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Costs of Schools Playground Safety Surfaces

Posted on by Elliot

Costs of Schools Playground Safety Surfacing can vary from job to job depending on access, dimensions and measurements for the desired play area. The next items that determine the costs, prices and quotes are the type of play area safety surface they require and also the purpose of the flooring.

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The quote could be for a number of safety surfaces including:

  • Rubber wetpour surfacing
  • Rubber mulch safety surfaces
  • Grass mats
  • Artificial turf

All the sub base and construction can vary for the specified product and this is where the design and specification need to be drawn up. If a sub base needs to be prepared, this will of course have an effect on the costs. The existing surface may need to be removed and replaced with a new porous base if it is not in a suitable condition. This is the kind of thing we will look at when putting together a quote for you.

Safety Surface Designs

We offer a number of products and these obviously come at different price points. A popular surface type for playgrounds is the wetpour rubber flooring which comes in many colours. The installation process for this can be quite in-depth if a sub base needs to be put down, or if multiple colours are required. These are things which can increase the costs of the product.

Another safety surface we commonly install is bonded rubber bark also known as mulch, which has a similar appearance to wood chippings. It is applied by mixing shredded rubber with a binder and applying it onto the chosen area. For this product, we don’t need to prepare a sub-base as it can be directly applied onto existing grass or muddy areas. This will of course reduce the overall price for the installation.

If you’re looking for a quick and simple installation, rubber grass mats are an option. These are tiles that are honeycomb-shaped with holes in them, and they will be installed on top of existing grass. Their purpose is to provide a softer landing surface around play equipment. However, they still allow you to keep the natural appearance as the grass simply grows through the holes.

These different specifications can all be tailor-made to suit each different client. Be sure to let us know if you have any specific preferences or requirements and we’ll do our best to match these.

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Dimensions of the Play Area

It goes without saying that it will cost more to apply surfacing to a large area as more materials will be needed and it will take longer to complete. However we also need to look at economies of scale, and this can change the price per square metre. Smaller areas can sometimes have a higher price per square metre because we still need to cover other costs such as travel.

With larger areas these expenses can be spread out, therefore reducing the cost per square metre. These are things we will always incorporate within our quote for each project.

Site Location Prices

The location of your project will also affect the costs of schools playground safety surfaces. This is because we will have to pay for travel and accommodation for our team who are completing the work. It will depend on how the work is scheduled and whether we are completing multiple projects in the same area. This is just another thing we need to account for when putting a quote together.

Play Equipment Safety

There are plenty of playground equipment contractors and suppliers in the UK who can supply different products. Some of the most common would be:

  • Swings
  • Slides
  • Multi-units
  • Jungle gyms
  • Trim trails
  • Roundabouts
  • Rope bridges

It’s important to appreciate the value of play equipment and get the most out of it at your school or nursery. These products are designed to improve children’s fitness and physical skills so they offer many benefits.

Beneath these structures is where the safety surface needs to meet the BS EN standards for the Critical Fall Height (CFH) and Head Injury Criteria (HIC) test. We can install specialist HIC play surfacing to meet these requirements and ensure maximum safety for children.

Depending on the particular CFH for the equipment, different depths of the surface will be required. The higher the fall height, the greater the depth of the surface will be and therefore the higher the cost.

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Get a Quote

If you have any queries or need a quote on the following please contact our team through the form on this page. We will take into account all the factors regarding your project to ensure the best possible price. Make sure to give us as much detail as possible including area size and location so we can give an accurate pricing estimate. The costs of schools playground safety surfaces are different for every project but we’ll do our best to make it affordable for you.

How to Encourage Phonics Learning on the Playground

Posted on by Elliot

Phonics learning is an incredibly important part of every child’s education. Literacy skills, learned at an early age, can help children understand the world around them a little easier. What’s more, the younger we start to learn about letters and numbers, the sooner we are able to start developing further skills.

Children who get to grips with phonics early on in life will have more opportunities waiting for them as they grow into young adults and beyond. Phonics lessons and checks don’t have to be restricted to the classroom, either.

With the right markings and zones, you can even encourage phonics education at play. It’s all down to using the right markings and encouraging children with fun, creative activities!

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Playground Letter Markings

Playground letter markings can be used to help children understand and appreciate the written and spoken alphabet while at play. You’ll be able to arrange games and activities around the 26 letters of the alphabet, and children will also be able to explore them on their own under supervision.

Encouraging children to learn while at play – outside of the classroom environment – can be very rewarding. What’s more, it is hugely beneficial to their development in reading skills and other areas. You can create games involving letter sounds helping children to read words and pronounce them.

Playground letter markings can be applied either via weather-resistant, wetpour rubber surfacing or through thermoplastic markings. The thermoplastic shapes can be scribed directly onto the traditional tarmac. While surfacing and marking of years gone by would flake and fade over years of use, these modern standards are designed to weather the years to come.

Paint and mark your playground in bright, bold lettering to a template or to your own design. Encourage children to explore the written and spoken word while they play. It won’t feel like a lesson at all – for them, that’s the best part!

Reading and Storytelling Areas

Kids love stories, and adults love telling them! Why not take your pupils outside of school on a clear day for storytime in the playground! Play areas don’t just have to have designated zones for physical play.

They can also have areas and plots painted out where you can encourage quiet listening or even interactive storytelling. Once again, it’s all down to how you mark the area.

With modern playground markings and surfacing, you can encourage this form of phonics education by designing a themed area of your playground, or by clearly marking it with vibrant writing and cute characters. To really appeal to kids, you could also install themed seating or toys which can help to bring the magic of storytelling alive.

Setting up a reading and storytelling area for children is all about encouraging kids to use their imagination, even when they are out of the classroom. What’s more, storytime areas encourage phonics education – you can encourage children to join in on stories, to feedback, or even to tell their own tales.

This area of phonics focuses on the forming of words and sentences, as well as, learning to read, the exploration of characters and other themes. You don’t have to set up anything too complex! Kids love simple fun.

Check out National Storytelling Week to learn more about these activities for your school!

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Mark Making Equipment

If there’s one thing children love doing, it’s making their mark. Blend phonics and the creative desire together with outdoor toys and equipment. You could set up your school playground space with blackboards, chalkboard paint and magnetic letters. You could lead active play sessions with phonics teaching thrown in!

What’s more, toys and tools which promote literacy can also be used safely with minimal supervision. Allow children to express themselves through words and stories and rhymes. Supplying children with the tools to write, read back and create is a great way to boost the phonics experience.

Not everyone learns well by reading from a book or a whiteboard. Lots of children prefer to learn by ‘doing’ – or by exploring ideas for themselves. Why not give them a helping hand? Mark making equipment may hold the answer.

Performance and Creative Games

A great way to encourage learning through fun is, of course, to create games. Games and activities involving words, guessing ideas, characters and themes, and performance, will help your pupils explore their own sense of creativity. What’s more, these games and activities offer safe, healthy ways for children to express themselves.

Phonics in the playground can be encouraged through designated dance or performance areas, along with toys and supplies which can be used to assist in building fun, non-competitive games. Once again, wetpour graphic designs and playground markings can help a lot. Markings, lettering and numbers will help young children to visualise ideas.

Older children will feel more at ease when it comes to exploring creative ideas and games. Therefore, the right markings, designs, letters and numbers should be able to encourage a wide array of children of all ages.

Whether children enjoy performing with words, music, dance or otherwise, the right stages, toys and tools can really help to boost their confidence. They can help to build phonics skills and gain knowledge of the English language, too.

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The Benefits of Learning Phonics Through Play

Most of us likely learned most of what we know through experience, and through doing things we enjoy. Children need a little extra help. Phonics is so essential at a young age, however, it can sometimes be tricky to encourage little ones to play along.

Through play, children can explore concepts of phonics and can learn new skills and ways to express themselves. With boundless energy and curiosity, they will be happy to engage with fun lesson plans and activities. Teaching and encouraging child development should never be restricted to stuffy classrooms and boring lesson plans.

Children love to play and to explore. You can encourage phonics development with the help of brilliant, colourful playground markings, and equipment and toys they will love to come back to again and again. You need to create a safe, fun and inspiring place where children can laugh, learn and grow.

Think carefully about how you are introducing children to phonics. Could you develop your playground to bring phonics into everyday play? Give it a try!

Macadam MUGA Painting in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Posted on by Elliot

At Soft Surfaces, we’re a specialist installer on Macadam MUGA’s in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire and are able to fit this surface nationwide.

In addition to installations, our team can also offer Macadam MUGA repairs services for existing polymeric MUGA surfaces within this location, so if you currently have a Macadam MUGA surfacing that needs either rejuvenating or resurfacing, feel free to get in touch with us.

For this particular blog post, we show off one of our Macadam MUGA painting installations that we carried out in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Below you can see the specific information for this install, as well as the video transcript describing the job in detail.

As always, if you are interested in any of our Macadam MUGA painting services that we offer throughout Cheltenham or the entire Gloucestershire area, feel free to get in touch with us for a free, no obligation quote today.

Macadam MUGA Painting in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

What was the specification? : Anti Slip Colour Coating to Existing MUGA

What colours were used? : Blue colour coating with white and yellow line markings

What was the size of the job? : 680m²

How long did the job take? : 4 Days on Site

What sub base was used? : Open Textured Macadam

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Anti Slip Colour Coating

The video below shows the application of anti slip colour coating paint onto a porous macadam sports surface for a multi use games area in Cheltenham.

Please see video transcript below:
(00:02) Hi, you guys. It’s Dan from Soft Surfaces here. On this video I’m going to be showing you a cleaning and colour coating at a school MUGA court in Cheltenham. Basically the existing sports surface, you can see it’s very built up with moss and algae, and it’s very worn out.
We then completely cleaned the macadam surface, ready for the painting to be applied. As you can see, that’s being applied there, with the after shot there. Here’s the completed anti-slip painting itself.
You can see this is used for multiple sports, and they’re able to be playing football, tennis, basketball, all these other sports, on this actual service itself, which is fantastic. (00:30) From doing lots of work in the Gloucestershire area over the years, we actually rank in Google for these key words: sports court cleaning in Cheltenham, paint my tennis court Gloucestershire, Cheltenham sports facility specialists, line marking and painting tennis surfacing, multi-use games area Gloucestershire, and lots more than that.
If you are interested in having a service like this provided, please find our website in the description of this video.
We do work nationwide, so we’re more than happy to provide you with the prices and specifications of the job you’re looking for based on your location. Thanks a lot for watching, guys. We hope to hear from you soon.

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Benefits of Macadam MUGA Painting in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Having a Macadam MUGA Painting Surface installed in the Cheltenham, Gloucestershire area has many benefits, these include the following:

Low Maintenance

Macadam MUGA surfacing are a virtually maintenance free surface and only need the occasional sweep and litter removal. Synthetic turf surfacing requires a lot more maintenance, but these are still only a fraction of the maintenance compared to a grass pitch.

Multi Sports Usage

MUGA’s can be used to host multiple sports, all on the same surface. Not only does this save money, but it’s perfect for clubs, such as those in inner city areas, that are short on space. This means that a MUGA pitch becomes a very affordable proposition for amateur sports clubs, as a number of different clubs can share the costs of the installation between them, and this massively reduces the cost.

All Weather Surface

Macadam MUGA surfaces can be used all year round, this is great for schools because teachers are still able to carry out P.E. lessons in the winter months without worrying massively about the children’s injuries.

Why Choose Us?

At Soft Surfaces our team have over 25 years experience installing Macadam MUGA Paintings in Cheltenham, as well as across Gloucestershire.

The team pride themselves on only using the highest quality materials for our works, and our hard working installers will work relentlessly to ensure Cheltenham Macadam MUGA paintings surface looks brilliant no matter the specification you desire.

Additionally, our team can take care of the maintenance of your surface post installation too, making the process of caring for your new Macadam MUGA Painting surface a breeze. Feel free to get in touch with us if this is something you would be interested in, and a member of our team will get back to you right away.

Other Gloucestershire Areas we Install Macadam MUGA Painting

At Soft Surfaces, we’re able to install Macadam MUGA Painting surfacing throughout the Gloucestershire area, including the following areas:

  • Macadam MUGA Painting Installation in Filton
  • Macadam MUGA Painting Installation in Stroud
  • Macadam MUGA Painting Installation in Yate
  • Macadam MUGA Painting Installation in Tewkesbury
  • Macadam MUGA Painting Installation in Kingswood

and any other surrounding areas.

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Interested in finding out more about anti slip painting and the various colours available? We can offer details on costs, designs and specifications to meet your individual needs and requirements. Please contact us now for a quote and more details on the maintenance process.

Coloured Asphalt Installation in Yetminster, Dorset

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At Soft Surfaces, we’re a specialist installer on coloured asphalt in Yetminster, Dorset and are able to fit this surface nationwide.

In addition to installations, our team can offer coloured asphalt repair services for existing coloured asphalt surfacing within this location, so if you have currently got a coloured asphalt surface that needs either rejuvenating or resurfacing, feel free to get in touch with us today.

For this particular blog post, we show off one of our coloured asphalt installations that we carried out in Yetminster, Dorset.

Below you can see the specific information for this install, as well as the video transcript describing the job in detail.

As always, if you are interested in any of our coloured asphalt services we offer throughout Yetminster or the entire Dorset area, feel free to get in touch with us for a free, no obligation quote today.

Coloured Asphalt Surfacing in Yetminster, Dorset Case Study

What was the specification? : Open textured macadam with acrylic anti slip coating.

What colours were used? : Green and red with different coloured linemarking.

What was the size of the job? : 912m²

How long did the job take? : 10 days on site

What sub base was used? : Macadam

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Macadam Sports Court

The video below shows the installation process of a coloured open textured macadam sports surface.

Please see video transcript below:
00:01 Hi guys. It’s Dan from Soft Surfaces here, and today we’re gonna be showing you a colored asphalt sports surface renovation. So here is actually the previous court. As you can see it’s very worn out. So what we then do is actually resurface that with the tarmac which you can see here. After that we then proceed to paint the surface itself, so this client actually specified a green and orange for this. And then after that, as you can see here, we’re applying the line markings there for the job to be finished. 00:23 So as you can see, here’s the completed sports court. They aimed for a multi-use games area with having the running track around the outside, and then obviously the sports facility in the middle, but these are highly customizable depending on your needs. 00:32 Here at Soft Surfaces, we have nationwide experience working on sports facilities across the United Kingdom. And as a result of this, we’re actually ranking in Google for these keywords: Best UK tarmacadam surfacing company, MUGA court resurfacing in England, Line marking services for sports surfaces, Asphalt flooring maintenance UK, Colourful multi-use games area installers, and even more than that. So if you have a sports facility that you’d like to have either installed or maintained, please find our prices and specifications in the description of this video on our link on our website. Thanks for watching guys and we hope to see you again soon.

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Benefits of Coloured Asphalt

Having a coloured asphalt surface installed in the Yetminster, Dorset area has many benefits, these including the following:

  • Cost Effective
  • Weatherproof
  • Eco-Friendly
  • Low Maintenance

Coloured Asphalt Surfacing Applications in Yetminster

A lot of our clients are often interested in what types of surfacing coloured asphalt can actually be used for, and the truth is, it’s an extremely versatile flooring type.

To give some examples, here are some applications that coloured asphalt can be used for in this area:

  • Coloured Asphalt Parks Yetminster
  • Coloured Asphalt Bike Paths Yetminster
  • Coloured Asphalt Walking Districts Yetminster
  • Coloured Asphalt Tennis Court Yetminster

Why Choose Us?

At Soft Surfaces, our team have over 25 years of experience installing coloured asphalt in Yetminster, as well as across Dorset in general.

The team pride themselves on only using the highest quality materials for our works, and our hard working installers will work relentlessly to ensure your Yetminster coloured asphalt surface looks brilliant no matter the specification you desire.

Additionally our team can take care of the maintenance of your surface once installed too, making the process of caring for your new coloured asphalt surface a breeze. Feel free to get in touch with us if this is something you would be interested, and a member of our team will get back to you straight away.

Other Dorset Areas we Install Colour Asphalt

At Soft Surfaces, we’re able to install coloured asphalt throughout the Dorset area, including the following areas:

  • Colour Asphalt Installation in Bournemouth
  • Colour Asphalt Installation in Poole
  • Colour Asphalt Installation in Weymouth
  • Colour Asphalt Installation in Christchurch
  • Colour Asphalt Installation in Ferndown

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For more information on coloured asphalt surfaces in the UK, please get in touch today and a member of our team can help with any questions you may have. We can help with MUGA court designs along with ideas on installation costs.

What Is a MUGA?

Posted on by Elliot

MUGA is an acronym for Multi Use Games Area, there are a wide range of different surface finishes and a variety of different sports and games that can be played.

Having the ability to play multiple sports in just one area comes with a great advantage foe schools and sports clubs so they can use each area to its full potential.

Although we are often asked the question ‘what is a MUGA?’, it is very difficult to answer this without finding more detail on the sports requirements. At Soft Surfaces, we pride ourselves on providing professional advice on the type of surface that would best suit your sports facility.

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MUGA Explained

Please see a video below which explains what a MUGA is and how they are used in the UK to accommodate many different sports.

Please see transcript below:

00:00 Hi, guys. It’s Dan from Soft Surfaces here, and today I’m going to be talking about what is a multi-use games area.

00:05 A multi-use games area, otherwise known as a MUGA, is a multipurpose facility designed to incorporate sports such as tennis, netball, basketball, football, and many other sports all into one actual surface itself. It enables people to essentially play all of those sports at different times, or at the same time on one actual facility.

00:22 Great thing with multi-use games areas is that they’re available in various different surface types, including polymeric, tarmacadam and artificial grass. And these different surface types categorize into different types of MUGAs, so there’s a type one, a type two, etc, and we can really explain that in more detail in a whole other video.

00:38 On top of that, you can actually have specifications with completely different colors and schemes, you can have your logo applied to the multi-use games area, and have completely different colors for different sports, if that’s what you’re willing to do. They’re completely customisable and available in lots of bespoke options for your needs.

00:52 We have lots of experience, over 20 years, in fact, of installing these facilities, so we feel like we have the knowledge, the know-how of how to advise you into having the correct facility for what your needs are. If you need to know anything more about multi-use games areas or what we do, please just contact us at http://softsurfaces.co.uk.

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MUGA Activity Area

Multi use games area with synthetic turf
Here are some of the MUGA surface finishes that are possible:

  • Tarmacadam- is a hard tarmac surface ideal for basketball/netball, football (5 a-side), tennis or hockey where a ball has to be able to bounce or role on a flat surface.
  • 2G – Is a compacted plastic pile filled with just sand. It provides a smooth flat surface for sports like hockey and football.
  • 3G – This is an hardwearing artificial grass that can have sand and rubber infill. These pitches are more useful for football and rugby. They can have shock absorbing properties to slide, fall and tackle on.
  • Polymeric – Is a 10mm layer of rubber granules with an EPDM structural spray coat to provide anti-slip capabilities. This is laid over tarmac to give a hard rubber surface which is great for tennis, basketball and netball.

Each surface has different capabilities to provide a different finish for each designated sport or game.

For more information on MUGA’s for schools, colleges, sports clubs, leisure centres etc. please get in touch today and we can provide more information on the different type of surfaces.

School All Weather MUGA Pitches

Posted on by Elliot

A lot of schools often have numerous pitches designated to different sports. This can take up a lot of room as well as being costly. A better solution to this issue is installing a Multi Use Games Area (or more commonly known as a MUGA) pitch.

Today’s blog will cover how school all-weather MUGA pitches are a much more viable option than installing multiple surfaces. The fact that these are weather resistant allows your students to get more playtime outside without the weather interfering with the quality of the surface.

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Multi Use Sports Pitch Designs

MUGA pitches are incredibly popular amongst schools for how they allow multiple sports to be played on them without requiring multiple pitches to be installed. They can be a cheap and more efficient way of allowing your pupils/members to take part in multiple activities. If you’re interested though, you will first have to pick a design. The most common multi use sports pitch designs include:

  • Tarmacadam – Popular in schools as it is relatively cheap to install, and a wide range of sports may be played on tarmac including Tennis, Netball and Basketball.
  • Polymeric – A rubberised hardcourt sport surface. We can apply anti-slip colour coatings to create additional grip and improve the overall look and playing qualities.
  • 3G – Perfect for sports like football and rugby with its shockpad installation and resilient surface.
  • 2G – Brilliant for sports like hockey as it allows for less friction on the ball and helps with its movement of it.
  • Needlepunch – Great for nurseries and primary schools with its softness and it still allows for multisport activities to take place on it.

Each of these different designs comes with unique benefits that can help your school/club appeal to its demographic. Make sure you check out each all-weather material in more detail to get more information about them.

Best Winter Sport Surfaces

Winter can be a hindrance to activities as the weather can ruin the surface and make it too dangerous to play any sports on. However, certain surfaces can handle the weather/season a lot better than other ones can. If you are planning on playing a lot of sports during the colder months, it’s important to know what the best winter sport surfaces are.

Synthetic grass is a good example. Unlike natural grass, the artificial carpet won’t become muddy and waterlogged during wet weather. Providing you apply the appropriate maintenance, these surfaces can withstand the cold and miserable winter months. View this post to find out more about the differences between real and fake grass.

Tarmacadam is another great surface to consider as winter approaches. Make sure that regular maintenance is performed on the surface by checking regularly for any wear and tear. Doing this will make sure that the court stays up to maximum performance and will avoid the winter doing any more damage. Tarmacadam can withstand this season quite well and will still allow activities to take place on top of it. Check out our range of sport surfaces here to see the different ones we offer.

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All Weather MUGA Sports Facilities

The all-weather MUGA sports facilities offer brilliant durability throughout the year. The list below shows how our surfaces handle different conditions without struggling:

  • Heat – Surfaces like synthetic grass don’t need water and therefore can survive the extreme heat without de-colouring or dying. With other surfaces, our paint is UV-resistant which means that the sun and heat won’t affect the colour of the material.
  • Rain – Too much rain can lead to grass pitches becoming flooded and muddy. However, all the surfaces are porous, which allows the rain to fall right through the surface and be drained properly. Puddles and soggy areas can’t be formed, and the surface can keep dry.
  • Ice – Incredibly dangerous, it can lead to many injuries occurring. These surfaces allow for de-icing products to be used meaning that ice won’t have a chance to form fully and become hazardous.

Weather is usually not an issue for these surfaces and they will still work at their optimum if they are maintained well and kept in great condition. School all-weather MUGA pitches are a great way to keep sport activities flowing without any disruption occurring. Children can also learn teamwork with MUGA pitches as they can play a range of sports.

Multi Use Games Areas for Schools

MUGA courts are a great solution for schools as they can be a cheap alternative to installing separate courts for all the different activities. They allow for a wide variety of sports to be played with no issue and don’t single out specific sports. Schools should see this as a viable option for their sports programmes as they can teach more sporting activities.

Check out our post on why schools choose artificial grass to learn more about the benefits and why these surface types work for school environments.

Below you can see a video showing our team installing a multi use games area in London:

Installing a Multi Use Games Area in your school with our team is easy peasy! With over 20 years of experience, Soft Surfaces Ltd can help you through any problems/questions you may have with any part of the process (ranging from the planning stage to the maintenance stage).

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Message us today to get some of the best quotes and answers in the industry! No matter how big or small the job is, we’ll make sure that the job gets completed to the best of our ability, resulting in high quality and high satisfaction.

MUGA Pitch Designs for Primary School

Posted on by Elliot

MUGA (Multi Use Games Areas) pitches are a modern solution to the current problem of this generation. Inactivity. MUGAs offer a chance for kids to take part in a wide variety of sports whilst the school can be relaxed knowing that their money isn’t being wasted on facilities never to be used. See this post which explains more about children’s inactivity and health.

This blog will talk more about MUGA pitch designs and the benefits these facilities have for primary schools and their pupils.

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Primary School MUGA Surfacing

Children in primary school are quite the energetic lot. Wanting to constantly be entertained and taking part in games, it can sometimes be quite the chore to get them entertained and occupied with an activity. In addition, kids at this age love variety and will want to take part in as many sports as possible to keep themselves busy and not bored.

MUGA pitches are a great way to counter this issue. Firstly, there are different types of flooring that we could install, and this allows you to cater for a specific group. A range of primary school MUGA surfacing options are available and we can provide more details on these.

Impact-absorbing shockpads may be installed underneath the court to minimize any injuries occurring if someone falls over on it. The surface feels incredibly soft and comfortable which creates a safer atmosphere for the kids, whilst not affecting any ball performance or sports. However, tarmacadam might be another surface you might want to consider.

Relatively cheaper to install, many schools like to go with this option as if you are creating a big MUGA pitch/court then it would be the most ideal for covering if finance is your biggest issue. The key thing to keep in mind is that all surfaces allow for line markings to be drawn on them, meaning the court can have multiple court linings done for different sports.

Multipurpose Sports Facilities

A lot of people tend to forget about multipurpose sports facilities and think that they are an ineffective method of dealing with encouraging children to do more sports. But, it seems to be the opposite. These types of facilities are great at promoting sport and funnily enough, promote more sports and get people more active. We can also supply sports court fencing to help protect the area.

A great point to remember is that these facilities can often save you a lot more time and money than installing a different area for each sport. They can also be a huge waste of money and time if the linked sport isn’t popular and you have wasted a large amount of space. Multipurpose sports facilities avoid this problem as all the different sports can be performed on one singular pitch/equipment without any fear of wasting money/time.

Over recent years, multipurpose equipment has become even more popular for schools and other organisations. Ofsted believes that these types of facilities are brilliant due to how they promote a healthier lifestyle and that they cater to all different sports instead of focusing on just one. It allows children who have different interests in sports to feel catered towards and more accepted.

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School MUGA Pitch Dimensions

Sometimes, planning out your MUGA pitch can be a bit of a nightmare since you may not know how big it should be. Well, no need to fear. With over 20 years of experience in the industry and the job, we can help you create the perfect pitch. The average school MUGA pitch dimensions for primary school children is around 26m x 16m but of course, you can alter this if you wish. View this page from Sapca to learn more about the dimensions for different sports you may want to play.

416m2 of area is plenty enough for primary school children due to their athletic abilities not being fully developed. This means that giving them a full-size football pitch or basketball court could be too much for kids at this age. So, by giving them a smaller area but keeping it big enough to be challenging, children will often find themselves taking part a lot more often and fully engaging with it.

Multi Use Games Areas for Schools

Requirements set by the National Curriculum and Ofsted have changed the way schools promote a healthier lifestyle and what kind of facilities they offer. Definitions of certain active events like running, jumping, balancing, dancing etc. have been more clearly defined and reports from Ofsted have revealed what are the most lacklustre parts of the sporting facilities schools have to offer.

All this new information has led to stronger developments and therefore, a lot of schools are focusing on MUGA pitches/courts for this reason. They perfectly meet the needs of both organisations whilst being entertaining and useful for students to use. In addition to this, many Multi Use Games Areas can be customised to meet the schools standard and reflect certain points.

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Different surfaces are available when it comes to multi use games areas for schools, with the most common choices being:

  • Tarmacadam – Most popular amongst schools for being the cheapest to install. See more details here.
  • Multisport Synthetic Turf – A soft outdoor carpet available in a range of colours which is very well-suited to primary age children.
  • 2G and 3G Pitches – More realistic than the other floorings, many high schools and leisure centres like to invest in these types of surfaces.

Line markings can also be added to your MUGA courts/pitches to illustrate the outlines of certain sports pitches so when using the facility, the children know which lines to use for which sport.

Different coloured lines can be selected to make certain courts stand out from each other, so children don’t have problems distinguishing them from each other.

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If you’d like to find out more about MUGA pitch designs for primary school facilities, get in touch with our team today. We’d be happy to discuss different specifications with you and offer a price for any work you need.

MUGA Construction Specifications and Costs

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We can provide information on a range of MUGA construction specifications and costs to suit every project. Multi-use games areas are versatile facilities that enable you to play a number of different sports, but with the need for only one surface or court. These surfaces are great for organisations such as schools or colleges where it is important to have a range of sports available, but you may not have a great deal of space to install individual facilities for each sport. Different designs can be installed to offer a range of performance qualities for every activity you want to play.

Please contact our team today if you are interested in the prices for building a MUGA facility at your school or club. We have a range of different options available so feel free to let us know exactly what you need. Just fill in your details using the contact box on this page and we’ll respond as soon as possible with some more information.

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Specifications For MUGA Construction

MUGA construction can come in a multitude of different specifications and dimensions to suit your organisation, every facility is built to meet the required accreditations of the relevant governing bodies including the FA and SAPCA, here are a few examples we can offer:

  • Polymeric Surfacing – This is made from a rubberised material which is great for sports like tennis and basketball as it has good ball bounce and slips resistance qualities to ensure good performance and safety characteristics. Polymeric surfacing is ideal for schools as its porosity means water drains through it which prevents flooding and allows the facility to be used in all weather conditions.
  • Macadam – This is a very popular MUGA material because it is durable and hard-wearing, an ideal surface for netball. Macadam MUGAs also have a porous surface to allow for good water drainage. A coating of coloured anti-slip paint can be applied to a tarmac court in order to create a bright design and enhance the playing qualities.
  • Artificial Grass – 2G and 3G turf surfaces are great for playing activities like football and hockey, these synthetic grass facilities can be constructed to a range of specifications including sand filled surfaces and all-weather pitches.
  • Multisport Synthetic Turf – An extremely versatile sports surface that can be used for almost any type of activity. The durable fibre bonded carpet is suitable for use with football, basketball, tennis, netball and other games and activities. With this specification, the design features curly yarn fibres as well as a sand infill to create a strong and sturdy playing surface.

Equipment and Extras For MUGAs

As an experienced sport surfacing contractor, we can install a range of extra equipment as well as provide you with services to help you get the most out of your multi-use games area. These can also be included within the MUGA construction specifications and costs when designing the project. Some of the additional products we can supply include:

  • Fencing – Rebound and ball stop fencing to add security and prevent a loss of balls or other equipment, this can be tailored to suit the specification of each individual facility.
  • Floodlighting – This enables you to use your artificial sport surface during non-daylight hours and at all times of the year, potentially increasing revenue for your organisation.
  • Paint Coatings – We can apply a number of different sports surface coatings including acrylic anti-slip paint, polyurethane colour coats and game line-markings.

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Costs of MUGA Construction

The prices and costs involved with installing a multi-use games area can vary greatly depending on many variables. These could include the dimensions of the facility you’re looking for, the specification of the surfacing, the location of your organisation and a number of other factors. For more details on MUGA construction specifications and costs, please fill in our contact form and we will get back to you with a quote for your sports surfacing project. We can also help you with finance through funding grants for sports surfaces and play area facilities, visit the funding grants website to search for grants which you may be eligible for.

Take a look at this case study video which shows the whole process of building a polymeric court in Manchester. The work included full groundworks preparation and laying a macadam base to create a strong and stable foundation. Our team then installed the polymeric rubber surface, and finally, a coloured anti-slip coating was applied along with multi-sport line-markings. This project also included specialist weldmesh fencing around the perimeter of the area.

If you require any further information on MUGA construction specifications and costs, or to see examples of our previous work, please visit http://softsurfaces.co.uk/. You can find case studies of some of our completed projects including full-sized football pitches and wetpour playground surfaces.

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If you’d like to see some pictures of multi-use games area construction, please go to the Soft Surfaces Pinterest page where you can look at examples of our previous sport surfacing work.

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3 Reasons to Build Dual Use MUGA Ball Court

Posted on by Elliot

Multi or dual-use games areas are a popular sports facility for schools, colleges, sports clubs, and leisure centres in the UK. These versatile sports areas can be especially line marked so a number of different sports including football, netball, and tennis can be played on them. This makes them perfect for adding variety to the sports facility at your organisation.

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Why Install a Dual Use MUGA Ball Court?

Outdoor multi use games areas can be constructed in a number of different types of surfacing including porous macadam, artificial grass and polymeric rubber, each different surface can be installed to suit individual projects and specifications to give you the best facility possible. There are a number of reasons why installing a multi-use sports area would be a great idea.

1. MUGAs Save Space

Having a single sports surface with the capacity to house a number of sports through a range of different coloured sport line markings is a fantastic way of saving space if you haven’t got a lot of land and can’t build a separate area for each sport. School all-weather MUGAs are perfect for this if you want to provide a range of sports that children can play.

2. Lower Maintenance Costs

One of the beauties of having only one surface to play a multitude of sports on is that there is only one surface to clean and maintain. This cuts down on the physical labour of having to maintain different courts. It therefore lowers the costs of potential repairs or resurfacing jobs. These may need carrying out if the surface becomes damaged or worn out.

3. Encourage Variety

If a school or sports club does not have the space to build separate facilities for individual sports, a dual-use ball court area is a great alternative. This is a simple way of getting kids into playing a variety of different sports all in one place.

For example with a multi use games area children could participate in sports such as:

  • Netball
  • Hockey
  • Football
  • Tag rugby
  • Basketball
  • Tennis

The sports would all be available in one place meaning there is no need to install a separate court for each one. You also won’t have to choose just one or two sports to play.

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Dual Use Sport Surface Installers

Soft Surfaces Ltd are industry leaders in the installation of MUGAs and ball courts. We can tailor your project to the individual specifications and requirements of your organisation. Our experienced staff will be on hand to assist you with every stage of your sports pitch surfacing project. From quote to completion, we aim to give you the best service and a top quality and professional end result.

If you would like any further information about dual use MUGA ball courts or any of our other products or services, please visit http://softsurfaces.co.uk/ and if you would like to submit an enquiry please fill in the contact form and we will get back to you with further details regarding quotes and pricing.

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Schools Recreational Long Jump Runway Length

Posted on by Elliot

The standard length of a long jump runway is 45m and with a width of 1.22m. Long jump sand pits size is 9.0m x 3.0m and this meets the IAAF recommendation. Long jump specifications and designs can vary due to differences in costs, specifications, sporting requirements and construction type.

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Long jump runways or track is made out of recycled rubber EPDM polymeric surfacing and this can also be known as Tartan surface. The long jump can also have a white timber hardwood take off board and this is installed flat into the ground, flush with the other surfacing. The length of this board is 1.22m x 200mm x 100mm. Long jump is now a popular part of sporting culture in the UK due to the recent revival in athletics due to the Olympics and sports and schools participation. Long jump construction can also be varied though as many schools and clubs will have different designs and specifications due to different sporting requirements, costs and budgets.

Soft Surfaces Ltd are contractors of long jump construction and will help you in achieving design, specification, budgets, quotations and funding. Please call 01625 445760 for more information with regards to costs, prices and quotes.