Ossett School - Wakefield

Case study
Consultation with teenage girls
Ossett School - Wakefield

Proludic were invited in to discuss with the Head Teacher, Director of PE, Head of Technology and a group of 12-15 year old girls how to meet this target and to improve the opportunities to exercise within the school and local community.

The financial investment for a MUGA is high and their experience of this facility was that of
being exclusive, territorial and not the worthwhile investment originally thought and so were keen to look at alternative solutions. They explored the benefits of the MUSA concept which provides the opportunity for after school activity for all students but particularly targets teenage girls by creating an open access fitness provision.

The school identified that the MUSA facility could potentially tie into KS3 and KS4 Physical
Education and Technology curriculum supporting key objectives and learning outcomes.

The Head of Technology also thought it would be a fantastic opportunity for her curriculum in terms of students studying manufacturing processes and composition of materials to create fit for purpose products. This process will support the Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) initiative.

A consultation involving ten girls aged between 12 and 15 from the school took place in the Spring of 2009 in their local park. They were then taken to a MUSA site to get their views on the benefits, fun factor & whether they would use these facilities locally and if so why.
Following the consultation, Ossett School agreed that this was something that would enhance their reputation as a leader in innovative ways of working with their pupils and enhancing their school life experience.
The Head is also keen to roll the concept out to their feeder primary schools which ties in with the government initiative to target under 11â??s with the healthy lifestyles message before they become subject to obesity issues. The school are now looking to increase the 15k pot they have readily available and are planning to site the MUSA in the park across the road from the school so that the students can use it out-of hours.

Possible funding sources include, working with a Schools Sport Partnership Manager, local Primary Care Trust (PCT) Physical Activities Team, accessing funds through Building Schools for the Future (BSF).

Watch the MUSA video