OPAL - Outdoor Play And Learning
'Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 31, play is a human right. All state parties have a duty to ensure every child has access to play.'
Research from the Education Endowment Fund, shows that children’s mental and physical health is getting worse and that great play can make it better. During seven years at primary school, children spend 1.4 years at play.
At St James CE Infant and Nursery School we recognise the importance of play and have a plan to ensure that every child has at least one hour’s outstanding outdoor play every school day!
We believe that play teaches children all of the things that need to be learnt, but cannot always be taught in the classroom. There are many benefits to children from having lots of rewarding and stimulating play and at St James', we firmly believe that EVERY CHILD has the right to play.
As part of our School Improvement plan we have invested in the OPAL programme. OPAL stands for Outside Play And Learning. 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.
The following clip will give you a flavour of our vision for play and why we are adopting the OPAL approach.