OPAL open day: Baring Primary School, Lewisham

See for yourself what a fantastic playtime looks like at Baring Primary School in Lewisham, a one-form entry school with a tiny playground and an OPAL Platinum Award!

Join us and be inspired as you observe one of the best school playtimes in the country. Here, children get muddy, build dens, take risks, explore, experiment, and achieve every single day.

Join us at 11am to find out how to become an OPAL school. You will hear from the headteacher and the school team, as well as an OPAL mentor with experience in many different types of schools. You will then have the chance to join the lunchtime play and talk to children and lunchtime staff.

This session is also open to staff from new OPAL schools who want to better understand the process.

Join us to first observe playtime and then take part in a workshop with other current OPAL schools.

The workshop will be split into two groups: one for new OPAL schools and one for schools in their second year or beyond.

The workshop will be tailored to the key issues facing the schools attending, but is likely to cover increasing risk, managing outdoor play in heavy rain, and planning magic into your playground or playwork interventions.

11am–11:15am Arrival for NON-OPAL schools.

11:15am–12pm Introduction to OPAL

Hear from the headteacher and curricular lead as they share a summary of the impact OPAL has made. This will be followed by an introduction to the OPAL Primary Programme, led by an OPAL mentor alongside the curricular lead or headteacher. The session will outline how the programme works, the costs and challenges involved, and how it can transform playtimes to be amazing for every child, every day.

12pm–1:15pm Playtime observation (Current OPAL schools arrive 12:15pm)

Come and see a platinum OPAL playtime in action – ask the children about how they manage risk and the grown-ups about the changes they have seen. See the mud kitchen, wheels and creative play in action for all ages.

1:15pm–1:30pm Photo opportunities and questions

An opportunity to take photos and ask the staff questions. NON-OPAL schools leave.

1:30pm Refreshments

Tea and coffee will be provided; please bring your own lunch.

1:30pm–2:00pm Hear this school's journey, Q&A, challenges and solutions sharing

2:00pm - 2:45pm Focus on planning for restricted spaces and building sustainable systems

2:45pm Close

Times are subject to alterations of up to 30 minutes. The week before the event, attendees will receive an email confirming the times.

Baring Primary School in Lewisham has been developing its amazing playtime over the last three years and achieved its OPAL Platinum Award in June 2025.

It is a one-form, inner-city primary school with a very small playground, dominated by a huge ball court. Originally, it had a small trim trail, a couple of covered areas, and high walls. The school has now added a sandpit, mud and digging areas, a scooter track, and lots of other play equipment. Its wheeled play, ball games, and creative activities are impressive for such a small space.

Starting with such a challenging playground, Baring brilliantly showcases what can be achieved with a small area and a lot of imagination.

Baring Primary School is a very typical London school, with a quarter of its children receiving pupil premium and a large proportion being multilingual, speaking over 40 languages.

There are easy transport links, good cycle parking and some free parking nearby. There are a large number of steps around the site so if you have any mobility issues, please get in touch with us.

Tea and coffee will be provided.

Please dress appropriately, we will be outside whatever the weather.

The OPAL Primary Programme is an award-winning mentor-supported school improvement programme that addresses all the areas that schools must plan for if they want to strategically and sustainably improve the quality of their play opportunities.

There are over 2,000 OPAL schools across the UK and around the world, over 250 of them in London and the South East of England.

Find out more: www.outdoorplayandlearning.org.uk

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