OPAL

OPAL is just one of many initiatives FoDHS have helped bring to the school.

To find out about them all, visit our full You made THIS happen page here, or for more information about OPAL specifically, read on.

SHORT FOR TIME?... Quick Fire: What is OPAL?

OPAL stands for Outdoor Play And Learning and it brings structure and purpose to outdoor playtime, enhancing play and treating it like any other subject in the curriculum.

It sets out to empower children during playtime, providing new learning opportunities and skill growth from play.

From pirate ships made from pallets and umbrellas to DIY-made go-carts, and bath tubs to farmyard toys for role-play, the limit is only the imagination!

We need your help though - please complete our baseline data survey below so we can monitor the programme's impact, and please also see our Donation Station wishlist for the items we are currently collecting for the upcoming play topics.

What is the OPAL Programme?

The OPAL programme is an exciting initiative being jointly funded by the school and FoDHS comittee. Derry Hill School began its OPAL journey in 2026 to embed a new approach to playtime. The funding pays for an 18-24 month implementation period supported by a dedicated mentor, followed by a small annual membership fee to enable ongoing access to resources, support, and the world-wide OPAL community. The school will become a recognised 'OPAL' school, and its children will have enriched, risk-benefit playtimes, meaning the play topics will focus on managing risk rather than removing it. Just like regular subjects have different focuses each term, now playtime will too, led by the OPAL curricular leads (see below).

What is the timeline?

Throughout the 18-24 months, a series of meetings take place covering introductory information, mobilisation meetings, observation sessions, development meetings and assessments. Above you will find a visual of Derry Hill's OPAL timeline to help see where we are in the programme. In between the structured mentor-led meetings, the OPAL working group (see below for details), meet monthly to review progress and agree next steps. The timeline is not fixed. As we progress through the programme it may be adjusted accordingly - but it should help give you an idea of what's to come. As key activities become known, we will update the timeline - keep watch on our noticeboard in the school playground for live updates.

So what next?

The children had their full introductory assembly on Thursday 15th October, and you hopefully received the accompanying ParentMail (also see below for a copy). Next on the timeline is a mentor-led observation session of a playtime session at the school. Along with the completed parent, teacher and pupil survey data, this will enable us to get a baseline from which we can monitor and evaluate the improvements brought by the OPAL programme. The surveys will be repeated again mid-way through the implementation and again at the end of the 18-24 month implementation period.

Please help us gather the baseline data by completing the survey here.

How can you help?

Please complete the baseline data survey above. This will help us assess the impact the programme is having.

Whilst change won't happen immediately, there are some items that we have started collecting ready for when we formally roll out the programme. Please see the Donation Station section below for our current item list. Thank you for all and any donations, they make it all possible! 🙏 💛

Your OPAL working group

If you would like to find out more information about the programme, what's coming up, or how you can get involved and help out, please speak to one of the OPAL Working Group below.

OPAL Mentor: Rachel Murray

This is our dedicated OPAL mentor, experienced in embedding OPAL into schools across the country.

Head Teacher: Mrs Roberts

Programme sponsor for the school

Curricular Leads: Mrs Hand, Mrs Brown and Miss Hurren

This role leads on the strategy, finance and planning, including resourse management to ensure we have what is needed to meet our play targets and bring out play activities to life.

Play Co-ordinator: This will be updated as soon as confirmed

This role is the on-site operational and logistical lead and closely supports the play team.

Play Governors: Mr French, Mrs Olner, Mr Paxford

These are the ambassadors for play, and act as a critical friend for the programme.

Parent Champions: Jo Chapman, Megan Lee

These are the connection into FoDHS as co-funders of the programme, and act as a critical friend and parental representation.

Megan Lee: Parent Champion

Jo Chapman: Parent Champion

Donation Station

Please see below for the list of items we are currently seeking. You will find some bins located at the front of the playground to drop donations off. Please may we ask that items are bagged rather than loose. Thank you so much 🙏❤️