Outta Skool community group celebrates after receiving £320k from the National Lottery

Local community group, Outta Skool, is celebrating after being awarded almost £320,000 in National Lottery funding to support its work with adults and children in helping reduce health inequalities.

The group, based on Highfield Street in Oldham, will use the cash to deliver its award-winning Let’s Get Active programme for the next five years.

The 12-week lifestyle changing programme supports local GPs, organisations and parents to refer adults and children with long term health conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes, obesity, poor mental health etc.

Outta Skool has been running since 2005 as an unincorporated community organisation and incorporated since 2009, and is staffed by volunteers.

It was founded by Moinul Islam MBE after he realised the school he was working at was struggling to reduce the racial tension brought by the Oldham riots.

Outta Skool started off as a multi sports organisation believing that sports has a universal language, delivering after school and holiday activities.

The organisation has grown over the years and have expanded their services to adults, children and families.

The group now offers a number of projects and services totalling approximately 150 hours of organised activities for adults and children ranging from Zumba, Yoga, Dance, Indoor football, Badminton, Cricket, Circuit Training, Boxercise, healthy cooking, Gym, online CPD courses as well as running a Boxing, Taekwondo and Kabaddi Club.

The services are accessed by over 200 adults and children every week.

Outta Skool runs seven days a week, with eight hours a week delivered between 11pm – 2am to support those working unsociable hours.

The sessions help adults and children to come out of isolation and meet new people and make new friends, be part of a team and community while learning new skills and having fun.

While enjoyable, the children are also gaining greater confidence, self-belief and important collaboration skills.

The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and is the largest community funder in the UK, will see the benefits of the Let’s Get Active programme which came to an end in 2019 when the Oldham CCG funding came to an end.

It is expected to support over 700 people with intensive lifestyle changing support over the next five years.

At the same time, the group will be able to support local GPs, Housing Associations and social prescribing agents.

All beneficiaries will learn long lasting skills and will help them to build relationships with others experiencing the same challenges and hopefully enable them to develop their own support network.

Moinul said: “We’re delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way.

"Now, thanks to National Lottery players, we will be able to for the first-time start planning long term strategies on sustainability as in the past four years we were running the programme as a short term yearly funded project.

"This funding will not only support our long-term plans but will also create local jobs, volunteering opportunities and help sustain local facilities which we intend to use.

"This funding could not have come at a better time because as we come out of Covid-19 restrictions, this service is needed even more.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank The National Lottery Community Fund, the Directors of Outta Skool, volunteers and beneficiaries for making this happen.

One of the Outta Skool beneficiaries said: “I was referred onto the Let’s Get programme by my GP and was inspired so much that I went on to become a qualified personal trainer and support the programme.

"It was a shame when the project came to an end and I’m so glad that the project is being funded long-term by the National Lottery.

"This programme is a must in our community.”

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