It has long been recognised that play is fundamental to a child’s health, happiness, development and well being. Research has also shown that children spend 20% of their time in school playing. This led us to reflect upon 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.
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 are developing life skills of team work, problem solving, communication, resilience whilst also developing their creativity and imagination.
Elloughton Primary School, has achieved Platinum Award status for Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL). This accreditation is awarded to schools demonstrating exceptional commitment to providing high quality outdoor play opportunities for pupils. We have also achieved the accolade of Best Overall Implementation 2024 in the OPAL Regional Awards.
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 is a great success and the children love being part of an OPAL school. Our project goes from strength to strength but there is always more to do so with the support of our OPAL team and fantastic families the world of play will continue to be transformed to capture and inspire our children’s imaginations.
#We love OPAL!
Our Play Policy
Click here to read our OPAL play policy.
Click here to read our OPAL play policy.
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!
Mini Caretakers
Your child may come home a little messy...
All parents who responded it the survey were happy with their children coming home with muddy clothes and were not worried about minor accidents.
All parents who responded it the survey were happy with their children coming home with muddy clothes and were not worried about minor accidents.
