OPAL - Outdoor Play and Learning
OPAL - Outdoor Play and Learning
At St Peter’s we believe that all children and young people have the right to play and the right to learn as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Children. Playing outdoors enhances learning and is fundamental for children and young people to thrive in health, wellbeing and development. It is our responsibility to support and enable all of our pupils to access our diverse greenspaces and natural landscapes and to empower them to enjoy these spaces for the purposes of playing and learning.
To this end, we implemented the OPAL Primary Programme in 2017 and have gone from strength to strength ever since. We adopt an ‘access all areas, in all weathers’ approach, where pupils have access to rich and varied environments and a wealth of play opportunities through a wide range of play equipment, small and large loose parts and much, much more.
In June 2019 we were awarded our 1st OPAL PLATINUM AWARD with our 2nd being awarded in October 2022. This year we have secured our 3rd Platinum award which means we have become an ‘OPAL Honours’ school, 1 of only 7 others in the whole country.
Rachel Murray’s (OPAL mentor) Honours Award report follows:
Congratulations to St Peter’s Catholic Primary School, Gloucester – OPAL Honours Award
A huge congratulation to St Peter’s Catholic Primary School in Gloucester on achieving the prestigious OPAL Honours Award – the highest accolade within the OPAL Outdoor Play and Learning programme. This remarkable achievement places St Peter’s among the very best schools in the country for the quality of its outdoor play provision.
St Peter’s is a school that truly values every child’s right to play, as enshrined in Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Their OPAL journey began in 2017 under the guidance of OPAL founder and Director Michael Follett, working alongside then Headteacher Carol Barron and Curricular Lead for play Mark Dowling.
The school first achieved Platinum status in 2019, before going on to secure two further consecutive Platinum Awards. With the continued leadership of Headteacher Kurt Doyle and ongoing dedication from Mark Dowling, supported by OPAL mentor Rachel Murray, St Peter’s has now reached the pinnacle of OPAL recognition with this Honours Award.
Outdoor play at St Peter’s is truly outstanding. The school’s extensive grounds are used to their fullest potential, offering rich, varied, and inclusive play experiences throughout the year and in all weathers. From sports, scooting, gardening, and cooking in the mud kitchen, to climbing trees, swinging, digging in the huge sandpit, free building with pallets and tyres, drumming on a real drum set, and even clambering aboard a real boat – the opportunities for play are endless. Pupils confidently scale what must surely be one of the tallest climbing frames in any UK primary school!
Every day, the children demonstrate independence and responsibility – putting on wellies when needed, sharing turns at the Forest School basket swing, and collaborating on large, complex dens at the far end of the field.
St Peter’s has thoughtfully integrated its Forest School provision with its outdoor lunchtime play offer, maximising time for children to play in nature. Huge thanks go to Curricular Lead Mark Dowling and Play Coordinator Ria Whitehead, along with the dedicated lunchtime Play Team’, whose tireless efforts have created this exceptional play environment. Their commitment to a playwork approach ensures that children experience adventurous, challenging play while learning to manage risk confidently – in line with Health and Safety Executive guidance on risk-benefit assessment.
There are only seven OPAL Honours Schools in the country – exemplars of schools that have placed play at the heart of their culture through careful planning, investment, and whole-school commitment.
Congratulations to the pupils, staff, governors, and parent community of St Peter’s Catholic Primary School on this outstanding and richly deserved achievement.
Rachel Murray, OPAL Mentor – June 2025
OPAL Stay and Play
The children have been enjoying playing in all the different OPAL zones. They have been making campfires in the forest school area, rolling down the bank inside a water butt, playing with the Barbie dolls in the quiet area, dancing and playing musical instruments in the music zone, building sandcastles in the sand pit and making bases and obstacle courses with crates, tyres and pallets. They are LOVING OPAL.
As a result of this, we'd love you to experience OPAL too, so during term 4 we will be offering 'Stay and Play' where parents/carers are invited to experience OPAL with your children from 3.15pm - 4pm every Friday. So keep an eye out for more information nearer the time.
When the time comes, please note the following information:
This will be unsupervised play - all we will ask is that you follow these simple rules:
1. Sign the sheet in the main office to say you are staying (this is so we know who is on site) and sign it again when you are leaving (so we know you have left!).
2. Treat the resources and the zones with respect.
3. Tidy away the resources when you and your children have finished with them.
4. The POND by the forest school zone is strictly out of bounds.
5. Bring your own drinks, snacks and first aid supplies - the school does not accept any liability for any accidents that occur - you 'Stay and Play' at your own risk.
6. Take all your litter home with you.
7. Have an amazing OPAL experience!
Thank you for your continued support Mrs Whitehead (OPAL Play Coordinator) and Mr Dowling (OPAL Leader).
Essentials:
It is essential that all children are kitted out with waterproof coats and wellingtons (clearly named) to stay in school every day so that the children can access all areas in all weather and get the most out of their OPAL experience.
Recommended:
As many of the zones are muddy there is a strong possibility of clothing getting wet and dirty. Waterproof trousers and/or a change of clothes are highly recommended to protect their school clothes.