Growing Skills offers a specialist horticulture support package for primary schools. We work in partnership with schools to assess outdoor spaces, identify realistic growing opportunities, and support teachers through practical training to confidently deliver hands-on horticulture activities.

Our support covers everything from making the most of existing grounds and raised beds to planning seasonal growing, basic soil care, and age appropriate practical tasks that fit naturally within the primary curriculum. All advice and training is tailored to the individual school site and staff experience.

By offering clear guidance, practical support, and collaborative working, Growing Skills helps schools embed sustainable horticulture provision that builds staff confidence, enriches learning, and creates meaningful outdoor experiences for children that can be sustained long after our involvement.

Two on-site visits:
Our support package includes designed to support schools in developing confident, sustainable horticulture provision.

Site survey and planning:
The first visit focuses on a site survey and planning discussion, allowing time to review the school grounds, explore what is realistic for the setting, and identify priorities based on staff confidence, curriculum needs, and available space.

Practical, in-person training for teachers:
The second visit provides , covering core horticulture activities such as propagation, basic soil science, and simple growing tasks. Training is hands-on, accessible, and tailored to the school’s site, enabling staff to deliver activities confidently and independently.

After the support visit and training, schools receive access to practical digital materials to help with ongoing delivery. This includes a simple site plan of the identified area or areas for horticulture activities, showing potential growing spaces, what could be planted, and how the site might develop over time, along with clear guidance. Schools will also have access to short recap videos and downloadable worksheets to assist with lesson planning and practical work.

Our school support package and training is delivered by Josef Lloyd, a qualified teacher and assessor with a long-standing background in horticulture and education. Josef has managed National Trust gardens and landscapes, worked on a national learning-through-play project, contributed to an award-winning Chelsea Flower Show garden, and delivered horticulture learning in schools and other educational settings. His approach is practical, supportive, and focused on helping teachers feel confident delivering hands-on growing activities.

We work mainly with primary schools across the UK, supporting a wide variety of settings. This includes schools with very limited outdoor space as well as those with more extensive grounds, and schools at different stages in developing their outdoor learning or horticulture activities. Our approach is always adapted to the individual school, taking into account the nature of the site and the confidence and experience of staff.