Heron is a primary school located in Abbeydale, Gloucestershire. They have 400 children on roll and a lot of tarmac and green space.

Pupils have access to good-quality play, and the adults facilitate, but the pupils decide. At Heron, you won’t see the staff telling the pupils where to play, what to play with, how to play, or who to play with – these decisions are theirs to make (as long as it is safe). All children, including those who are disadvantaged, can participate as well as their peers in creative play where their ideas and suggestions are heard and acted upon.

All children have access to exciting and engaging activities at lunchtimes. Leadership opportunities for older pupils enable play facilitation and opportunities for younger pupils.

What were the main issues you were facing at playtime?

We were having lots of arguments, particularly about football, and the staff were having to deal with poor behaviour choices. We had a lot of minor accidents. Pupils were also staying rooted to their own groups, or they were on their own. We had a lack of resources and a lack of space.

Why did you get OPAL to work with your school?

We had looked at a few options for our lunchtime provision. We had visited other schools that were offering more than we were. We took approximately 12 months to come upon OPAL at another school… We knew immediately that this was what we needed for our school.

What measures had you tried already?

We tried staggering lunchtime, providing more staff on duty, changing the behaviour policy and buying basic resources, e.g. balls, hoops, skipping ropes.

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

OPAL helped with our grounds management, health and safety around play and the benefit-risk approach, the development of our play team and play training on the play-types.

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

We have evidenced an increased confidence and a reduction in conflict due to more cooperative play, pupils supporting each other and wider friendship groups; our older pupils nurture the younger children. There is now such varied play, and children are now more adventurous, imaginative, resilient, and they can assess and take reasonable risks.

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

It is fully inclusive; it has supported all needs, in particular physical and SEMH. Children develop their language and communication with staff and peers. They build resilience and wider and more varied relationships.

How did the programme impact attendance?

Attendance at Heron always runs at approximately 94%. We haven’t seen a huge change in the figures, but in any pupil survey we carry out, a high proportion of pupils state that the best time of the day is lunch due to OPAL.

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

Pupils talk to a wider group of people, including older/younger. They can talk freely to each other and modify their language for their audience. They are better at turn-taking and the language of sharing. It has promoted the use of subject-specific vocabulary and strategies to problem solve through trial and error.

How did the school secure funding and resources?

We included OPAL in our SEF and ADP. We allocated the initial funding from the school budget as we developed play as a curriculum area. Resources are usually sourced for free. We have a close relationship with a local supermarket and charity shop. We give them a list of the things we are looking for, and they donate them to us. Our PTA has funded some OPAL equipment, and our local councillor funded some monkey bars through a local authority scheme. We run several non-uniform days through the year for consumables, e.g. Year 1 will bring chalk, Year 2 will bring bubbles, Year 6 will bring food colouring, etc. We have a steady stream of donations, e.g. prams and dolls, throughout the year as we add the requests to our newsletter.

What partnerships proved most valuable?

Parents, the local supermarket and charity shops.

What was the impact on parents and wider community members?

Most parents were interested in the introduction to OPAL- they were happy to see the opportunities for the children to be active, outside and playing. Our stay and play days are very well attended by parents and wider family members. We have had several visits from the governors, local authority, Ofsted, and local councillors who are amazed by the play offer at Heron. We have hosted staff from several other schools who want to see the impact of OPAL for themselves. OPAL is now talked about at our new EYFS parent meetings, so everyone knows this is a big part of what the children can do at our school.