Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL)
Shottery St Andrew's CofE Primary School is proud to be an OPAL school!
It has long been recognised that play is fundamental to a child’s health, happiness, development and wellbeing. Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states: Every child has the right to rest, relax, play and to take part in cultural and creative activities. Play is how young children learn to navigate the world, and build narratives, knowledge and social skills. Play is essential business for children.
Research has also shown that children spend 20% of their time in primary school playing. One fifth of their total time in school MUST be viewed as important enough to take seriously and develop just as well as we do for subjects like English and Maths. In 2023 we started our OPAL development journey. For us at Shottery St Andrew's CofE Primary, this is a long-term commitment to prioritising learning through play.
Please take a look at our PLAY POLICY and LONG-TERM OPAL STRATEGY (see below).
Our school grounds are developing and we’re very proud to be able to offer all of our children this space for outdoor learning. Over time, we are committed to developing our grounds to meet the needs of all of the many different play types that children have:
Meet the Play Team
Having the right staff team for OPAL is essential.
Shottery St Andrew's CofE Primary School commits to ensuring the right people are always in post to continue to make playtimes the best they can be. We have a Play Team who are continually trained in effective play interactions and risk benefit management.
Click the link below to meet our Play Team.
Risk Management
We follow the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Guidance for taking a balanced approach to all of the risks associated with free play.
OPAL approaches to play seek to weigh-up the potential benefits to a play activity against the risks that it may pose. We teach children about risk and view healthy risk-taking to be an important life-skill that we need to develop in all of our children. We know that none of our Play Leaders can watch every child at every minute during play. We take a ‘Dynamic Supervision’ approach instead
Please see the attached document for further information and for a copy of the HSE guide.
How can our families help?
- Read ‘The Power of Playtime’ to understand more about why OPAL is so important to support for your child’s overall wellbeing and development (see document below)
- Make sure you follow our School Uniform Policy – it is OPAL-friendly and designed to help your child access play every day in all types of weather (see link to uniform policy below)
- Wellies or outdoor footwear are an essential part of Shottery St Andrew's CofE Primary School's Uniform, as well as outdoor waterproof coats or puddle suits
- If you can help us gather loose parts and other equipment for our play areas, we’d love to hear from you!
🧺 What Is Opal Bingo?
Opal Bingo is a class challenge where we fill a Bingo card by bringing in useful, safe play resources for Opal sessions. These resources help support creativity, teamwork, and imaginative play for everyone.
Each time the class successfully brings in agreed resources, we mark off a square on our Bingo card.
⭐ Extra Opal Playtime
Completing a Bingo line may earn the class extra Opal playtime, giving everyone more time to enjoy and use the resources they’ve helped provide.
ℹ️ Important Information
- All items should be safe, clean, and age‑appropriate
- Please check with staff if you are unsure about an item
- Resources may be used by all children and may get worn over time
