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Our Play (OPAL)

Amazing play, everyday, for every child

 

Aldington Primary School are proud to be an OPAL school. OPAL is an award-winning, mentor supported school improvement programme that addresses all the areas that schools must plan for if they want to strategically and sustainably improve the quality of their play opportunities. OPAL is the only programme of its kind that has been independently proven to sustainably improve the quality of play in British primary schools. Aldington began their journey with OPAL in January 2024.

 

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.

 

 

Why do schools need great play?

 

Childhood has changed and we can no longer assume that any child is able to experience full and rich play opportunities outside of school.

 

OPAL believes that play teaches children all of the things that need to be learnt but cannot be taught. There are clearly lots of benefits to children from having lots of great play, but the good news is that there are also many benefits for schools too;

 

  • Behaviour - happy children don't cause nearly as much trouble as bored children
  • Accidents - OPAL schools have up to 80% less reported accidents
  • Staff well-being - Supervising happier children leads to happier staff
  • SLT time - senior leaders report a dramatic reduction in the time they spend on resolving play conflicts
  • Teachers - consistently report more teaching time in afternoon lessons
  • Self-regulation - children in OPAL schools learn to self regulate through practice, trust and freedom
  • Physical activity - all children, including girls, SEN and non-sporty children are significantly more active
  • Mental well-being - Research shows OPAL children are happier and self-reporting improved mental health
  • Social and emotional development - Good play in the laboratory of life where relationships are practised
  • Links to formal learning - Many OPAL schools report increased creativity, imagination and collaborative skills
  • Attendance - children can't wait to come to OPAL schools because they have such fun
  • Parents - we all want our children to be happy. Well informed parents at OPAL schools love it that their children are happier
  • Rights - Play is a child's right as recognised by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • OFSTED - OPAL schools can easily provide evidence on their approach to wellbeing and inclusion
  • Risk - OPAL schools report significant improvements in children's ability to identify and manage risk

 

What makes good play?

 

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, while also having so much fun. There are certain things children must have in order to be able to play. These include:

 

Having clothes that they can play in.

Having things to play with - including loose parts.

Having a certain amount of freedom.

 

As the school improves play opportunities for children, you may find we ask you for resources and make changes about how the children use the school grounds. They may use more of the grounds, for more of the year. 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 are 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.

 

Our play zones..

 

  • Quite 
  • Art 
  • Bikes/Scooters 
  • Trim Trail 
  • Ball Games
  • Music
  • Small World 
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