Play is our brain’s favourite way of learning.”

Diane Ackerman - American author  

What is OPAL?

Research has shown that children spend 20% of their time in school playing. To ensure that this time and our fantastic school grounds are used to their full potential our school has adopted an OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) philosophy that allows the children freedom to explore play in their own imaginative ways, often using found and gathered resources in the natural outdoor environment.

An OPAL approach promotes a more inclusive play environment in which all children can feel comfortable to express themselves. Our OPAL journey began in September and since this time, we have begun to transform our lunchtime arrangements and our outdoor environment. Our children love the new freedom to explore the whole grounds.

The children have the opportunity to play with children across the school and it has been amazing to see how collaborative the children’s play has become already.  The timings of lunch have been changed to ensure that all children have the opportunity to play across the whole site. 

EYFS – 11.30 – 12.30

Yr 1 – 12.00 – 1.00pm

Yr2 – 6 – 12.15 – 1.15pm

 Year 2 and 3 eat their dinner at 12.15pm and years 4 and 5 eat at 12.35.  Year 6 may choose to eat when there is space, but all children must be eating by 12.45pm.  To support this there are new clocks around the site and the Play Team are on hand to remind children at key times.

The site has been divided up into zones and a member of the play team is stationed at each zone.  When we officially launch after half term each zone will have a certain resource to encourage play including playing with tyres and digging in the sand pit, to enjoying imaginative play in the small world area or cooking up a storm in the mud kitchen.  OPAL offers an exciting alternative to the standard playground activities,

 no matter the weather!  Through this approach to play, children are not only more active at lunch or break times, but they are also having the opportunity to further develop life skills such as cooperation, team work and problem solving. They are becoming motivated and enthusiastic builders, engineers, explorers and designers.