OPAL Playground

At Button Lane Primary School we believe that play and learning go hand-in-hand. Playtime takes up 20% of a child’s school day and provides opportunities for children to learn all the things that are not discretely taught in the classroom: socialisation, co-operation, coordination, resilience, creativity, imagination and negotiation. That is why we have been striving to improve our play offer here at Button Lane.

Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) is the result of over 20 years of testing and development in over 800 schools and has been used in Spain, Canada, France and New Zealand. The programme has also been adapted and used in schools in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Austria under the Play Friendly Schools project. In 2018, OPAL won first prize in an EU-funded award for the best active school’s programme in Europe and two UK national playwork awards. In 2019, OPAL was awarded a quarter of a million pounds by Sport England to bring the programme to many more schools.

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. 

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.
• Having a certain amount of freedom.

At Button Lane Primary School, we began our OPAL journey in 2023 and we have been working hard ever since to make playtimes as meaningful and enjoyable as we can. Since we began, we have introduced loose parts, tyres, mud kitchens, wheeled areas, a rope swing and dress up clothes to name just a few. We are very much looking forward to continuing to develop our playtimes at Button Lane and sharing our successes with you.

Thank you everyone that has donated and supported our journey so far and look out for further updates on our social media pages as we continue on our journey to accreditation.

Meet our Button Lane Chickens 

We are proud to introduce the Button Lane chickens: Cilla, Eggspresso, Button and Barbie, who have made their home on our Key Stage 2 playground.

Our pupils play an important role in caring for the chickens. They help to feed them, collect the eggs and keep the hen house clean, safe and comfortable. The children take great pride in these responsibilities and show fantastic care and commitment every day.

Looking after the chickens provides valuable hands-on learning opportunities. It helps children develop responsibility, teamwork and respect for living things, while also giving them a better understanding of where food comes from and how to care for animals.