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With the aim of regenerating the outdoor play area of the south Leeds school, which recently had a glowing Ofsted report, a team of 27 staff from Skandia's regional sales office are volunteering a full business day as well as some of their personal time to complete the project.

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Skandia Leeds, based at Park Square South, is one of the UK's leading long-term savings groups, has raised £1,200 to replace play equipment, purchase bird boxes, a bird table and bath to attract local birdlife, create planters to aid future science projects and overall make a safer environment and further the education of the children by effectively creating an 'outdoor classroom'.

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This money will go towards the purchase of a number of items and materials including a playhouse, toy kitchen and contents, outdoor toys, picnic bench, logs and timber for planters and even a wooden giraffe named George.

The volunteers have come up with a number of fundraising initiatives to raise money for the project, such as golf days, sponsored dress-down days, donations of staff birthday monies, and a company-wide quiz.

All donations go towards creating a safer, cleaner and healthier environment for the children of Beeston Primary School to both play and learn in.

Headteacher Chris Lees is delighted with the link-up.

He told Beeston Today: "I am excited to be working with the Skandia team on this project. I have been keen to develop the area to support the curriculum since I came to the school in 2007."

The school recently received a glowing Ofsted report, and children leaving for high school are said to be performing above the national average.

The project is part of a larger initiative called 'The Power to Change the Future Community Challenge' run by Skandia.

It provides an opportunity for the Skandia regional teams to give something back to their local communities.

Each region will undertake a worthwhile and sustainable community project in the hope of making a lasting impression in their local area.

The team is hoping to raise £10,000 for the Bobby Moore Fund.

The charity helps raise vital funds for research into bowel cancer and also public awareness of the disease.

Donna Mumby, sales support supervisor at Skandia Leeds, said: "Beeston Primary School has been neglected and under-funded for several years and the school are keen to boost the curriculum for the youngest members of the school.

"When we saw the state of the playground area we knew we could make a difference for the children by making it a cleaner, safer and a nicer environment for them to play in.

"We've got a lot to achieve and we hope our efforts will be both visible for all to see and most importantly be sustainable going forward so the children can continue to enjoy their new playground well into the future."

Dave Chessell, sales director at Skandia, said: "We're really pleased to be able to help Beeston Primary School, a school with a glowing Ofsted report, but in need of a bit of TLC."