01543 278071 office@fiveways.staffs.sch.uk

OPAL Outdoor Play and Learning

We are pleased to be implementing a programme called ‘OPAL’ to improve opportunities for pupils’ physical activity, socialisation, cooperation, coordination, resilience, creativity, imagination and enjoyment through improved play during lunchtimes.

The Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) Primary Programme is the result of over 20 years of testing and development in over 800 schools and has been used in Spain, Canada, France and New Zealand. The programme has also been adapted and used in schools in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Austria under the Play Friendly Schools project. In 2018, OPAL won first prize in an EU-funded award for the best active school’s programme in Europe and two UK national playwork awards. In 2019, OPAL was awarded a quarter of a million pounds by Sport England to bring the programme to many more schools.

OPAL is based on the idea that, as well as learning through good teaching, 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.

One of the reasons we are implementing OPAL at Five Ways is that childhood has changed, and many children no longer get their play needs met out of school. Current data shows the following:

  • average screen time per day is six hours
  • average outdoor play time per week is five hours
  • percentage of UK children who only play outdoors with other children at school is 56%.

There are many proven benefits for schools that carry out the OPAL Primary Programme. They usually include: more enjoyment of school, less teaching time lost to disputes between children, fewer accidents and greatly improved behaviour.

At Five Ways, we understand that ‘play’ is crucial in child development. Play enables 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 (more details to follow)
  • having things to play with
  • having a certain amount of freedom.

Once OPAL is implemented fully at Five Ways, children may get a bit messier, be exposed to more challenges and have greater freedoms to play where, with whom, and how they like. (More details to follow.) The experiences we will be 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.

Five Ways will be supported by OPAL for 18 months and there will be an opportunity for parents to come and talk to our OPAL mentor at school in the future. 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 and several videos about the programme.

In the coming 18 months parents will be invited into school during the lunchtime period to come and see for yourselves what is happening and have the opportunity to join in the play with your child.