Brookmead's OPaL Adventure

Here at Brookmead, we believe that play is essential for physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual development of each child. Most of our best childhood memories are from playing outdoors, climbing trees and exploring thewide world around us. OPAL gives us the opportunity to give those memories to your children. OPaL is all about using natural and man made resources to allow children to be inspired and creative at playtime. Children spend 1.4 years of their primary school attendance in playtime. This time is valuable and needs careful planning. Better play means happier children. Happier children mean fewer behaviour problems; a more positive attitude to school, lessons that are more effective, core skills development, less staff time spent resolving  problems, fewer accidents and happier staff.

We are delighted to have signed up to work with OPaL on an 18 month project to improve our playtimes. 

Please watch this space for updates and photographs of our work to develop play experiences for all our children over the coming months.

Click here to view the OPaL website

Click here to view the OPaL communications

Click here to view our Play Policy

Loose Parts Donations List

We are always looking for donations so please do call or drop off donations to the front office as you find them!

The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) promotes risky play!

It is always a slight worry to parents and to staff who work with children when they are engaged in what could be described as ‘risky play’. We are programmed to try and stop anything which poses any kind of risk. Recent research has shown that this is not preparing our children to make their own risk assessments and overcome problems and challenges. The HSE agrees with this, stating that play which carries some risk is not only allowed but should be actively encouraged. Children, by law, have the right to play. Below is a link to the HSE report on why risky play should happen in schools:

 https://www.hse.gov.uk/entertainment/assets/docs/childrens-play-july-2012.pdf