OPAL at Bryn St. Peter's

Our journey:

September 2023 was the start of our OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) journey. It is a mentor supported, school improvement programme to improve the quality of play for all children.

This journey began because of the following goals:

• To improve the quality of lunchtimes for all children

• To give our children a wider range of things to play

• To encourage our children to be more active at lunchtimes

• To make the most of our school grounds and to be able to use all areas, all year round.

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Our school recognises the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which includes the right to play, recreation and leisure (Article 31) and the right of children to be listened to on matters important to them (Article 12). We acknowledge that we have a duty to take these rights seriously and listen to children’s views on their play.

At Bryn St. Peter's, pupil voice is a key aspect of school life for our children which heavily includes what they are able to do in their free time at break and lunch time periods. This, we believe, will help them on their way to embedding our core values love, faith, hope, respect and compassion.

Our Play Charter:

Our Sand Area

In June 2024, we began our sand area. With help from parents and our wonderful Mr Ashcroft, we created a pit that needed 40 tonnes of play sand to fill it! It is one of our most popular social spaces.

Exciting news!

We had our final assessment in April 2026 and we achieved gold standard!

Here are some of the things that our OPAL mentor, Ben said:

'... children's playtimes have been absolutely transformed at Bryn St Peter's. The play offer is varied and diverse, making for truly inclusive, immersive and most importantly fun play times. Playwork practice is evident in the way the play team are working and you can feel the cultural shift toward play and playtimes that speaks of the embedded and embodied nature of the approach thoughout the school.'

We also received an email from the director of OPAL, Michael Follett:

'I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations on your recent achievement in gaining an OPAL award at Bryn St Peter's. Changing the culture of an organisation is not easy but you have done it, to become one of the best schools in the country for the quality of your playtime provision.'

A huge well done to all staff, pupils, parents and the wider community who have contributed to our journey so far! Watch this space as we continue to grow our OPAL offer.