Amazing play, everyday, for every child
Fossdene Primary School are proud to be an OPAL school. OPAL 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. OPAL is the only programme of its kind that has been independently proven to sustainably improve the quality of play in British primary schools. Fossdene began their journey with OPAL in September 2021 and we are working to achieve our OPAL award.
My favourite thing at Fossdene is skating at playtime.
Year 2 child, May 2025
OPAL is based on the idea that, as well as learning through good teaching, your children also learn when they play. As 20% of their time in school is playtime, we want to make sure that this amount of time (equivalent to 1.4 years of primary school) is as good as possible.
One reason Fossdene is carrying out this programme is that childhood has changed, and many children no longer get their play needs met out of school.
- Average screen time per day is six hours.
- Average outdoor play time per week is five hours.
- Percentage of UK children who only play outdoors with other children at school is 56%.
There are many proven benefits for schools that carry out the OPAL Primary Programme. They usually include: more enjoyment of school, less teaching time lost to disputes between children, fewer accidents and greatly improved behaviour.
What makes good play?
Play is not messing about. It is the process evolution has come up with to enable children to learn all of the things that cannot be taught, while also having so much fun. There are certain things children must have in order to be able to play. These include:
Having clothes that they can play in.
Having things to play with - including loose parts.
Having a certain amount of freedom.
As the school improves play opportunities for children, you may find we ask you for resources and make changes about how the children use the school grounds. They may use more of the grounds, for more of the year. Your children may get a bit messier, be exposed to more challenges and have greater freedoms to play where, with whom and how they like. The experiences the school are fostering are essential for children’s physical and mental wellbeing and are in line with all current good practice advice on health and safety, wellbeing and development.
Wet Weather
The whole school will be expected to be outside in all weathers (high winds). Therefore, every child would benefit from having wet weather gear in school. This includes, wellington boots and waterproof trousers and coat. We do have sheltered areas outside so children who would rather be undercover when it rains are at liberty to choose to be there. We sometimes find that some children are still getting wet feet. Could we please ask that you place a spare pair of socks or tights into your child’s school bag? Thank you!
Wish List
As we work towards making our playtimes more exciting, no matter what the weather, we need some equipment to help us to do this. Donations of any of the following would be greatly received:
- Suitcases
- Plastic crates
- Wooden pallets
- Cable drums / reels
- Large cardboard boxes
- Fabric (Sheets / Saris / Curtains)
- Old wagons and buggies / strollers
- Large Buckets and containers
- Dressing up clothes / items (in good condition)
- Small toys (farm animals/ dinosaurs / dolls / cars / Lego/ wooden toys /cars)
- Pots/ pans / metal bowls/ metal spoons / spatulas / plates (plastic or metal)
- Roller skates
- Chalk
- Briefcases
If you have any of these items, please bring them to school.
We would also be grateful for donations of wet weather clothing that no longer fit your children:
- wellies
- waterproof trousers
- raincoats
Please bring to the main office any time!
Thank you in advance!
My favourite thing at Fossdene is that there are a lot of things to do during playtime.Year 5 child, May 2025
