Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL)
Outdoor Play & Learning (OPAL)
A Double Platinum OPAL School
At Amington Heath, we believe that play matters.
Children spend a significant part of their primary school lives at play, and we believe this time should be every bit as rich, inclusive and carefully considered as the rest of their school experience.
We are incredibly proud to be a Double Platinum OPAL School, having achieved the highest level of the Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) award for a second time.
This is an exceptional achievement. It recognises not only the quality of play our children experience, but our sustained whole-school commitment to continually developing and improving play for every child, every day.
For us, OPAL is not a project or an add-on. It is part of the culture of Amington Heath.
Why Play Matters
Play is an essential part of children’s development.
Through high-quality play, children have opportunities to be active, creative and imaginative. They build friendships, solve problems, negotiate, collaborate, manage challenge and risk and learn more about themselves and others.
Great play supports children’s:
- physical health and activity
- mental health and emotional wellbeing
- creativity and imagination
- communication and language
- friendships and social development
- independence and self-regulation
- problem-solving and decision-making
- resilience and confidence
- ability to recognise and manage appropriate risk
Most importantly, play gives children joy, freedom and the opportunity to be children.
What Does OPAL Look Like at Amington Heath?
OPAL stands for Outdoor Play and Learning.
Rather than limiting children to a small number of traditional playground activities, we make extensive use of our outdoor environment and provide a wide range of open-ended opportunities for children to choose how they play.
Depending on the season, weather, resources and children’s interests, play may include:
- den building and construction
- loose-parts play
- sand, mud and water
- creative and imaginative play
- small-world and role play
- climbing, balancing and physical challenge
- wheeled play
- music, dance and performance
- quiet and social spaces
- traditional games and sport
- exploring nature and the changing seasons
Children are given genuine choice over their play and opportunities to follow their own ideas, interests and imagination.
Play for Every Child
Inclusion sits at the heart of our approach to play.
There is no single ‘right’ way to play. Children have different interests, strengths, sensory preferences and social needs, and our play provision is designed to offer something for everyone.
For some children, play might mean running, climbing and building. For another it might mean imaginative play, creating something, spending time with a small group of friends or finding a quieter space.
Our varied environment and open-ended resources allow children to participate in ways that work for them. This is particularly important in a highly inclusive school: children with SEND are not offered a lesser play experience, but supported to access the same rich opportunities alongside their peers.
Challenge, Risk and Independence
Childhood needs appropriate challenge.
We want children to learn how to assess situations, make sensible decisions and gradually develop the skills they need to manage risk independently.
Our approach is therefore not about removing all risk from play. Instead, staff carefully consider the risks and benefits of activities and environments so that children can experience appropriate challenge within a well-managed play environment.
Whether balancing, building, climbing, moving materials or solving a problem with friends, children learn to consider questions such as: Can I do this? What might happen? How can I make this work? How can I keep myself and others safe?
These are powerful skills for childhood and for life.
OPAL and our RESPECT Characteristics
Our playground is one of the places where our RESPECT characteristics come alive every day.
- Resilience – trying again when an idea, construction or challenge does not work first time
- Excellence – taking pride in ideas and challenging ourselves to improve
- Self-awareness – understanding our feelings, preferences, strengths and limits
- Positivity – finding enjoyment, possibility and opportunity
- Empathy – understanding the feelings and needs of others
- Communication – explaining, negotiating, listening and sharing ideas
- Teamwork – creating, solving problems and playing successfully with others
Play gives children countless authentic opportunities to practise these characteristics without an adult manufacturing the situation for them.
Oracy Through Play
Our whole-school focus on oracy extends beyond lessons and into play.
Children negotiate rules, develop imaginary worlds, explain ideas, resolve disagreements, persuade others, collaborate on projects and adapt their communication to different children and adults.
These spontaneous conversations provide valuable opportunities for children to develop vocabulary, confidence, listening skills and the ability to express themselves.
Play is Part of the Adventure
Learning is our Adventure – and that adventure does not stop when a lesson ends.
The independence, curiosity, creativity, communication, collaboration and problem-solving children develop through OPAL complement the skills and characteristics we nurture throughout our Adventure Curriculum.
Children have time to pursue their own ideas, experiment, create, make decisions and discover what they are capable of.
That makes play an important part of the wider Amington Heath experience.
Our Double Platinum Journey
Achieving the OPAL Platinum Award once was something of which we were enormously proud.
Achieving it for a second time matters even more.
It demonstrates that high-quality play has not been a short-term initiative. It has been sustained, embedded and continued to develop as part of the culture of our school.
Our Double Platinum status reflects the commitment of our children, staff and families and our shared belief that every child deserves an outstanding childhood as well as an outstanding education.
We continue to evaluate and develop our provision because great play is never ‘finished’. Children’s interests change, environments evolve and there are always new possibilities to explore.
Supporting OPAL
One of the things that makes OPAL so exciting is that everyday objects can become extraordinary play resources in children’s hands.
We regularly welcome suitable donations of loose parts and resources that can be safely incorporated into children’s play.
If you have something you think could contribute to our OPAL provision, please contact the school office.
Find Out More About OPAL
You can find out more about the Outdoor Play and Learning programme on the official OPAL website.