponsor 1 square metre of Astro
• Bottle of Wine (Over 18s only)
• 10% Discount at Sheen Sports
• 1hr Property Consultation with Hero Preston
• 10% Discount at LADAK on Framing
• 10% off 10 Class Pass at Yogahub
• NSSport Kit

Thank you again to all who have helped us achieve our goal.

An Update!

The East Sheen fair took place on Saturday and we have to say there was a brilliant reaction by the parents and local community to the Astro Crowdfunder. We have now surpassed our target of £10,000 which includes a £3000 donation from Sport England which is incredible. We are still in need of donations so we can stretch the fundraising pot to update the fencing and provide better lighting facilities around the Astro. So, if you’ve not yet donated to this cause please do - we can create an even better facility we can offer for everyone to enjoy.  Any donation amount (big or small) will help us achieve our goal, so keep on donating!

Why are we crowdfunding?

This little green haven is the main sports and playing field for 600 primary school children, and one of the favourite parts of the school’s fantastic outdoor facilities. It is used day in and day out for sports and play by pupils and the local community, as well as for wrap-around care for working parents. Out of school hours, it is open for community use where it is enjoyed by local sports teams, for holiday activities, and for community fairs which is illustrated in this video.

A resurfaced Astro pitch will enable us to attract further sport providers and clubs to use this facility out of school hours which will help build more community ties and promote social diversity and inclusion.

The amazing East Sheen school community has already raised just over £65,000 to replace the Astro pitch which is in much need of levelling and resurfacing. We are hoping for a final push for a further £10,000 (+plus match funding) to do the work this summer in readiness for September 2023.

How we’ll spend the money raised

The money raised will be spent on levelling and resurfacing the Astro pitch providing an area which can be used by the children and local community whatever the weather.

Community Impact

As a community, we encourage outdoor sports and learning as much as possible for the health and mental well-being of our children and local neighbourhood. After the pandemic, it is more vital than ever to encourage outdoor play and sports. We are lucky to have such great outdoor space at East Sheen Primary which is easily accessible via the frequent bus services that run along the Upper Richmond Road West, as well as the nearby stations at Barnes Bridge and Mortlake. Our pupils have benefitted hugely from the current Astro facility in place, but with an improved resource we can attract more external sports providers to the area. The resurfaced Astro will provide a multi-purpose, soft surface area which will meet the needs of so many children and adults locally.

What will be the impact of resurfacing the Astro?

Aims:

• Expand the quantity of school lessons outside
• Extend the use of the facility to a wider audience 
• Increase usage by the local community, children and external providers 

Outcomes:

• Raise fitness levels of pupils which improves health and well-being
• Raise fitness of adults living in the local community
• Increase cooperation with local sports clubs and external providers
• Increase the usage for other children in the community 

How our project will be united by Birmingham 2022?

The Astro pitch is an essential part of the East Sheen community, to not have this facility in operation would have a huge impact. Our recent successes at the London Youth Games in Athletics, Cricket, Girls Football and Tag-rugby over the last few years have inspired the next generation of pupils to take part and complete in the wide range of sports offered at the school. We believe these accolades have been achieved as a result of the Astro area being accessible for pupils to train and participate in match play and practice. The School is currently a "Gold Award" holder for the School Games. These awards cover Participation, Competition, Workforce, and Clubs. We are aiming towards “Platinum” status within the next year which would be an outstanding achievement. Birmingham 2022 was a brilliant platform for the East Sheen children and community to get behind which inspired so many to engage with sport again after the pandemic. We want to create a long lasting legacy for everyone in East Sheen to take part in sports and remain active using the Common Wealth Games legacy through our Astro facility.  

During the school holidays primary school children from all across Richmond can access a holiday activities programme at East Sheen delivered by an external provider to support working parents. This is a fantastic way for children of all backgrounds, ethnicities and genders to come together, form friendships, build confidence, and try a wide range of sports and activities which they would not normally have exposure to. As a result, children follow on to join football, netball, basketball, and rugby clubs which helps keep kids active in their early years and provide a good grounding for a future active life.  In addition, the programme also benefits the local community by providing jobs for local people. More recently, the provider engaged in the HAF programme which supports disadvantaged children living in the local neighbourhood during the holiday periods. 

The school already has exceptional after school sport participation rates with over 75% of the female cohort accessing sport, especially in girls football. This is an incredible achievement in itself after Women in Sport recently released new research called "Sport, Stereotypes and Stolen Dreams" that focuses on girls aged 5-11 years, and looks at why girls still feel they don’t belong in sport.  The school's after school sports clubs are provided by an external provider who utilise the Astro during the week for PE lessons, wrap around care and organised sports fixtures with local schools. They also deliver football training sessions on Tuesdays and Thursday evenings for both boys and girls who live in the Richmond Borough as a pathway to begin their footballing journeys. A further external provider, often use the Astro during the summer months to deliver karate lessons to pupils before school begins. 

We have a number of adult football teams who access the Astro for training purposes such as ESPS Phoenix Women's team (below) who play in a Surrey FA women’s flexi league. These women are all mums who started the team back in 2014 to learn a new skill and compete. The team ethos is all about inclusivism, fitness and fun. They are role models for the young girls in the East Sheen community and is one of the reasons why we have such a high number of girls taking part in sport. 

Our community also like to fundraise for other causes by taking part in the Tough Mudder Challenge.  Our facility was used to deliver a 4 week training session to prepare adults, youths and children for this demanding, team-orientated task. These sessions brought together over 50 people with the sole aim to complete the challenge and raise as much money as possible for their chosen charities, many of which remain in contact today. 

We have been actively fundraising to replace the Astro in time for the new academic year (Sept 2023), yet we cannot reach the amount needed in time without the help Crowdfunder and Match Funding.  It has been estimated that the cost to level and resurface the Astro is around £85,000.  As you can appreciate costs are ever increasing, and we're fearful if another year goes by the cost of the works will be further out of our reach. 

How you can play your part?

Crowdfunding is a great way of helping us to achieve our goal as it encompasses the community spirit of getting together to make a difference. Every £1 donated is going to help us get closer to our goal and is more appreciated than you could ever imagine! There are plenty of rewards up for grabs from the local shops and community, so be sure to take a look and claim those whilst stocks last! There will be 600 little feet stomping and playing on a safe and accessible surface for the next decade! 

Please PLEDGE YOUR DONATION and spread the word to your friends, family and business contacts by email and social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp etc).  

Thank you for your support.

East Sheen Primary School PTA

This project successfully funded on 11th August 2023