The Mill Primary Academy's OSF holiday club set-up
Introduction
The Mill Primary Academy is a large primary school in Ifield, Crawley, with 522 pupils aged 4-11. Insight shows that Ifield is a deprived part of Crawley, and this is reflected in the school’s four percent higher-than-average take-up of free school meals, with 23 percent of pupils receiving them.
At the school, 13 percent of pupils have special educational needs, three percent less than the national average. 58 percent of pupils are White British, compared to 68 percent nationally. The percentage of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be English at The Mill is 63.4 percent, almost 20 percent lower than the national average for primary schools.
Over the past three years, The Mill Primary Academy has successfully used funding from the Opening School Facilities (OSF) initiative to run holiday sports camps for children. The camps aim to address the needs of deprived regions, targeting ethnically diverse communities and girls through consultation and activities.
Led by assistant headteacher Matt Eagle and supported by deputy headteacher Chris Noble, the initiative has provided children with structured activities during school holidays, fostering engagement, physical activity, and social development. This case study explores the project’s implementation, challenges, and successes.
Project implementation
Initially, the funding was used to enhance the school’s sports equipment, focusing on gymnastics, basketball, and football. These sports were selected based on student preferences gathered from a questionnaire sent to parents where children could choose what sports/activities they’d like to see, as well as listening to pupil voice at the camps, in PE lessons, and in existing after-school clubs.
Once the necessary equipment was in place, the school launched holiday camps, using established community connections to bring in qualified coaches. The structure of the camps has remained largely consistent over the years:
Matt said: “We’ve got a really good relationship with a local parkour club – Crawley Parkour – which is down the road from us here, and they’ve worked with us for years and years. It’s always so popular.”
And he said of the arts and crafts: “We just didn’t want to restrict it as we see it in school with lunch times there is a group of children who are really against football, or whatever it may be. So I didn’t want us to put those off from attending.”
Engagement and inclusivity
The camps have attracted a core group of 20-30 regular attendees, with another 20-30 children joining based on availability and word-of-mouth recommendations. They also then get 10-12 children who have not attended before. To ensure inclusivity, the school has worked to accommodate children who might not typically engage in sports, offering a variety of activities and maintaining a welcoming environment.
Sustainability
Recognising the programme’s success, The Mill Primary Academy has taken steps to sustain it beyond the initial OSF funding. Strategies include:
Through its membership in the TKAT Academy Trust, The Mill Primary Academy has extended promotional efforts across its six local primary schools, ensuring strong participation and sustained interest in the programme.
Community impact and long-term benefits
The initiative has delivered multiple benefits for students and families, particularly for vulnerable pupils who benefit from structured activities during school holidays. Beyond providing entertainment, the camps have:
Matt said: “During this time, I’ve been trying to use the model of the OSF to open up our school to weekend lettings. We now have a couple of providers using our site regularly.
“It’s meant that by opening up the school, we are making use of our school site because historically, we would have had massive periods of the year when it was just not used on holidays or weekends.”
The impact of OSF funding
Matt said: “The biggest thing for me is the children we’ve had with us. There’s been a real mix across the school, but we have had some of our most vulnerable pupils attend who we really feel benefit from doing something purposeful in the holidays.
“They have been coming here, doing some sport and socialising, which has helped our families and, first and foremost, has helped the children.
“They have enjoyed it, and it’s given more opportunities.
“We’ve had endless amounts of children who have gone on to do some of the sports they took part in at our camps outside of school. That’s been a real highlight for me.”
Conclusion
The Opening School Facilities initiative has had a transformative impact at The Mill Primary Academy. By effectively utilising funding, building community partnerships, and implementing a sustainable model, the school has created a valuable resource for students and families.
This programme addressed the needs of deprived regions, such as children from ethnic minority communities, those from areas of deprivation or those who receive free school meals (FSM) – all areas that are highlighted in Active Sussex’s Diversity and Inclusion focus in the Getting Sussex Moving five-year strategy.
The programme’s success highlights the importance of accessible, structured activities during school holidays, with long-term benefits extending beyond the school grounds and into the wider community.
Other OSF Projects
This is one of several programmes that took place in Crawley as part of the OSF programme.
Other OSF programmes in Crawley included:
St Wilfrid’s Catholic College: Fitness, first aid, parkour and hockey
Holy Trinity: Football, dance, rugby and holiday camps
Thomas Bennett: Parkour, netball and basketball
Ifield Community College: Netball, multi-sport, keep fit, and sixth-form leadership
All these programmes focused on encouraging children and young people from ethnically diverse communities and those entitled to free school meals to participate.