Bentham Road, Thamesmead, LONDON, SE28 8AS
0208 310 2140
Our OPAL Playground
We are very excited to be undertaking our playground development project with the support from an organisation called OPAL which stands for ‘outdoor play and learning’. This is a strategic improvement programme designed to help us improve opportunities for play and make sure our outdoor environment provides the best range of experiences for the children.
This means that soon our playtimes will be getting even more fun and we hope every child will love them.
More Information about OPAL
Did you know that playtime is about 20% of every child’s day at school? It is also, for many children, one of the few times that they have to play outside regularly with their friends and without devices.
The Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) Primary Programme is the result of over 20 years of testing and development in over 800 schools across the UK and internationally.
OPAL is based on the idea that, as well as learning through good teaching, your children also learn when they play. As 20% of their time in school is playtime, we want to make sure that this amount of time (equivalent to 1.4 years of primary school) is as good as possible.
There are many proven benefits for schools that carry out the OPAL Primary Programme. They usually include children enjoying school more, more teaching time because there are fewer accidents and arguments, increased physical activity and even children becoming better at maths.
Play is not messing about. It is the process evolution has come up with to enable children to learn all of the things that cannot be taught. That is why it is fun.
There are certain things children must have in order to be able to play. These include:
- clothes that they can play in all year round.
- things to play with.
- a certain amount of freedom.
We will be working with Outdoor People, the non-profit that delivers the OPAL Primary Programme across East London and East Kent, for the next couple of years. They will be leading training, supporting our OPAL working group and mentoring the team to help us make our playtimes amazing.
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. See the YouTube channel (OPALPlaytime) and on Twitter (@OPALCiC) for lots of examples of schools that have the kind of playtimes we want for our children.
Find out more about Outdoor People, the non-profit that runs the OPAL programme across East London and East Kent from their website: https://outdoorpeople.org.uk/
OPAL Feedback
We have already been communicating with parents/carers to ensure that everyone understands our OPAL provision and the changes we make to our playtimes. We have already been receiving some really positive feedback. Please feel free to email the school office with any feedback your child is giving you.
