A city primary school seems likely to receive a £27,000 grant towards improving outdoor play space after indications it will be cleared by an investigation examining whether it met the funding eligibility.

Sport England awarded the money to Mill View Primary School, Upton, mainly to fund a 10m x 7m all-weather sporting area.

But a parent, who wishes to remain anonymous, queried whether Mill View was entitled to the cash given the application form asks the school to declare that it has ‘no more than 2,000 square metres of grass space which is usable for PE, sport or activity’.

The complainant argued the grant was aimed at schools with ‘little or no outdoor space’ but ‘the school in question is a 5.6-acre plot with a 10,000m2 playing field!’.

Sport England, which carried out an investigation, said in a statement to the Chronicle: “While the school has good sized grass space, significantly over 2,000 square metres, the school has provided sufficient additional information to show that a large amount of the grass space is designated for other use, such as the forest school and the kitchen garden, and that the available grass space is not used for PE between October-April each year due to its poor condition.

“A Primary Spaces facility would allow the school to increase the quality and quantity of PE provision significantly and also make improvements to the quality and quantity of extra-curricular sport and activity.

“Sport England believes Mill View Primary School is a worthy recipient of Primary Spaces funding. However, its funding and any proposed work has been put on hold pending the outcome of the complaints process.”

The complainant also argues the school should have been disqualified because eligibility criteria states the controlling body – the local authority at that time – must provide a letter of consent to apply, but this was never sent.

Headteacher Susan Walters and chairwoman of governors Maura Connolly said in a statement: “The governing body was informed by a parent that they had made a complaint to Sport England regarding our Sport England Primary Spaces Award.

“Sport England consequently undertook a detailed review of the project application and assessment, consulted with the school, and made a site visit.

“Sport England completed their review and decided to uphold the Primary Spaces Award. Sport England informed us this news has been communicated to the complainant. The school is awaiting further information from Sport England.”

The complainant, who is taking their complaint to the next stage, responded: “It seems clear that Sport England has failed to properly apply its own rules in assessing the eligibility of this applicant.

“Given that the fund is targeted at primary schools with ‘little or no outdoor space’, this particular award raises serious questions about whether the Sport England has properly and fairly distributed £18m of National Lottery money.

“I have been told that approximately 300 applicants to the fund were unsuccessful.”