Play is the foundation of learning, creativity, self-expression, and constructive problem-solving. It's how children wrestle with life to make it meaningful.

St Paul's awarded opal platinum award!

We are thrilled to announce that we have received the OPAL Platinum award, the highest accolade available, putting us in the top 1% of all schools nationally for the quality of our play. We are proud that all of our children get the opportunity to experience exceptional play, every day.

What is opal?

Research has shown that children spend 20% of their time in school playing. To ensure that this time and our fantastic school grounds are used to their full potential our school has adopted an OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) philosophy that allows the children freedom to explore play in their own imaginative ways, often using found and gathered resources in the natural outdoor environment.

An OPAL approach promotes a more inclusive play environment in which all children can feel comfortable to express themselves. From playing with tyres and digging in the mud pit, to enjoying imaginative play in the small world area or cooking up a storm in the mud kitchen, OPAL offers an exciting alternative to the standard playground activities. Through this approach to play children are not only more active at lunch or break times, but they are also having the opportunity to further develop life skills such as cooperation, team work and problem solving. They are becoming motivated and enthusiastic builders, engineers, explorers and designers.

https://outdoorplayandlearning.org.uk/theopal-primary-programme/