School Playing Fields: Planning and Design Guidance - VicSport

In some locations, playing fields might requirerobust boundary fencing to ensure the safety andsecurity of users or the protection of facilities.For safe play, pitch layouts should includeadequate run-off margins around the playingareas, especially between adjacent pitches.Where pitches are to be located adjacent toroads, buildings or adjacent property, largerclearances may be required.For safety reasons, and to minimise any possibledamage to pitches, the position and orientationof shot, discuss, javelin and hammer throwingareas must be carefully chosen.If any facility is to be floodlit, care needs to betaken to ensure that light spill does not causea hazard or inconvenience to neighbouringproperties. Issues such as noise, access andparking should also be considered in relation toany sensitive neighbouring properties, particularlyif intensive community use is envisaged. Earlydiscussion with the local planning authority mayassist in identifying the most appropriate locationfor all-weather and floodlit facilities within the site.Other activitiesSchool playing fields also have the potential tooffer other activities to those pupils who do notengage well with the traditional pitch sports. Anarea for cycle skills development should beprovided, perhaps utilising those areas unsuitablefor use as sports pitches. School grounds canalso provide an excellent area for introductoryorienteering and provision of a permanent markercourse should be considered as teachers havelimited time to set courses before lessons.Primary schoolsPlaying field requirements in primary schoolshave changed a great deal in the past 20 to 30years. A decline in the number of male primaryschool teachers meant a correspondingreduction in the level of primary school football,and curricular and other pressures have meant adecrease in other sports programmes. Morerecently, increased emphasis on healthy lifestyleshas led to the introduction of a number ofnational and local measures intended toencourage primary school children to be moreactive. The growth in small-sided versions ofpitch sports has significant implications for pitchrequirements. Unfortunately, in many primaryschools, the level and quality of provision for PEand sport has been poor and it has been difficultfor schools to properly adopt and implementvarious national and local initiatives as a result.To meet both curricular and extra-curricular needs,a primary school site should have access to:• hard surface areas for play, informal socialpurposes, assembly and physical educationand sport;• informal social areas;• landscape and habitat areas; and• playing fields.Playing fields for primary schools are muchsmaller than those of secondary schools and arenormally based on multi-purpose facilities. Muchof both curricular and extra-curricular activity willbe informal. Formal games will, for the most part,be small-sided or ‘mini’ versions of the sportsplayed at secondary schools.sportscotland’s recommended unit of provisionis a small multi-purpose SGP. A pitch of around60m x 40m (plus safety margins of 2m on allsides) will be suitable for PE, small-sided sportsand informal activity. If only grass playing fieldsare provided, a similarly sized pitch will berequired for each stream at a school, with safetymargins increased to 3m and the provision of a6m wide lateral strip to allow the pitch to bemoved to reduce wear and tear. Any such grasspitches must be well-constructed and wellmaintainedto accommodate the required levelsof use – at present, most primary school grasspitches do not meet this quality threshold.As with secondary schools, the School PremisesRegulations apply. Local authorities should ensurethat their playing field provision is compliant.Model pitch layoutsThe following drawings (overleaf) illustrateoptimum layouts for a range of playing fieldsizes. They assume a level, regularly shapedsite is available – although in reality this is notalways the case. Designers may therefore haveto adapt layouts accordingly but should stillapply the same principles in respect of pitchorientation, positioning of synthetic surfacesand provision for summer games. One or moresynthetic pitches should be added to theselayouts as required, ideally positioned closeto the PE and changing block.For detailed advice on pitch markings referto sportscotland’s Pitch and Court MarkingsTechnical Digest. This was updated in 2006and can be downloaded free of charge fromwww.sportscotland.org.ukSchool Playing Fields 36School Playing Fields 37