Our school believes that all children need opportunities to play that allow them to explore, manipulate, experience and affect their environment. We believe play provision should be welcoming and accessible to every child, irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, economic or social circumstances, ethnic or cultural background or origin, or individual abilities.
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.”
At Charing Primary, we promote our school values of compassion, friendship, forgiveness, resilience and hope through play opportunities and provision.
Compassion– We show concern for others and are motivated to help each other when we play. We show empathy towards others and try to be inclusive in our play. We nurture each other and look for spiritual moments through play which can be celebrated.
Friendship– We have a desire to show friendship throughout our day but particularly at playtimes when we can show trust, respect and mutual care for each other and build strong friendships and nurture new ones.
Forgiveness- Playtimes are a time when we can let go of upset, anger or anxiety. We believe in the power of play to transform feelings to help you feel happier and at peace with each other and ourselves.
Resilience– When playing we strive to accept challenges as well as setbacks and adversity. We build trust and supportive relationships through play. We take risks with our play, knowing that we can learn new skills and bounce back.
Hope– Playing allows us to have hope in ourselves as well as a desire to bring the best of ourselves to our play opportunities; to be caring, kind and nurturing individuals. We have hope in all our school community, that we will grow to be good citizens of the world who stand up for what is right.
Definition and value of play
Play is defined as a process that is intrinsically motivated, directed by the child and freely chosen by the child. Play has its own value and provides its own purpose. It may or may not involve equipment or other people.
We believe play has many benefits, including:
- Play is critical to children’s health and wellbeing, and essential for their physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual development.
- Play enables children to explore the physical and social environment, as well as different concepts and ideas.
- Play enhances children’s self-esteem and their understanding of others through freely chosen social interactions, within peer groups, with individuals, and within groups of different ages, abilities, interests, genders, ethnicities and cultures.
- Play requires ongoing communication and negotiation skills, enabling children to develop a balance between their right to act freely and their responsibilities to others.
- Play enables children to experience a wide range of emotions and develop their ability to cope with these, including sadness and happiness, rejection and acceptance, frustration and achievement, boredom and fascination, fear and confidence.
- Play encourages self-confidence and the ability to make choices, problem solve and to be creative.
- Play maintains children’s openness to learning, develops their capabilities and allows them to push the boundaries of what they can achieve.
How can you help?
We are asking for our school community to support us by donating products or recycling materials for play.
We are specifically looking for:
| Plastic guttering | Wetsuits |
| Wooden pallets | Old kitchen utensils, pots and pans |
| Bikes, scooters, | Tarps |
| Plastic piping tubes/PVC pipes | Gardening tools |
| Large buckets | Milk crates |
| Wheels | Crutches |
| Wood scraps | Large empty spools (used for wire, chain, rope) |
| Thick rope |
Charing CoE Primary School would be thrilled to have your support in promoting more active and creative outdoor play for our students. For more information about coordinating material drop-off, please contact:
Name: Leanne Humphries
Contact email: lhumphries@charing.kent.sch.uk
Contact number: 01233712277