OPAL Play at Elloughton Primary School
Learning, exploring and growing through play and outdoor experiences
It has long been recognised that play is fundamental to a child’s health, happiness, development and wellbeing. Research has also shown that children spend around 20% of their time in school playing. This led us to reflect on how playtimes could be improved here at Elloughton, and so our OPAL journey began.
The OPAL vision is that “every child in every school has an amazing playtime every day” and as a school we share this vision and recognise the enormous benefits play has on a child’s life.
We have developed the OPAL approach and worked with our school community to improve our play provision. Our outdoor areas are continually being developed and offer an even wider range of play opportunities.
The children love playing in all the different areas including: rolling in tyres; creating dens; rolling down the mound; creating new recipes in the mud kitchen; digging in the giant sand pit; dancing and performing on the stage; chatting to friends in hanging chairs or zipping round the playground on the scooters and wheeled toys.
They are having fun and developing life skills such as teamwork, problem solving, communication and resilience, whilst also strengthening their creativity and imagination.
Our children have the opportunity to play wherever they want, with whoever they want. They have the freedom to explore and play in their own imaginative ways, experimenting, problem solving and having fun using a wide range of available resources.
Our OPAL play project has been a great success and the children love being part of an OPAL school. Our project continues to go from strength to strength, but there is always more to do. With the support of our OPAL team and our fantastic families, the world of play will continue to grow and evolve to capture and inspire our children’s imaginations.
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Tumble Play
Tumble play is an energetic type of physical play where children may wrestle, tumble, chase or playfully challenge one another in a safe environment. It is a natural and important part of children’s development.
Why is Tumble Play Important?
Tumble play helps children develop emotionally, socially and physically. Through this type of play, children learn how to communicate, cooperate and respect one another. They develop the ability to read facial expressions and body language, recognise when someone wants to stop and understand personal boundaries and consent.
It also supports the development of confidence, resilience and self-regulation, while improving coordination, strength and body awareness.
Learning to Play Safely
At Elloughton Primary School, children are encouraged to think carefully about their play and ask themselves important questions such as:
- Is this safe for me?
- Is this safe for the other person?
Children are also supported to recognise important signals during play. If someone is upset, crying or asks to stop, the play stops immediately. Children are reminded that it is always okay to change their mind and stop playing.
Our Expectations for Safe Tumble Play
To help ensure that tumble play remains fun and safe for everyone, children follow clear guidelines:
- No punching, kicking or stamping
- No grabbing around the neck
- No pulling clothes
- No jumping on others
- No cheering or crowding around
If someone is hurt, children are encouraged to say sorry and check that the other person is okay. Children can also use a clear “STOP – I don’t like it” signal if they want the play to end.
Supporting Children Through Tumble Play
Tumble play allows children to explore boundaries, build trust with their peers and develop confidence in a safe and supervised environment.
When supported appropriately, it helps children develop communication skills, empathy, resilience and the ability to manage risk.
At Elloughton Primary School, we recognise the importance of play and the valuable life skills that children develop through opportunities such as tumble play.
Tumble play allows children to explore boundaries, build trust with their peers and develop confidence in a safe and supervised environment.
When supported appropriately, it helps children develop communication skills, empathy, resilience and the ability to manage risk.
At Elloughton Primary School, we recognise the importance of play and the valuable life skills that children develop through opportunities such as tumble play.
Our Play Charter
Our school acknowledges the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child, especially Article 31, and supports the child’s right to play.
We believe all children have the right to play and need to play; free to choose what they do – lively or relaxed, noisy or quiet – with the chance to stretch and challenge themselves, take risks and enjoy freedom.
Our play charter is our promise to you about how we will meet our legal and moral obligations to respect your children’s rights.
At Elloughton, we have created our OPAL Play Charter alongside our children, listening to their ideas and taking on board what matters most to them regarding their play.
Our school acknowledges the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child, especially Article 31, and supports the child’s right to play.
We believe all children have the right to play and need to play; free to choose what they do – lively or relaxed, noisy or quiet – with the chance to stretch and challenge themselves, take risks and enjoy freedom.
Our play charter is our promise to you about how we will meet our legal and moral obligations to respect your children’s rights.
At Elloughton, we have created our OPAL Play Charter alongside our children, listening to their ideas and taking on board what matters most to them regarding their play.
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It’s all about Community
We have been so lucky to have the support of our families and community to create incredible spaces for our children. Our latest project created a wide range of social spaces and pathways.
We wanted to build a quieter area within our school grounds where our children can enjoy the peace and tranquility of nature.
By rewilding areas of the field and allowing the grass to grow tall, we hope to attract bees, butterflies and insects. As well as this, it’s important for the children to use their senses to enhance their exposure to nature and their play.
The pathways and social spaces we have created support this and will provide a wide range of sensory experiences and different opportunities for play.
Click here to see the OPAL social spaces video.
We have been so lucky to have the support of our families and community to create incredible spaces for our children. Our latest project created a wide range of social spaces and pathways.
We wanted to build a quieter area within our school grounds where our children can enjoy the peace and tranquility of nature.
By rewilding areas of the field and allowing the grass to grow tall, we hope to attract bees, butterflies and insects. As well as this, it’s important for the children to use their senses to enhance their exposure to nature and their play.
The pathways and social spaces we have created support this and will provide a wide range of sensory experiences and different opportunities for play.
Click here to see the OPAL social spaces video.
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Parent Play Day
We love having the opportunity to share our OPAL journey with all our families. Each term we hold a Parent Play Day so parents can play alongside their children and experience the joy of OPAL.
We love having the opportunity to share our OPAL journey with all our families. Each term we hold a Parent Play Day so parents can play alongside their children and experience the joy of OPAL.
Award Congratulations!
We are so proud to have been awarded 'The Best Overall Implementation' award at the OPAL Regional Conference. As newcomers, we were over the moon to receive the award and are so grateful to everyone who has supported and helped with our OPAL journey so far!
We are so proud to have been awarded 'The Best Overall Implementation' award at the OPAL Regional Conference. As newcomers, we were over the moon to receive the award and are so grateful to everyone who has supported and helped with our OPAL journey so far!
Platinum Award
We were delighted to receive the prestigious Platinum Award for OPAL Play, placing us in the top 2% of schools in the country for the quality of play we provide for all of our children.
In the last 7 years, there have been less than 10 schools out of 1005 to complete their OPAL journey in the short time scale of less than 14 months. Even fewer of these schools achieved Platinum in this time scale. As well as this, in the OPAL Regional Awards, we were awarded ‘Best Overall Implementation 2024’.
We were delighted to receive the prestigious Platinum Award for OPAL Play, placing us in the top 2% of schools in the country for the quality of play we provide for all of our children.
In the last 7 years, there have been less than 10 schools out of 1005 to complete their OPAL journey in the short time scale of less than 14 months. Even fewer of these schools achieved Platinum in this time scale. As well as this, in the OPAL Regional Awards, we were awarded ‘Best Overall Implementation 2024’.
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Mini Playmakers
Our Mini Playmakers take great pride in helping to care for our school grounds. Their important role includes tasks such as litter picking, sweeping and helping to keep our outdoor spaces tidy and welcoming for everyone.
Through this responsibility, the children develop a sense of pride in their school environment while learning about teamwork, respect and caring for the spaces we all share.
Our Mini Playmakers take great pride in helping to care for our school grounds. Their important role includes tasks such as litter picking, sweeping and helping to keep our outdoor spaces tidy and welcoming for everyone.
Through this responsibility, the children develop a sense of pride in their school environment while learning about teamwork, respect and caring for the spaces we all share.
Your child may come home a little messy…
Active outdoor play can sometimes mean muddy clothes. In our parent survey, families told us they were happy for their children to enjoy these experiences and were not concerned about minor bumps or scrapes that may occur during play.
Active outdoor play can sometimes mean muddy clothes. In our parent survey, families told us they were happy for their children to enjoy these experiences and were not concerned about minor bumps or scrapes that may occur during play.
