Rudheath
OPAL
Children have rights enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Those rights concern freedom and protection to access and do the things that make life worth living. Article 31 of the UN Convention acknowledges that all children have a right to play. At Rudheath Primary Academy and Nursery, we support this right and recognise that play is essential to a happy and healthy childhood. We aim to provide high-quality, fulfilling play experiences for all children across the school. We will do this by providing carefully considered outdoor spaces with play structures and resources that offer a rich choice of accessible play experiences for every child. We will refer to our school’s vision and this play policy in all decisions that affect our children's play. We are committed to providing the strategic and operational leadership needed to provide and maintain quality play for all our children.
Our school has invested in the OPAL programme to support the development of high-quality play times. This programme provides us with a tried-and-tested framework for improving children’s opportunities for play. We will follow the principles and practices recommended by OPAL as we seek to ensure every child in our school has an amazing play time every day.
The OPAL Primary Programme rationale is that “… better, more active and creative playtimes can mean happier and healthier children, and having happier, healthier, more active children usually results in a more positive attitude to learning in school, with more effective classroom lessons, less staff time spent resolving unnecessary behavioural problems, fewer playtime accidents, happier staff and a healthier attitude to life.”
Our play policy encourages the children to develop the values of our school:
- Resilience
- Enthusiasm
- Responsibility
- Respect
- Kindness