First things first.
Where should I begin?
Step 1: Contact us
We have created a simple tool to help us understand your school better. It only takes a few minutes.
Please use the form through the link below to start your evaluation and send us your contact information. One of the team will then come back to you to plan a one-to-one call.
Step 2: Preparations
Make space in your planning for treating playtime as if it were a curricular area.
You will need to have a committed working group, including the headteacher, which meets eight times with their mentor and at least eight times on their own, working towards the implementation of your action plan.
It requires 100% dedication from the headteacher and governors to see the programme through and make it permanently sustained within the culture of the school.
Step 3: Meet the mentors
You will be allocated an expert OPAL mentor who will support you over an 18 to 24-month period.
The mentor will bring about an entire cultural and practical transformation of how play is thought about, planned for, resourced and staffed.
Every OPAL mentor has been selected because of their extensive knowledge and experience in the fields of playwork, school improvement, change management and strategic planning.
Step 4: Programme course
The process starts with a structured audit carried out by the mentor and the school together.
The audit covers 18 critical cultural and environmental conditions which affect the quality of children’s play. This is followed by an INSET day which informs the whole-school community of the programme and brings together their agreed values and principles to form a play policy.
This is followed by development meetings, and phone support, held throughout the year, to support the school in embedding their plans and implementing them.
That's a wrap
The final meeting in the programme is the OPAL award audit, where progress is mapped, an award status of silver, gold or platinum is agreed, and the next development phase is planned.
A few words about risk....
One of the main reasons schools work with us is our ability to give them the best possible advice on how to manage challenge and risk in play. OPAL closely follows the advice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and International Standards Organisation (ISO), and helps schools to understand and implement the guidance.
Our extremely thorough risk management process gives schools the confidence to manage the risks and the benefits of play.
We are keen to work with health and safety teams in local authorities and academy trusts to ensure consistency and best practice is in place.
Next steps
During your OPAL journey you will have free access to our comprehensive online community learning platform, OPAL College.
As an award holder you will be able to purchase membership of OPAL College to help you sustain your improvements, access free events, receive our members newsletter, network with other schools, and undertake unlimited online training.
Learn how to sustain the quality of play in your school.
OPAL Honours
Schools that maintain OPAL Platinum Award status for three consecutive awards will join our OPAL Honours group. OPAL will promote these schools as national exemplars of outstanding practice.
OPAL Honours schools are granted free access to OPAL College, even after award.