We have officially achieved our Platinum Award for Opal!
The Power of Playtime at Corngreaves
During seven years at primary school, children spend 1.4 years at play. We need to ensure that this time is stimulating and our fantastic school grounds are used to their full potential. Therefore, our school has adopted an OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) policy, where the philosophy is all about imaginative play and finding fun ways to use recycled items. This style of play is inclusive and allows all ages, skill sets, genders and personality types to play together.
Our OPAL Journey
Our OPAL journey began in January 2024, and our children are very excited about the new outdoor opportunities that are coming soon with so much more for them to do, no matter the weather! We started our journey with simple sand kitchens, small world play and den building. We have since expanded into wheeled play, a sand pit, dressing-up, a mud kitchen, water play and lots more.
We have since expanded our offer to have a large sand pit, stages to perform on, musical instruments, water play, craft activities, a messy cafe, wheeled play and many more. We hold Parent Play afternoons to allow parents to come and experience Opal play with their children in the warmer months.
The opportunities are endless, so please look out for our frequent donation appeals, as we love to recycle things that you would normally throw away.
In October 2025, we had an assessment which deemed our school to be a Platinum Opal school- the highest level we could achieve. We are thrilled that the quality of play has been recognised and we look forward to building on this further, year on year.
Keep an eye on Class Dojo for pictures and requests for donations- without your support we wouldn't be able to continue providing this amazing opportunity for our school family.