We believe that every child deserves the freedom to play, explore and learn, in a way that is meaningful to them.  In June 2026, we were awarded the OPAL Platinum Award for play. 

Benefits of Outdoor Play and Learning

Outdoor play is a critical component of childhood development and helps children to:

• Develop strong, healthy bodies through active movement and exercise.
• Build confidence, resilience and independence.
• Strengthen communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills.
• Develop creativity, imagination and curiosity.
• Improve concentration, wellbeing and readiness to learn.

Exposure to natural stimuli such as weather, textures, sounds and smells enhances sensory awareness, creativity and memory retention.

Children who engage in outdoor learning often demonstrate improved focus, reduced stress and greater enthusiasm for school.

Key Principles

Effective outdoor learning is more than just letting children play outside. It involves:

• Structured yet flexible activities that encourage exploration and problem-solving.
• Acceptable risk-taking, which helps children develop judgment and resilience while ensuring safety.
• Integration with curriculum goals, using outdoor spaces as extensions of the classroom for science, maths, literacy, and cultural learning.
• Community involvement, including parents, carers, and local organisations, to enrich learning experiences.

At Wilnecote

At Wilnecote, OPAL has been a great success – more children love being outside, no matter what the weather, as there is now so much more to do.

Whether it is playing with tyres and planks, digging in the sandpit, enjoying imaginative play in the small world area, exploring water play, creating obstacle courses, being creative in the mud kitchen or exploring the den area, OPAL is offering a creative and exciting alternative to the regular activities on the playground.

Through this kind of play, not only are children more active at lunchtime, they also have the opportunity to further develop life skills such as cooperation, teamwork and problem-solving. They are becoming motivated and enthusiastic builders, engineers, explorers and designers.

Thank you for your support with: -

• Sending your child into school with appropriate warm/waterproof clothing and wellies
• Donating to school small world creatures, cars, pots and pans etc. for the creative play
• Supporting the OPAL ethos by asking your child about their play and accepting that they may get dirty. 

You can still help us more by donating any unwanted materials you have at home, such as: -

• Plastic or metal buckets
• Kitchen utensils, pots, pans, baking trays, sieves, colanders etc for the mud kitchen
• Watering cans, wheelbarrows, guttering
• Large pieces of fabric
• Toy trucks, diggers, cars
• Small world creatures, e.g. dinosaurs, farm animals etc.

I am sure some of you will be getting a little envious of all the fun the children are having. You’ll, therefore, be very pleased to have advanced warning of stay and play sessions where you will be welcome to explore OPAL with your child. Please ensure you keep an eye on the calendar dates for this.