Abbeyfields First School

We are a large first school who work closely with numerous groups in our locality to broaden and embed community links. We hire our facilities to a number of these groups including Morpeth Baptist Church, Grass Roots Gym, Morpeth Sporting Football Club, Rainbows, Brownies, Busy Bees Street Dance, Keep Fit, Tennis and Football Skills. Residents from throughout the Morpeth area attend these many and varied activities and we take pride in our role as facilitators of collaboration and teamwork. Many of these groups use our equipment as well as facilities as they can’t afford to provide their own, and would be unable to operate without our support.  A recent safety inspection recommended the replacement of 6 of our PE mats which are torn and deteriorating due to general wear and tear – these are used on a weekly basis by Grass Roots and Keep Fit and periodically by Rainbows and Brownies. As is the case in all schools, our budget is seriously challenged and an unexpected additional expenditure of £300 to replace these mats will be difficult to find. We would prefer not to ask for a contribution from the groups in question as they work very hard to keep their costs to a minimum in order that their activities are affordable for as many children as possible. We would therefore like to apply for a £250 grant to go towards the cost of the mats which will ultimately enable activities for the children to continue unhindered.