OPAL Playtime at The Academy of Cuxton School

Because play is children’s work — and it should be brilliant fun!

We’re thrilled to announce that The Academy of Cuxton School has begun an exciting new journey with OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) — a nationally recognised programme that helps schools create happier, more active, and more imaginative playtimes for every child.

What is OPAL?

OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) has supported hundreds of schools across the UK and around the world — including in Canada, Australia, France, New Zealand, and many more — to transform the quality of children’s play. The message is simple but powerful: play is essential for children’s health, happiness, and development. Every child deserves time and space to play freely, creatively, and joyfully every single day.

Why OPAL at Cuxton?

At Cuxton, we believe playtime should be purposeful, fun, inclusive, and well-resourced. Through OPAL, we’re reimagining our outdoor spaces and lunchtime experiences to create opportunities for children to:

• Build, design, and explore their own ideas 

• Move, climb, and challenge themselves 

• Work together, share, and make friends 

• Let their imaginations run wild 

• Enjoy every playtime — in all weathers! 

Our OPAL Journey So Far...

We’ve already taken our first exciting steps towards becoming an OPAL school!
To help us understand what playtime currently looks like and where we can make improvements, we have:

• Surveyed our children to hear their thoughts, wishes, and ideas for play

• Asked our staff about what’s working well and where they see opportunities

• Gathered feedback from parents and carers about what they’d love to see

We’ve now collected all of these valuable insights and will be using them to shape the next stages of our OPAL journey.

Survey Results

• Children’s Survey Summary:
  Children would like equipment out to stop them from getting bored... more spaces to roam...

• Staff Survey Summary:
  The chidlren need to be kept busy to avoid arguments, injuries and allow them the time and space to socialise and be ready for afternoon learning.

• Parent Survey Summary:
  Children often talk about not doing much at lunch... or football dominants the playground...

•  

We’re all singing from the same hymn sheet — children, staff, and parents alike — as we work together to make play at Cuxton even better.

Our children  have been very busy in assembly time, drawing and creating their very own dream playgrounds. Some lovely ideas. our children have definitely thought of EVERYTHING!

Meet Our OPAL Working Party

Play needs leadership and teamwork to thrive — and we’ve got a fantastic group leading the way!

Our OPAL Team:

• Mrs Aldham-Breary – Headteacher

• Mrs Mulholland and Mr Bilton – Curricular Leads of Play

• Mrs Thomas – Play Co-ordinator

• Mrs Fielon – Play Governor

• Dr Puts – Parent Play Champion

We have our first meeting booked in and are excited to be working with our OPAL Play Advisor, who will guide us through each step of this transformation.

Coming Soon: OPAL Donations

As part of our OPAL journey, we’ll soon be asking for donations of items that can help enrich our play spaces. Think:

• Good quality toys

• Crates, tyres, and pallets for building

• Costumes, fabric, and dressing-up items for imaginative play

• Pipes, tubes, and boxes for construction and creativity

More details — including what we’re looking for and where to drop donations off — will be shared very soon. Every little bit helps bring playtime to life!

What’s Next?

Keep an eye on this page or our Facebook page for regular updates, photos, and stories as our OPAL playtimes continue to evolve. Together, we’re building a play culture where every child feels happy, included, and inspired to play in their own wonderful way.

✨ Watch this space — playtime at Cuxton is about to get even more amazing!