School Playing Fields: Planning and Design Guidance - VicSport

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Figure 11: Optimum pitch provision for rangeof secondary school sizes.Pitch Pitches to Min. arearequirement be provided required (ha)1 Grass Football Size 1 0.92 Grass Football Size 1 1.8Rugby Size 13 Grass Football Size 1 and 2 2.5Rugby Size 14 Grass Football Size 1 and 2 3.2Rugby Size 1 and 21 SGP SGP (Multi-Purpose) 1.71 Grass Rugby Size 11 SGP SGP (Multi-Purpose) 2.52 Grass Football Size 1Rugby Size 11 SGP SGP (Multi-Purpose) 3.23 Grass Football Size 1 and 2Rugby Size 11 SGP SGP (Multi-Purpose) 3.94 Grass Football Size 1 and 2Rugby Size 1 and 22 SGP SGP (Football) 4.54 Grass SGP (Hockey)Football Size 1 and 2Rugby Size 1 and 2The above recommendations are based on atypical balance between pitch sports, with footballthe most popular activity and all hockey takingplace on synthetic grass. Other factors to bear inmind are as follows:• For schools which concentrate more on hockeyor rugby, changes to the mix of pitches (althoughnot to the overall numbers) may be required.This is most likely to be applicable to schoolsconcentrating on rugby, with one or more ofthe football pitches being replaced by rugby.• If shinty is played, one or more of the grassfootball or rugby pitches should be replacedby a shinty pitch. When marking an U12 orU14 9-a-side pitch on a full-size pitch, centreit on the same spot with the goal line runningthrough the penalty spot of the full-size pitch.• Club hockey is almost wholly played onsynthetic grass and only where a second SGPis provided is there a real opportunity to furtherincrease hockey provision.• For those schools with a strong hockeyprogramme the SGP may be predominantlyor even wholly for hockey use although it will inmost cases still make sense to ensure that theSGP is suitable for a range of school activities.Minimum areas required for pitchprovisionThe minimum area required for each level of pitchprovision is simply the total area taken up by thepitches, their safety margins and a 9m strip alongone side to allow lateral movement of the pitchto reduce wear and tear at the most heavily usedareas. Although there is some flexibility in pitchdimensions and the lateral strip (not in the safetymargins), in many cases the shape andtopography of the site will mean a larger area isneeded to provide the required number of pitches.In addition, multi-courts or hard-surfaced playareas will require further space. These facilitiesshould not be considered as teaching spacesbut can make an important contribution toinformal physical activity by pupils, therebyreducing wear and tear on the grass pitches.If cricket is played, the provision of a syntheticwicket or grass cricket square, perhaps insertedbetween winter sports pitches and using part ofthem as the outfield, will require yet further spacealthough this option may restrict the flexibility ofthe playing fields, especially on smaller sites.Siting of playing fieldsThe siting of playing fields is important andshould be decided at an early stage in theplanning of a school. There are a number offactors that should be taken into considerationas follows:• Access• Topography• Gradients• Orientation• Flexibility• Training areas• Seasonal layouts• Safety and convenience• Other activitiesAccessMany school pitches and courts are used by thecommunity and there should be a clearly identifiedroute from the school entrance or car park to bothchanging facilities and to the playing facilitiesthemselves. The entrance and reception area willbe the principal means of controlling the facility andthe activities taking place. The relationshipbetween this area and the main school entrancemust be carefully planned to ensure that securityand child protection issues are properly addressed.There should be easy access from the physicaleducation block/changing facilities to the outdoorpitches and courts. Where possible, this should bevia an area of hard surface playground or properlysurfaced paths. Routes to natural grass pitchesshould not cross other games areas, particularlySGPs and MUGAs, in order to avoid mud beingdeposited on them. For the same reason, accessroutes to SGPs and MUGAs should not involvecrossing over natural grass areas.All access routes should be designed with therequirements of disabled users in mind and shouldcomply with the requirements of the DisabilityDiscrimination Act. Planning of the school siteshould consider the possible need for emergencyvehicle access and the access and storagerequirements of maintenance plant and vehicles.TopographyThe topography of a playing field site is animportant consideration. The larger and flatterthe playing field, the more flexible it will be.Construction costs can be minimised if cut and fillis limited. In the interests of safety, banks withgradients greater than 1:3 should be avoided.Steep banks can also cause drainage problemsfor the land at their base and scouring of surfaces.Gradients of grass playing surfacesTo aid surface drainage, a slight gradient acrossthe direction of play is desirable. Gradients of1:60 to 1:80 (a maximum of 1:40 if existinggradients are a constraint) across the line of playwill be suitable for winter games pitches and thecricket outfield. Pitches should be level alongthe line of play. Cricket squares should be level inthe direction of play although a maximumgradient of 1:100 is acceptable as is a crossgradient of 1:60 to 1:80.School Playing Fields 32School Playing Fields 33
Figure 12: Pitch orientation in relation to aspect.285ºW235º225ºBest commonorientation325º345ºSports pitches200ºReciprocal bearings areshown with a dashed lineNPractical limits for preferreddirection of play for all facilitiesHardcourtsandGrass360ºnetballStenniscourtstennisReciprocalbearings below165ºOrientationThe alignment of pitches and courts in relationto the sun should be considered. Given the longhours of use which school playing fields mightexperience it is not possible to alleviate allproblems of glare but proper orientation can helpto minimise them. Problems are caused not onlyby the early morning and evening sun but also bythe low angle of the winter sun throughout muchof the day. A playing direction of broadly NNW toSSE is desirable for most games and will ensurethat players will face the sun when it is at itshighest and least troublesome.20ºSource: National Playing Fields Association145º45º55ºE105ºPavillion should avoid the SWto NW aspect (225º-315º)In some circumstances, topography or the shapeof a site might prevent the ideal pitch orientationbeing achieved. In such cases, cost issues or theneed to provide a certain number of pitches maytake precedence over achieving the idealorientation in relation to the sun.The National Playing Fields Association (NPFA)has provided useful guidance on pitch orientation.FlexibilityGiven the many and diverse sports and activitieswhich might need to be catered for; the need toprovide for matches, practice and lessonsessions; the disparate age groups which mightneed to make use of the facilities and the highlevels of use which school playing fields have toaccommodate, it is essential that they are asflexible as possible. If care is not taken, artificialpitches and multi-courts can reduce the flexibilityof small sites by making it difficult to alter thepositions of pitches and preventing the layout ofathletics and cricket facilities.The greatest flexibility can be achieved by havinga large, flat, well drained site which allowspitches to be moved laterally or re-orientated toreduce wear. A large flat area will also make iteasier for an athletics track to be marked overwinter sports pitches in summer months.Training areasThe provision of practice or teaching areas aswell as formal pitch facilities can help to reducewear on natural grass pitches. If a school hasan artificial grass surface or MUGA this will beable to accommodate skills practice andcoaching needs but natural grass areas mayalso be desirable. The surfaces in the skillspractice areas for both football and hockeywould need to be level and true for maximumbenefit. Portable goals should be provided.Football goalkeeping and rugby tackling, lineouts and scrummaging practice cause significantwear and tear of natural grass surfaces and itwould be advantageous if dedicated practiceareas are also provided.Such skills practice areas might be located in‘dead’ areas on the perimeter of playing fieldsites or between pitches. Sites with a dedicatedcricket square are likely to have land betweenpitches which can be utilised for skills practicealthough care is needed in layout andprogramming of use to ensure that the cricketoutfield remains in an acceptable condition.Seasonal layoutsSummer and winter games facilities will normallyshare the same playing field area. Summer sportsfacilities such as a 400m athletics track, shintypitch and cricket outfield have greater spacedemands than individual winter sports pitchesand can best be accommodated on a large, flatarea of grass.Although sports have been identified as winterand summer activities, some may be playedthroughout the year, weather permitting.Furthermore, for younger pupils in particular,sports such as small-sided football and rugby,which might be considered to be winter sports,are increasingly played during the summermonths. Shinty is now played from March toJune and from August to November.The extension of the season of some sportshas made the multi-use of areas more difficultto achieve and it is important that activity spacesare laid out to ensure that conflicts betweenconcurrent uses of adjacent pitches andseasonal uses of the same pitch are avoided.If a running track is laid out over winter sportspitches, care should be taken to ensure thatwhere possible it (especially the home straightor sprints straight) avoids heavily worn areas likegoalmouths and the centre circle.The location of any spectators for wintergames must be carefully considered to avoidinterference with adjacent activities or damageto playing surfaces. This can be a particularproblem if pitches are located too close to cricketsquares (which should be fenced off over thewinter months).The location of athletics field event facilities andcricket and golf practice nets should reflect theneed for effective supervision and group teachingand should not hinder the layout or movement ofwinter sports pitches.Safety and convenienceCare needs to be taken to ensure that schoolplaying fields do not present hazards orinconvenience. Where possible, sharp gradientsnext to pitches and courts should be avoided,and constructed surfaces should not beundulating. Locating pitches close to boundaryfences can be dangerous if balls can stray ontoroads, footpaths and railway lines or intoresidential properties. Careful planning of thesite can minimise risks but in some cases itmight be necessary to install suitable fencing.School Playing Fields 34School Playing Fields 35
Page 9 and 10: sportscotland policy on theprotecti
Page 11 and 12: In primary schools, all of the abov
Page 13 and 14: Assumption 15: The playingcapacity
Page 15 and 16: Figure 4 continuedTotal playing fie
Page 17 and 18: Figure 8: Calculating the number of
Page 19: 1: Planning the siteSecondary Schoo
Page 23 and 24: Indicative model layout 1: football
Page 25 and 26: 2: Design criteria and technical sp
Page 27 and 28: Five different types of facility ca
Page 29 and 30: 3: Maintenance requirementsOnce the
Page 31 and 32: Polymeric surfaced facilitiesPolyme
Page 33 and 34: References andFurther ReadingA Guid
Page 35: For further information or advice,

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