OPAL Play - lunchtime play at Godinton Primary School

Lunchtime Playtimes are changing at Godinton

 At Godinton Primary School we very much value the importance of play in our children’s lives.  With our children spending over 6 hours of their school week playing outside, making this aspect of school life as enjoyable as possible is a key priority for us. We want all our children to experience the excitement of explorative play where they can make discoveries, develop their social skills and let their imaginations run wild - our beautiful school grounds provide us with plenty of space in which to do this.

To help us develop play opportunities further at Godinton we are embarking on an exciting journey by signing up to the Opal (Outdoor Play and Learning) programme.

Research shows that play contributes to children’s physical and emotional health, well-being, approach to learning and enjoyment of school. Given the importance of play in children’s lives and current concerns about children’s health and opportunity to access time and space to initiate their own play outdoors, there are considerable benefits for children from participating in OPAL's programme. The OPAL Primary Programme supports schools in developing a cultural shift in thinking about and supporting children’s play. The results can be transformational and - at best – spectacular.

To find out more about Opal Play, click here to visit the Opal website.

• Godinton Primary School Play Policy
• Opal Parent information leaflet

We started our Opal Play journey in September 2024 so are still in the early days. We have our welly racks in place, ready for our children to be able to access our school field in all weathers.  So far we have developed a fairground games zone, a strategic games zone, an art hut and a chill out area ‘festival corner.’ By Christmas 2024 we will have set up the first of our digging areas, a loose parts construction area, small world play and a tyre obstacle course. We already have large apparatus in play including balance beams, monkey bars and climbing frames. We have big plans for the future too – a giant sand pit, den building, mud kitchens, role play, a stage area and wheeled play.  We can’t wait to see where our Opal journey will take us and the fantastic opportunities it will provide for our children.

Have a look at our Opal newsletters to find out more about Opal Play at Godinton:

Thank you to everyone who has helped in so many ways to get Opal Play up and running. We are immensely grateful for the donations received so far and are always on the lookout for how we can reuse or repurpose unwanted items as part of play activity. Currently we are looking for donations of:

• Bread crates
• Small world play items (cars, plastic dinosaurs, happyland people etc)
• Tyres

If you have any donations which might help us in any way, please contact our Play Coordinator, Mrs Carr  opal@godinton.kent.sch.uk