Cash awards open for ground improvements

The John Laing Charitable Trust School Grounds Awards, managed in partnership with Learning Through Landscapes, has more than 50 awards worth £5,000, £2,000 or £1,000 available to transform the grounds of LEA-maintained settings into better environments for learning, creative play, discovery and social development.

This is the fourth year that the awards have been offered.

Sherwood Special School in Wallington, Surrey, was one of last year's winners. The school is adding an environmental sensory garden and vegetable patch to its outdoor area, which is due for completion at the end of the month.

Deputy head Andrea Ashton said, 'This project provided the perfect opportunity for us to improve our community links, while allowing us to develop our pupils' communication, social and motor skills, as well as provide good, active fun.

'The environmental garden will enable our pupils to develop an understanding of growing food, allowing them to follow the process from seed to harvest.'

In the previous year, Lathom School in Newham, London, used the funding to transform a concrete playground into a green zone. Assistant head teacher Brian Hughes said, 'Our school grounds has changed from an uninspiring grey concrete area to an outdoor space where pupils can learn, play, grown their own vegetables and appreciate nature and the environment. These changes have caused a huge increase in the queue for the salad bar!'