Toner Avenue is a primary school located in Hebburn, South Tyneside. They have 497 pupils on roll and some tarmac and some green space.

Toner believes that OPAL fits with all of their values in the school – Independence, Tolerance, Resilience, Achieving Well and Caring.

It is a fully embedded and integral part of their school life. They are an attractive school to parents, and they are always amazed by the offer they have for children during playtimes.

What were the main issues you were facing at playtime?

We had behaviour issues, staff would patrol, and we had no equipment for the children; subsequently, our children were bored.

Why did you get OPAL to work with your school?

I had used OPAL in a previous school and saw huge successes!

What measures had you tried already?

We had tried playtime boxes and some yard markings.

What did OPAL help with that you couldn’t do yourselves?

OPAL helped with paperwork and the health and safety side of the play. They supported staff training and parent information based on research, helped us in developing a site plan, and also enabled us to visit schools to see what works and how to make things better. All of this helped keep momentum and put in place structures for the longevity of OPAL.

How did the programme impact pupils’ physical, social, emotional, mental, and cognitive development?

We experienced a huge decrease in behaviour incidents; as a result, children were more ready to learn when they came back into the classroom. We also created a ‘snug’ (fully supervised by a trained TA) so children could go there if they were sad, scared or worried. This enabled them to share their feelings. Our children are more resilient now and have a better ‘have a go’ attitude.

How did the programme meet the needs of all your children, in particular pupils with SEND?

It is a very inclusive programme. There is something for everyone: quiet spaces, physical places to play, time to work alone, in small groups, or larger groups.  It can be adapted to meet the needs of children and can be taken in any direction by the child. We created an indoor part of OPAL (IPAL) in order for children to do mindful colouring etc. Children have created clubs of their own, which they advertise in the IPAL room.

How did the programme impact attendance?

Attendance before OPAL was 92.1%, with 33.6% persistently absent. Currently, our attendance is 95.1%, and the persistently absent rate is only 14%.

How did the programme impact communication, vocabulary, and imagination?

All children are now engaged in play outside. This has increased communication across the school. Reception children access OPAL when they start school, and now our Nursery children also access OPAL after their first term.  This is supported by our older pupils and has developed a real community feeling. By creating places to sing, dance, role play – we are building on children’s imagination and allowing them to experiment and try new things.

How did the school secure funding and resources?

We started with an initial budget to buy some larger items. We have done a lot of fundraising – non-uniform days, smarties challenge, class bingo, adult stay and play, etc, to either raise cash or to bring in resources to be used in the yard. We have contacted local companies for donations and put in bids regularly for any amounts we can access.

What partnerships proved most valuable?

Links with local charity shops or Facebook Marketplace have been useful in getting items we need.

What was the impact on parents and wider community members?

Parent Stay and Play has been very successful. Our governors attend regular standards days to monitor playtime, we have had visits from many schools, and I have presented at a range of head teacher meetings. The children talk very successfully and confidently about OPAL.

Click here to see the Toner Avenue OPAL video.