OPAL at WIS

At Woodthorpe Infant School, we are passionate about children's physical wellbeing.  We began our OPAL journey in September 2024, and it has been an amazing experience ever since! OPAL has completely revitalised our lunchtimes, making play an integral part of the school day.  OPAL provides opportunities for our children to develop resilience, collaboration and manage risk and elements of danger, through exploring and having fun outdoors.

At Woodthorpe Infant School, we believe the development of the whole child is essential, placing social interaction at the heart of our activities.  Developing social skills is crucial for providing a positive school experience, and with OPAL, our children now enjoy a more purposeful, enjoyable and rewarding lunchtime experience. This fulfilment permeates their entire day, making them more receptive to learning both inside and outside the classroom. We firmly believe that happy children learn best.

Assemblies

Every 3 weeks we have an OPAL assembly where we gather the children together to ensure that there is communication between adults and children about play.  This forms a crucial part of the OPAL process as it allows us to celebrate play, gain the children’s ideas about play development, discuss safety and risk management and then continue to innovate our playtimes.

The Golden Welly Award

The Golden Welly Award celebrates children and their exceptional play.  Children can earn this award for using their initiative during play, outstanding behaviour, being a kind friend, or showing good sportsmanship.  Each week, a member of the OPAL play team selects a child to receive the award, which is then presented at Friday's celebration assembly.

The Golden Broom Award

The Golden Broom Award celebrates the class with the most 'tidy up' tokens.  Children can earn tokens by impressing the play team by working collaboratively to tidy up at the end of each lunchtime.  Each week, the tokens are counted by a member of the OPAL play team and the class with the most tokens receives the award, which is then presented at Friday's celebration assembly.