OPAL - Outdoor Play and Learning
Amazing play, every day, for every child
At St Peter's School we are very 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.
Its success comes from a series of interrelated actions undertaken with specialist support from an OPAL mentor. This embeds play into the school’s policies and practices and establishes clear guiding principles and strategies for initiating lasting changes at playtimes.
A parent guide to outdoor play and learning can be found through the following link:
Loose part donations
We will be continuing collecting loose parts to replenish our OPAL offering throughout the year. The items we are looking for will enable us to enjoy a wider range of play experiences during playtime (see below for some examples):
- Suitcases of any size and type
- Anything on wheels/castors
- Plastic milk crates/supermarket delivery crates/plastic bread trays
- Briefcases, especially hard-cased ones
- Road signs and cones
- Kitchen pots, pans, baking trays, work tables, wooden spoons, chopping boards
- Tools like small spades/shovels, trowels and brooms
- Tubes of various sizes and various materials
- Buckets
- Nets and thick ropes
- Keyboards/torches/laptops/calculators/mobile phones/desk phones/webcams/cameras that are no longer working
- Fabric (large sheets/brightly coloured fabric)
- Foam sheets/bodyboards/camping roll mats/yoga mats
- Wooden pallets
- Metal frames
- Cable drums
- Guttering
- Noodles (the type you use in the swimming pool!)
- Hats/scarves/jazzy shirts/elasticated skirts/waistcoats/wedding dresses/character costumes
- Pegs (to help to set up dens)
If you have any items to donate, please leave them in the donation area under the shelter by the main school office.
Thank you for your continued support with our OPAL Primary Programme!
Take a look at what our St Peter's children get up to during their OPAL time
OPAL play session
We were delighted to welcome so many parents and carers to our OPAL assembly and play session on Thursday 26 February. It was wonderful to see so many adults in the playground interacting with the children in their play and seeing all the improvements we have made to our outdoor provision since starting our OPAL journey. Thank you to everyone who came along and for all of your insightful questions and positive feedback. We plan to welcome you back again later in the year for another play session.