Play makes up 20% of children's primary school life. How do schools plan for this 20%? What are the roles of the play team?
An opportunity for schools to see a OPAL playtime in action, learn more about the OPAL Primary Programme and discover how working with OPAL could benefit your school.Hear from OPAL mentor Kaleigh Atkinson and Bellfield Junior School's deputy head Claire Du Toit.
Agenda
10:45am–10:50am Arrival and refreshments
10:50am–12pm Presentation
A short introduction from Kaleigh Atkinson about the OPAL Primary Programme, followed by a presentation from Claire Du Toit about the impact OPAL has had at Bellfield Junior School.
12pm–1pm Observation of playtime
Come and see a platinum OPAL playtime in action – ask the children about how they manage risk and the grown-ups about the changes they have seen.
About Bellfield Junior School
Bellfield Junior School is located in South Birmingham and has approximately 300 children on roll (from Year 3 to Year 6). Bellfield is a nurturing school where children and staff strive to be the best they can be – academically, spiritually, socially, and emotionally.
The school began its OPAL journey in March 2024 and is due for its final award in July 2025. Despite having a relatively small concrete playground, they are a testament to the fact that fabulous play can flourish in a small space with a little creativity, imagination, and determination.
The school's outdoor provision includes a sandpit, digging area, messy café, water play, den building, music, dressing up, arts and crafts, a gladiator arena, a plethora of small world provisions, and an impressive wheeled play area.
The dedicated play team is deeply committed to continually improving their play offer, led by a fantastic OPAL curricular lead and supported by a great staff and site team. The level of purposeful engagement from every child at playtime is truly fantastic!
Additional information
Parking is not available on the school site but is available on surrounding roads (away from the Bristol Road).
Only two tickets per school please. If you can no longer come, please let us know so we can release your place to another school.
About the OPAL Primary Programme
The OPAL Primary Programme 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.
Find out more: www.outdoorplayandlearning.org.uk
