OPAL

We Are an OPAL School

At our school, we are proud to be an OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) school, working in partnership with Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) Programme to transform the quality of play for all of our children.

Research shows that children spend up to 20% of their time at school playing across the week. Because play is such an important part of childhood, we believe it should be high-quality, inclusive, and engaging for every child.

Through our OPAL journey, we are committed to improving playtimes so that they are a rich part of the school day. This means creating opportunities for children to explore, be creative, take appropriate risks, and develop important life skills such as teamwork, resilience, and problem-solving.

Being an OPAL school means we will:

· Provide more varied and exciting play opportunities for children.

· Make better use of our outdoor spaces throughout the year.

· Ensure play is inclusive and accessible for all pupils.

· Support children’s physical, social, and emotional development through play.

You may start to notice some changes to our outdoor areas and the types of resources children use during playtimes. Items that might look simple—such as loose parts, construction materials, or imaginative play resources—can offer endless possibilities for creativity and collaboration.

We are excited about the positive impact this will have on our pupils and look forward to sharing our progress with you as we continue to develop play across the school.

If you would like to learn more about the programme, you can visit the Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) Programme website.

Together, we can make playtimes more active, more creative, and more enjoyable for every child.