OPAL

The award-winning OPAL Primary Programme helps schools to improve children’s play experiences.

At St John's, we believe in the ‘power of play’ and recognise that having quality time and provision to play is essential for positive mental and physical health, exploring learning in new ways and for the development of healthy relationships.

The programme is helping us to plan for and invest in play in the same way as other areas of our curriculum! And the results are already being seen in schools across the world – children in OPAL schools concentrate better in class, are healthier and happier, and so are the staff!

Dear parents,

We are about to launch our exciting new project to make our playtimes even better, in conjunction with Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) CIC. In 2018, OPAL won the best active schools’ programme in Europe award and has been cited in two parliamentary reports as delivering outstanding practice. OPAL is working closely with Sport England to promote more active childhoods, which is one of the many reasons we are improving our playtime, as well as to improve opportunities for socialisation, cooperation, coordination, resilience, creativity, imagination and enjoyment for your child.

We strongly believe that: “Play is freely chosen, personally directed, intrinsically motivated behaviour that actively engages the child. Play can be fun or serious. Through play children explore social, material and imaginary worlds and their relationship with them, elaborating all the while a flexible range of responses to the challenges they encounter. By playing, children learn and develop as individuals, and as members of the community.” (Children’s Play Council 2001).

The project has start in January and our hopes are that it will change the way we think and how we play together. To facilitate this project, we will need to buy some new resources, move some things around on the playground and require some loose parts. Loose parts are any materials that can be easily moved, combined, and incorporated into children's free play. The items we are looking for will enable us to enjoy a wider range of play experiences during playtime:

· Suitcases of any size and type

· Anything on wheels/castors

· Plastic milk crates/supermarket delivery crates/plastic bread trays

· Briefcases, especially hard cased ones

· Road signs and cones

· Kitchen pots, pans, baking trays, work tables, wooden spoons, chopping boards

· Tools like small spades/shovels, trowels and brooms

· Tubes of various sizes and various materials

· Buckets

· Nets and thick ropes

· Keyboards/torches/laptops/calculators/mobile phones/desk phones/webcams/cameras that are no longer working

· Fabric (large sheets/brightly coloured fabric)

· Foam sheets/bodyboards/camping roll mats/yoga mats

· Wooden pallets

· Metal frames

· Cable drums

· Guttering

· Noodles (the type you use in the swimming pool!)

· Hats/scarves/jazzy shirts/elasticated skirts/waistcoats/character costumes

· Pegs (to help to set up dens)

We will be holding a collection week beginning Monday 6th January. The sooner we do this, the sooner the children will be able to play with the items! Please do not bring your donations in before this date as we will have nowhere to store them. If objects are really large, such as wooden pallets, we will ensure that there is someone available to help you carry them into school.

There will be more information to follow at a parent’s session later in the year. We are really excited about this project and hope that you will support us in our efforts to improve playtime for all children.

Yours sincerely

Mr Worton-Geer and Mrs Davies-Golder

Headteacher and OPAL Play Lead