At our school, we are proud to be part of OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) – a nationally recognised programme that transforms everyday play into a powerful opportunity for growth, learning, health and happiness. Through OPAL, we ensure that our playgrounds become vibrant, inclusive spaces where children of all ages and abilities can explore, imagine, collaborate and challenge themselves — every single day.

Play is not “just a break”; it’s part of childhood. As we believe that every child deserves the right to play, to grow and to thrive, regardless of background, ability or circumstances, our partnership with OPAL means we are committed to giving all pupils the chance to enjoy amazing, high-quality play every day.

Children in British primary schools spend 20%, the equivalent to 1.4 years, of their school attendance in play. The Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) Primary Programme is a mentor-supported school improvement programme. It addresses all of the areas schools must plan for if they want to strategically and sustainably improve the quality of their play opportunities.

With OPAL our school community commits to planning and resourcing play with the same care as formal lessons. Our staff are trained to support and encourage quality play, and children are encouraged to use their imaginations, take safe risks, and work together — building resilience, social and emotional skills, confidence, creativity and a lifelong love of being active and outdoors. 

Q: What are the benefits of the OPAL Primary Programme?

• More teaching time
  Most schools report 10 minutes more teaching time per teacher with happier, more creative, and well exercised children who settle to classes much more quickly.
• Improved behaviour
  OPAL schools report an 80% reduction in the use of behaviour policies and a 90% reduction in senior leadership time being spent resolving playtime issues.
• Faster core skills development
  Children at OPAL schools rapidly develop creativity, imagination, cooperation, resilience, stamina and confidence.
• Inclusion
  OPAL’s approach makes play better for every child, every day… no exceptions!
• Happiness and wellbeing
  Play is a human need and a human right. Children at OPAL schools report feeling happier and more excited about school.

As we continue to develop our playgrounds and play offer, we may be asking you for donations of a range of resources. Your children may get a bit messier, be exposed to more challenges and have greater freedoms to play where, with whom and how they like. The experiences the school is fostering are essential for children’s physical and mental wellbeing and are in line with all current good practice advice on health and safety, wellbeing and development. 

Currently, we would welcome donations of large t-shirts to wear over uniform so we can enable children to have the opportunity to engage in more messy play – such as painting – and any waterproof clothing you may have in good condition. We kindly ask for you to bring any donations to the main school office.

If you would like to learn more about the OPAL Primary Programme, please have a look at the OPAL website (www.outdoorplayandlearning.org.uk), where you will find lots of useful information and several videos about the programme.

The Play Party

The Play Party is a pupil steering group dedicated to supporting and ensuring playtime is fun, inclusive and enjoyable for everyone in our school. We are guided by our school vision: “Love your neighbour as yourself” and “Learn together, journey together and pray together.” We believe that play is an important opportunity to show kindness, build friendships and ensure that everyone feels valued, included and part of our school community.

Our purpose is to listen to pupils and help make our playground a place where everyone feels welcome, safe and able to enjoy themselves. We believe that loving our neighbours means looking out for one another, showing kindness, including others and treating everyone with respect.

Through play, we learn together by developing teamwork, creativity, problem-solving and communication skills. We journey together by supporting one another, making new friends, overcoming challenges and ensuring that no one feels left out. We want every child to experience the joy of playing, learning and growing alongside others.

Our focus this year:

This year, we want to find new ways to improve playtimes and ensure that every child has opportunities to participate, explore their interests and enjoy playing with others. We will listen carefully to pupils’ ideas, celebrate the different ways children like to play and identify how we can make our playground even more welcoming and inclusive.

We will consider: 

• How can we show love and kindness to our neighbours during playtime?

• How can we make sure everyone feels included and has someone to play with?

• What can we learn from one another through play?

• How can we journey together, trying new things and supporting each other?

As the Play Party, we will:

• Gather ideas and feedback from children across the school about their experiences of playtime.

• Help to organise playground games and activities that encourage everyone to get involved.

• Explore new ways to make playtimes engaging, creative and inclusive.

• Encourage children to try new activities, develop friendships and learn new skills together.

• Work with pupils and staff to turn children’s ideas into positive changes.

• Promote kindness, fairness, cooperation and respect across the playground.

• Celebrate the different interests, talents and ideas that make our school community special.

We will work together to ensure that playtime reflects our school values and provides opportunities for every child to flourish.

Class Representatives

Our Play Leaders for this academic year are:

Year 3: Davey & Daniel

Year 4: Kian & Josiah

Year 5: Elshiba & Ariella