Enriching urban school grounds and inspiring social impact

As part of our partnership with FM provider JLL, our Grounds Maintenance team, working on the JLL contract, was invited to deliver a community project at George Carey Primary School in Barking, on behalf of Portico Facilities Management.

During the summer holidays, volunteers from Ground Control, Portico, and Walker Tree Care joined forces to transform an underused outdoor area into a safe and welcoming garden designed to encourage children to explore nature and the outdoors when they return for the new school term.

The team carried out a wide range of works, including:

• Clearing poor-quality ground and installing timber-edged raised beds.
• Replacing overgrown shrubbery with child-friendly plants such as Senecio (rabbit ears), Photinia (Red Robin), Lavender, Hebe, Japonica, and Hostas—encouraging children to engage with textures, scents, and colours.
• Laying bark mulch across pathways.
• Reshaping existing shrubs to best horticultural practice.
• Pruning low branches and removing invasive weeds to ensure safety.

All areas were securely fenced during the works, with waste responsibly removed from the site.

Eight volunteers gave their time and expertise to make the project possible:

• Ground Control: Lisa Bussey and Roy Candlin (managers of the JLL and FM contracts), Tom Carr and Kenny Hanney (graduates of Ground Control’s SEN programme, now working as operatives).
• Portico: Salamanta Idrissa and Lachezare Gerov.
• Walker Tree Care: Ben Sutton and Matthew Anderson.

Chris Harrison, Headteacher at George Carey Primary School, said:

Beata Horvath, Social Impact Manager at Portico, commented:

Roy Candlin, Account Director FM/MA and SEN Programme Manager at Ground Control, added:

The newly planted shrubs and landscaped space will provide a haven for pupils to enjoy throughout the year, turning a once underused area into a place of discovery, play, and connection with nature.