OPAL open day: Baring Primary School

Play makes up 20% of children's primary school life. See how this OPAL school is making playtime a key part of their day.

Want to see an AMAZING school playtime?

See for yourself what an amazing playtime looks like at Baring Primary School in Lewisham — a one-form entry school with a pretty tiny playground and an OPAL Platinum Award!

Join us and be inspired by observing one of the best school playtimes in the country. Here, kids get muddy, build dens, take risks, explore, experiment, and achieve every single day!

In a tiny urban playground...

Thinking about OPAL?

Join us at 11am to find out how to become an OPAL school. You will hear from the Head and the school team, plus an OPAL mentor with experience in many different types of schools, and then have the chance to join the lunchtime play and talk to children and lunch staff.

This session is also open to staff from new OPAL schools wanting to better understand the process.

Are you currently on your OPAL journey?

Join us at 12:15 to firstly observe playtime, and then join a workshop with other current OPAL schools.

The workshop will be split into two groups, one for new OPAL schools and one for schools in their second year or beyond.

The workshop will be tailored to the key issues of schools attending, but is likely to cover increasing risk, managing play outdoors in heavy rain, planning magic into your playground or playwork interventions.

Agenda

11:00 - 11:15 am Arrival for NON-OPAL schools.

11:15 am–12 pm Introduction to OPAL

Hear from the headteacher and curricular lead as they share a summary of the impact OPAL has made. This will be followed by an introduction to the OPAL Primary Programme, led by an OPAL mentor and the curricular lead or headteacher, outlining how the OPAL Primary Programme works, the costs and challenges involved, and how it can transform playtimes to be amazing for every child, every day.

12 pm–1 pm Observation of playtime (Current OPAL schools arrive 12:15)

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. See the mud kitchen, wheels and creative play in action for all ages.

1 pm–1:15 pm Photo opportunities and questions

An opportunity to take photos and ask the staff questions. NON-OPAL schools leave.

1:15 pm–1:30 pm Refreshments

Tea and coffee will be provided; please bring your own lunch.

1:30 pm–2:40 pm Workshop for current OPAL schools

2:45 pm Close

Times are subject to alterations of up to 30 minutes. The week before the event, attendees will receive an email confirming the times.

About Baring Primary School

Baring Primary School in Lewisham has been developing their amazing playtime over the last three years and achieved their Platinum Award in June 2025.

They are a one-form inner-city primary school with a very small playground, dominated by a huge ball court. They had a small trim trail, a couple of covered areas, and high walls. They also now have a sandpit, mud and digging, a scooter track and lots of stuff to play with. Their wheelled play, ball games and creative play are fantastic for such a small place.

It was a challenging space to start with, so they brilliantly showcase what can be done with a small area and a lot of imagination.

Baring Primary School is a very typical London school, with a quarter of the children receiving pupil premium, and a large proportion being multilingual, speaking over 40 languages.

Additional information

There are easy transport links, good cycle parking and some free parking nearby. There are a large number of steps around the site so if you have any mobility issues, please get in touch with us.

We will have tea and coffee available.

Please dress appropriately, we will be outside whatever the weather.

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.

There are over 2,000 OPAL schools across the UK and around the world, over 250 of them in London and the South East of England.

Find out more: www.outdoorplayandlearning.org.uk