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 outside. This led us to reflect upon how playtimes could be improved here at Banks Road 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: creating dens; digging on the hill; creating new recipes in the mud kitchen; dancing and performing on the stage; chatting to friends or zipping round the playground on the scooters and bikes. They are developing life skills of team work, communication, resilience whilst also enhancing 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 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.
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 Banks Road, 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.