We are an OPaL School!
Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that a child has the right ‘to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts’.
Play holds an essential part in children having a happy and healthy childhood. At Thorndown, we believe that play helps to create children who are independent, social, resilient, imaginative, creative and able to manage their own risks. We recognise these benefits and understand that it is our role and responsibility to ensure that all children have access to quality play provision.
Play makes up 20% of school life!
We began our OPaL journey at Thorndown in November 2023 and since then the changes we have seen to our grounds and our children are fantastic! Thanks to the amazing generosity of our school community, we have been able to provide a much more enriching play environment to the children of Thorndown. We have already seen the creation of a digging area, mud kitchen, construction zone, calm zone, THREE sports zones and several small world zones and this is just the beginning. The children have been more engaged in their play, having wider experiences and learning the things that you simply can’t learn in a classroom.
Risk Benefit
‘Play is great for children’s wellbeing and development. When planning and providing play opportunities, the goal is not to eliminate risk, but to weigh up the risks and benefits. No child will learn about risk if they are wrapped in cotton wool.’ Managing Risk in Play Provision: An Implementation Guide (Play Safety Forum, 2012)
The school will use the Health and Safety Executive guidance document Children’s Play and Leisure – Promoting a Balanced Approach (September 2012) as the principal value statement informing its approach to managing risk in play. Risk and challenge are not limited to physical risk – it includes the uncertainties involved in making new friends, playing with children from different backgrounds and building emotional resilience through trying out new experiences with the possibility of failure. Our play provision here at Thorndown aims to offer children the chance to encounter acceptable risks as part of a stimulating, challenging and managed play environment.
What’s Next?
We are constantly thinking and planning (with lots of ideas from the children!) about different ways our play provision can evolve and develop. We are hoping to host more BIG BUILDS following on from the success of the first one! The future for OPaL at Thorndown is an exciting one but this is a journey we could not go on without the support of the school community. From the building to the fabulous donations to the providing of spare socks and wellies… we couldn’t do it without you!
If you would like any more information about OPaL at Thorndown please click here to view our Play Policy. Mrs McCarter (Play Coordinator) and the rest of the Play Team are experts in their field and if you have any questions about OPaL, Miss Sibanda (Curricular Lead for Play) loves nothing more than to chat all things PLAY!