Local volunteers make new school for autistic children accessible

A new world-leading school for autistic children will now be more accessible thanks to work by a team of four local volunteers on an Anderson Group construction site in Chigwell, Essex.

Volunteers spent four weeks on the site in Luxborough Lane as part of the Green Skills course, run by community charity Groundwork Hertfordshire and funded by the Anderson Group.

The landscaping work undertaken has brought to life part of the outdoor space around the school, which has been built for the National Autistic Society, and made it both accessible and aesthetically pleasing.

The volunteers levelled the ground and installed block paving for wheelchair access, planted a number of trees and shrubs plus prepared and seeded an area of land for grass, ensuring that when the school is open in September it will have greenery to be admired.

Adam Beadle, Project Supervisor for Groundwork said: “The team worked really well together and were very enthusiastic – even in the cold weather! They all enjoyed seeing their hard work take shape on site and the benefit it will provide to the school in the future.”

Andrew Jay, Group Managing Director for the Anderson Group added: “We contacted Groundwork as we both share the vision of improving green spaces and regenerating land.

“The collaboration has been a real success; the volunteers have done a great job landscaping part of our site and we are very grateful for their help and efforts.”

On top of practical experience, some of the volunteers received training towards a CSCS card – vital for work on a construction site – and all benefitted from discussions with on-site contractors about their long term career paths.

One of the volunteers, George Morgan commented: “This scheme has given me an opportunity to work on a larger construction site, learn about the procedures involved and improve my skills to hopefully find employment in the near future.”