What is Opal Playtime?
Opal playtimes is an initiative Thomas Willingale started in January 2024. Our aim is to get children playing with a range of equipment, using more of the school site in order to become more creative, develop collaborative and social experiences, improve balance, fitness and skill sets as well as having lots of fun.
At lunchtimes the children have the opportunity to play in different areas and with different equipment such as the wheeled area, the sandpit, the dressing up and performance area, the water play area, the large apparatus area, the sensory garden, the reading shed, arts and crafts, MUGA (multi use games area) and small world toys amongst many other things. From the start we have seen a marked difference in the children's behaviour and happiness at lunchtimes. There are less accidents despite there being more equipment outside for them to play with.
Some of Year 6 children support the younger children with their play as 'Play Rangers'. They referee and support children in different games being played in the MUGA such as tennis and crazy golf. They supervise gladiators on the field, arts and crafts under the canopy and table tennis and they are also responsible for taking photos of children playing creatively in different ways - we will add their photos to this page regularly.
We had our first stay and play with parents joining their children and playing alongside them. The children and adults all seemed to be having a wonderful time!
Some pictures from lunchtimes:
What we have noticed:
Since introducing OPAL playtimes, we have seen a much happier and content cohort of children at our school. When you walk onto the playground, the air is filled with laughter and music, the children are smiling and chatting away to each other or are deeply engrossed in an adventure with the small parts while wandering around our beautiful grounds.
The children -
- play together making up stories and adventures using figures, dinosaurs, cars, prams and dolls etc
- build and explore using LEGO and other building items, use tyres and tree stumps to make obstacle courses and stepping stone paths.
- use wheeled items such as the bikes, scooters and skateboards - they zoom up and down our small slope on the playground and are aware of others and give way. (And on Fridays, KS2 get to use the whole playground on the wheeled items - this is called Freedom Friday.)
- use the sensory garden for a quiet, stimulating environment
- play ball games in the MUGA, the play rangers teach the children how to play tennis and golf amongst other games.
- use the small grass hill on the field, where the children can run up and down, or try sledging with the plastic sledge or other materials we out out.
- perform on the stage area with the radio playing and musical instruments or dress up and create a show for others to watch
- play in our mud kitchen or digging area which is used extensively for the creation of carefully prepared delicacies for friends!
- dig or make creations in the sandpit
- read quietly in the reading shed
-play table tennis under the canopy
-create their own designs in the arts and crafts area.
-challenge themselves and others to move items or