An Overview of OPAL (Outdoor Play & Learning) at St. Bridget’s
At St Bridget's we are committed to ensuring quality play opportunities are available to all our children. As a result of this, part of our school development plan involves us engaging in an exciting project with OPAL (Outdoor Play & Learning). The OPAL programme provides us with a mentor who works closely with the school in order to support us in enhancing and developing our play opportunities. OPAL is all about using natural and man-made resources to allow children to be inspired and creative at playtime.
● Play is critical to children’s health and wellbeing, and essential for their physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual development.
● Play enables children to explore the physical and social environment, as well as new and different concepts and ideas.
● Play enhances children’s self-esteem and their understanding of others through freely chosen social interactions, within peer groups, with individuals, and within groups of different ages, abilities, interests, genders, ethnicities and cultures. This socialisation and teamwork helps to build understanding of others and how personal needs differ.
● Play requires ongoing communication and negotiation skills, enabling children to develop a balance between their right to act freely and their responsibilities to others.
● Play enables children to experience a wide range of emotions and develop their ability to cope with these, including sadness and happiness, rejection and acceptance, frustration and achievement, boredom and fascination, fear and confidence.
● Play encourages independence, resilience and self-confidence through the ability to make choices, adapt ideas, problem solve and to be creative.
● Play maintains children’s openness to learning, develops their capabilities and allows them to push the boundaries of what they can achieve.
Our school believes that all children need opportunities to play that allow them to explore, manipulate, experience and affect their environment. We believe play provision should be welcoming and accessible to every child, irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, economic or social circumstances, ethnic or cultural background or origin, or individual abilities.
The OPAL Primary Programme rationale is that “… better, more active and creative playtimes can mean happier and healthier children, and having happier, healthier, more active children usually results in a more positive attitude to learning in school, with more effective classroom lessons, less staff time spent resolving unnecessary behavioural problems, fewer playtime accidents, happier staff and a healthier attitude to life.”
At St Bridget’s we recognise that our responsibility to our learners is not limited to simply academic progress, but development of the whole child. Our aim is to nurture learners who demonstrate curiosity, problem-solving, resilience and co-operation and who are ready to exercise these in their future life. Child-led play is an excellent age appropriate vehicle for introducing these skills outside of the classroom, as well as being part of a happy, healthy childhood.
Young children today experience very different ‘play’ opportunities from previous generations. Today’s world is perceived as containing more risks and quality time with family and friends is difficult to prioritise for busy working parents. This can result in children’s play being limited in nature, more adult-led or technology reliant.
