Pupils and staff at All Saints Primary School in Wellingborough have been celebrating gaining an elite accreditation for their playtimes – making children happier and healthier.
The town centre school has reached platinum level in the Opal (outdoor play and learning) award scheme for UK schools.
Over two-and-a-half years, the school staff ditched ‘traditional’ playtimes and brought in a new way children could enjoy their breaks.
Out went fixed lunch sittings, ‘wet play’ and risk-averse activities, and in came scooters, mud kitchens, tree climbing and lots of fun.
Headteacher Emma Johnson said: “It’s been two years of a lot of hard work by our staff and children. It’s completely transformed our playtimes and lunchtimes at All Saints.
“It’s very different to how it was before and the children absolutely love it.”
With help from Opal mentor Sam Fletcher, All Saints School transformed their outdoor space from one segregated by year groups, to a free-flow area incorporating every section of the grounds.
A slope down the side of the building is used as a race track for scooters, skateboards, bikes and trikes.
Children can access daily sports games, listen to music, play with water and mud, build dens, dress up and also use a roof garden to play quieter games or colour.
As a town centre school, a large number of pupils who live in flats, do not have access to a garden at home. At the start of the project parents were sent a survey to find out about play habits.
Sam said: “The survey revealed that for many pupils the only place they played outside was at school – traffic is really busy.
“Now, we’ve found they have developed their motor skills by climbing and that has really improved their core strength and handwriting skills.
“Our vision is that every child in every school has an amazing hour of high-quality play every day – with no exceptions.”
As well as improving the physical and emotional benefits, reintroducing the rough and tumble of play has helped children experience risks.
Sam added: “These are life-changing things we have done at All Saints. Bumps and bruises are an inevitable part of childhood.
“We say we use all of the grounds, in all of the weather – it’s not poor weather, it’s poor clothing and it just brings new opportunities to children – and they love puddles!”
The school attained a 100 per cent score for the platinum Opal award, making it one of a handful of settings with a perfect score at the highest level in the scheme.
But what do the children think?
One said: “In Year 3 we used to have to wait until everybody had finished their lunch until we could go out and play, now it’s more exciting – everybody loves it, everybody is happy – just look at what we’ve got!”
Another said: “It used to be boring, I used to wander around – Opal is the best – it’s one of the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”