At Tanners Brook, we are at the beginning of our journey with OPAL Outdoor Play and learning. We aim to change the culture around play at our school and want play times to be as important as any other curriculum area.

This programme helps schools plan and invest in play in the same way they plan for literacy, maths or safeguarding.

OPAL at Tanners Brook

Having successfully launched a wide range of new areas and activities for our OPAL playtimes, we have now added wooden structures and shelters, sails for shade during the hotter weather, tyre and cable drum play, as well as crates, water play and more! Check out the images below to see how the children at Tanners Brook are striving for their personal best and making the most of their OPAL break times.

Wooden structures

Due to the hard work from parent volunteers and staff on our OPAL community day, we now have a range of wooden structures built and available on the field for our children to enjoy! We look forward to seeing the creative and imaginative ways our children can utilise them.

Sandpit

Now the sandpit is officially open, children are enjoying digging and playing with a wide range of beach toys, all kindly donated from our local community.

Water play

One of our most recent additions for the summer term is the creation of a water play area. Children are enjoying using funnels, buckets and watering cans to create all types of imaginative waterways.

Tyres, Cable drums and Crates

We are continually amazed at all the interesting ways our children are finding to use our large loose parts. We are big fans of the make-shift picnic areas when we are eating outside.

Book boxes and Music wall

Some other recent additions include the book boxes and a music wall. We love to encourage reading, including during our OPAL break times, so we look forward to developing this area further. We have also created the beginnings of a music wall which we hope to extend along the fence to allow children a chance to foster their musical talents!

Magical tree and Rewilding 

One of our favourite parts of our journey with OPAL is seeing how the children are enjoying our efforts to offer areas with long grass and wildflowers. Children are loving the chance to explore nature as well as run through our wooden areas. The creation of our "Magical tree" has also begun, and we hope for it to become a place that is filled with awe and wonder.

Donations

To continue to facilitate this project, we will need to buy some new resources, and require further donations of loose parts. Loose parts are any materials that can be easily moved, combined, and incorporated into children's free play. The items we are looking for will enable us to enjoy a wider range of play experiences during playtime (see below for some examples):

There are currently two green donation bins for any loose parts to be placed in, on the playground.

Please contact the school before donating any large items via info@tannersbrookpri.org.uk

• Suitcases of any size and type
• Anything on wheels/castors
• Plastic milk crates/supermarket delivery crates/plastic bread trays
• Briefcases, especially hard-cased ones
• Road signs and cones
• Kitchen pots, pans, baking trays, work tables, wooden spoons, chopping boards
• Tools like small spades/shovels, trowels and brooms
• Tubes of various sizes and various materials
• Buckets
• Nets and thick ropes
• Keyboards/torches/laptops/calculators/mobile phones/desk phones/webcams/cameras that are no longer working.
• Fabric (large sheets/brightly coloured fabric)
• Foam sheets/bodyboards/camping roll mats/yoga mats
• Wooden pallets
• Metal frames
• Cable drums
• Guttering
• Noodles (the type you use in the swimming pool!)
• Hats/scarves/jazzy shirts/elasticated skirts/waistcoats/wedding dresses/character costumes
• Pegs (to help to set up dens)

OPAL Play Policy

Please find our OPAL Play policy at the bottom of this page. Alternatively, visit the Policy section of our website.