A primary school has a new green space for its pupils to nurture thanks to the hard work of a plant hire firm.

Metcalfe Plant Hire created a new ‘nurture garden’ for the pupils of Yanwath Primary School.

The Penrith-based company's team had heard that the school wanted to develop their outdoor space, so offered their services to help them redevelop a used area of the playing field.

Working alongside the Parent and Teachers Association (PTA) for the school, they did all the necessary groundworks for the new outdoor space, put up fencing and tidied up the playing field.

The PTA also laid bark, built planters and added wooden seating and a fire pit.

Cate Floyd, the school's headteacher, said: “There is no doubt that the pandemic has had a huge impact on young children.

"They have had so much time away from school, not seeing friends and family and often being stuck indoors.

"We wanted to make sure that their return to school was as smooth a transition as possible and we also wanted to make sure our pupils have the opportunity to spend as much time as possible outdoors, for their mental and physical wellbeing.

“We have a lovely big playing field, which is fantastic for physical education, but we really wanted a dedicated outdoor learning classroom, where we could teach the children about science, nature and the environment.”

Matthew Healey, contracts director for Metcalfe Civil Engineering, a division of Metcalfe Plant Hire Ltd, coordinated the project.

“We were approached by a member of the school’s PTA and when we heard about what they wanted to achieve we were happy to give them a hand," he said.