SPORT & PLAY
UK’S FIRST SPECIAL CRUYFF COURT OPENS The Brief
Design
Dorothy Goodman Academy provides education and support to children aged 3-19 years. The pupils have a wide variety of special educational needs and disabilities, including profound and multiple learning disabilities, severe learning difficulties and Autism. Some pupils also have social, emotional and mental health issues associated with their learning difficulties.
Sutcliffe Play were approached to supply and install a Special Cruyff Court, having been the official delivery partner of Cruyff Courts for The Johan Cruyff Foundation* for over seven years, supplying special needs projects across Europe. This court was the first one to be installed in the UK.
Following the completion of their new secondary school building, the school wanted to improve the outdoor play provision with a new multi-use games area (MUGA), creating a variety of play opportunities whilst catering for all abilities.
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Special Cruyff Courts, supplied by the Johan Cruyff Foundation (a charity which supports and develops sports opportunities for children worldwide), are a modern interpretation of the traditional playing field or MUGA, ideal for healthcare centres, special schools and rehabilitation centres for children with disabilities. Designed
to be as accessible as possible to young people with disabilities, the Cruyff Court enables children to actively participate in sports on the field or to experience sports and games through a more passive form. The ballcourt was primarily funded by the Johan Cruyff Foundation and their UK charity partner, the People’s Postcode Lottery. In anticipation of the opening, the school displayed photos documenting the progress of the project and pupils created a handprint mural, pledging to follow the 14 rules of using a Cruyff Court – established in honour of the Cruyff Foundation founders’ football shirt number #14.
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