OPAL (Outside Play and Learning)
Healdswood is proud to be a Platimum OPAL school.
Here is our team: Mr Clark (link governor), Mrs Walker (play co-ordinator), Mrs Townsend (OPAL lead), Amy Masini (OPAL mentor), Mrs Renshaw (Head Teacher), Miss Dudley (play co-ordinator) and Mrs Hufton (play co-ordinator).
Children spend 4 years at our school, 1 year of those years is at playtime! Being an OPAL school brings our school ethos to playtimes and shows our commitment to providing play excellence. The benefits of play for children of all ages has been well researched. Here are a few of the key benefits that we have seen in our children:
- Increased confidence and self-esteem
- Confidence to take risks
- Enhanced learning
- Improved concentration
- Increased creativity and imagination
- Improved problem-solving skills
- A sense of joy and well-being
- Improved co-operation skills
- Improved memory
- Better communication skills
As a school, our learning is underpinned by our school Learning Powers, which ensure that our children have the skills to be lifelong learners. OPAL is instrumental in providing the time and space for these skills to develop.
Alongside developing our school Learning Powers we also follow our OPAL charter, which the children chose and agreed on to make playtimes a happy and enjoyable time for everyone.
We are fortunate to have such spacious school grounds where we can offer the highest quality play experiences whatever the weather! Our outdoor OPAL areas are continually developed, to ensure new and exciting play opportunities for our children. Not only do we have plans to develop play areas but also big plans for what the future of OPAL provision looks like, which you can see below.
Have a look at some of the amazing things we get up to at OPAL...