OPAL
We are so proud to announce that on October 9th 2025, we achieved the Platinum Standard for OPAL play, the highest accolade available, putting us in the top 1% of all schools nationally with the quality of our play provision.
Here at Princes Risborough Primary School, we are committed to ensuring quality play opportunities are available to all our children. We believe that play is essential for physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual development of each child. The school acknowledges the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child, especially Article 31, and supports the child’s right to play. Most of our best childhood memories are from playing outdoors, climbing trees and exploring the wide world around us. OPAL gives us the opportunity to give those memories to your children. OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) is all about using naturally and man-made resources to allow children to be inspired and creative at playtime.
Why is play important?
Research has shown that children spend 20% of their time in school playing.
This equates to 1.4 years of a child’s school attendance.
Our school believes that all children need opportunities to play that allow them to explore, and experience their environment. We believe play provision should be welcoming and accessible to every child, irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, economic or social circumstances, ethnic or cultural
background or origin, or individual abilities.
The OPAL Primary Programme rationale is that “… better, more active and creative playtimes can mean happier and healthier children, and having happier, healthier, more active children usually results in a more
positive attitude to learning in school, with more effective classroom lessons, less staff time spent resolving unnecessary behavioural problems, fewer playtime accidents, happier staff and a healthier attitude to life.”
The value of play
Play is defined as any freely chosen activity which a child finds satisfying and creative. It may or may not involve equipment or other people. We believe the learning opportunities of play include: -
- Emotions e.g. learning about oneself and others, sadness/gladness, rejection/acceptance, frustration/achievement, boredom/fascination, fear/confidence
- Social interactions - enhancing self-esteem and understanding of others through freely chosen interactions e.g. within peer groups, with individuals, with groups of different ages, abilities, interests, gender, ethnicity and culture
- Making choices, problem solving, being creative
- Playing with scrap materials, tyres and other multipurpose objects –
- Achieving and also coping with failing
- Communication and negotiation skills
Why OPAL?
We have partnered with OPAL (Outdoor Play And Learning), to make sure our play times are inclusive and allow our children to get the most benefit from their play times. OPAL strives to enable children to access all of the school grounds, all of the time. Thanks to OPAL we no longer have separate playgrounds for the different year groups but now all children can access both playgrounds at every lunch time. With the introduction of wellies and spare shoes, the field is now open every day, even in the wet weather! We have provided 'loose parts' for the children to use their imagination and play with however they like. We have introduced a construction zone, mud kitchen, small world play, natural obstacle course, strap lines, tree swings, tyres, music, bubbles, climbing wall, pogo sticks, scooter boards and a large sandpit. OPAL enables children to experience so many different types of play!
All children are encouraged to bring in wellies or a spare pair of waterproof shoes which enables them to access all areas, all year round. Waterproof clothes are also advised if your child likes to jump in puddles! Any extra spare wellies are also helpful to have in school for those who don't have any.
The school aims to address the provision of improved play opportunities:
- To ensure play settings provide a varied, challenging and stimulating environment.
- To allow children to take risks and use a common-sense approach to these risks and their benefits.
- To provide opportunities for children to develop their relationships with each other.
- To enable children to develop respect for their surroundings and each other.
- To aid children’s physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual development.
- To provide a range of environments which will encourage children to explore and play imaginatively.
- To provide a range of environments which will support children’s learning across the curriculum and learning about the world around them.
- To promote independence and team work within children.
- To build emotional and physical resilience.
How can you help?
The majority of our equipment has been donated. Our loose parts are continually used and we need a constant supply to be able to replenish as things get broken. Here is an example list of things you could help us with by donating;
- Wooden train track
- Plastic crates
- Toy push chairs
- Toy dolls/barbies
- Sheets/blankets
- Cable reels
- Trunking
- Pipes
- Small world toys: dolls houses, fire stations, toy garage and cars
- Tuff Trays
- Wheeled suitcases
- Buckets and spades
- Musical instruments
- Flat wood