Ofsted (February 2025) loved OPAL Play - The school places great importance on teaching pupils to learn and play together. It utilises the exceptional outside provision to support pupils to develop an understanding of themselves and respect for others. Wellies are an important part of the school uniform. Pupils talk with great enthusiasm about working with their friends across all age groups to make dens in the woods, dig and build in the huge sandpit or whizz around the track on the scooters and wheelies.

Why is play so important to Team GD?

1. Children learn through their play.

Don’t underestimate the value of play. Children learn and develop:

• cognitive skills – like math and problem solving in a pretend grocery store
• physical abilities – like fundamental skills, balancing and travelling on the playground
• fitness – expending more energy and effort as they explore and engage in active play
• new vocabulary – like the words they need to play with toy dinosaurs
• social skills – like playing together in a pretend car wash
• literacy skills – like creating a menu for a pretend restaurant

2. Play is healthy.

Play helps children grow strong and healthy. It also counteracts obesity issues facing many children today

3. Play reduces stress.

Play helps your children grow emotionally. It is joyful and provides an outlet for anxiety and stress

4. Play is more than meets the eye.

Play is simple and complex.  There are many types of play: symbolic, sociodramatic, functional, and games with rules-to name just a few. Researchers study play’s many aspects:  how children learn through play, how outdoor play impacts children’s health, the effects of screen time on play, to the need for recess in the school day.

5. Make time for play.

As parents, you are the biggest supporters of your children’s learning. You can make sure they have as much time to play as possible during the day to promote cognitive, language, physical, social, and emotional development.

6. Play and learning go hand-in-hand.

They are not separate  activities. They are intertwined. Think about them as a science lecture with a lab. Play is the child’s lab.

7. Play outside.

Remember your own outdoor experiences of building forts, playing on the beach, sledding in the winter, or playing with other children in the neighbourhood. Make sure your children create outdoor memories too.

8. Trust your own playful instincts.

Remember as a child how play just came naturally? Give your children time for play and see all that they are capable of when given the opportunity.

9. Play is a child’s context for learning.

Children practice and reinforce their learning in multiple areas during play. It gives them a place and a time for learning that cannot be achieved through completing a worksheet. For example, when playing in the ‘mud café’, children write and draw menus, set prices, take orders, and create the ‘food’.  Play provides rich learning opportunities and leads to children’s success and self-esteem.

How can parents / carers help? 

The best way you can help at home is ensuring your child is dressed appropriately for play and to embrace the mud! Our uniform is an active one so children should always be in black leggings / joggers and a red jumper. We find red polo shirts are much more forgiving of mum than white ones too! Every child needs a pair of wellies they can leave in school for play every day! In the winter please make sure children have a warm coat, hat, gloves and an extra pair of socks to wear inside their wellies. 

We also welcome donations of play equipment you may have laying around at home or even have access to through your work. This is a list of things we always accept but we are happy to talk about other things you might want to donate:

• wheels - most things with wheels, eg scooters, ride on toys, balance bikes (no pedals) pushchairs either for children or dolls. 
• plastic guttering, buckets, watering cans and tubs as well as plastic funnels, tubing and jugs. 
• space hoppers
• planks of wood, scaffolding boards are good for large scale construction or see saws
• acorns, pine cones and other natural materials for the mud kitchen
• tarpaulins
• small spades, trowels, rakes etc
• pegs for den building
• small world items like plastic dinosaurs, cars

We often welcome parent to come and play too - watch out for our open events and come and join us.