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- St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, AL10 8NN
St Philip Howard
Catholic Primary School
Take a look at some of our recent photos.
Swipe contentOur Vision
OPAL is the philosophy our school follows at lunchtimes.
We have seen just how much of an impact improving play can make to a school. We are not just talking about playtimes being a bit less bother or about children being a bit happier. We are talking about cultural transformation.
When you address a need that is so fundamental to the physical and mental wellbeing of children as play, and you do it well, it is impossible to think of how we ran a school and didn’t do this.
Our vision is that every child in our school has an amazing hour of high quality play every day – with no exceptions.
If one child is not enjoying playtimes, then things still need improving. We want to resource and evaluate the quality of our play provision, as it is not only an important human right, but is essential to all aspects of children’s development - and play is a source of joy and happiness that every child can access.
Types of Play
Did you know that there are 16 different types of play? They can be categorised into 4 sub sections;
Even when we play, we are learning. It's such an important part of the school day.
Furthermore, play supports self-regulation as a key developmental mechanism: this ability is increasingly shown to be vital to academic success. That's why, at St Philip Howard, OPAL is so important!
Our Play Team have recently been learning about each type of play and how we are going to make it even better at SPH!
OPAL at SPH 2023
2023 has started with a boom! Follow along on our play journey...
The Climbing Wall
April 2023
The climbing wall was put in during the Easter Hoilday's its been very popular!
The SPH Mud Café and Digging Area is open for business!
13th March 2023
Day One of The Mud Kitchen was a huge success!
The mud kitchen was ready for its first visitors this week (6th March). Each class was given time to explore the new addition; discuss and decide on some guidelines to keep everyone safe before we open it for free play at lunch time next week! Wellie boots are a MUST!
A special thank you to 3H for helping to create the digging area!!
The Prayer Garden
March 2023
The Prayer Garden has had some TLC after a long, wet winter! A new layer of woodchip and some pruning means the garden is back open for classes to visit during class worship and R.E lessons. At lunchtimes it offers a quiet space where you really feel nature. It is a place to reflect, a place to pray.
Mrs Halsey's bench offers a lovely place to sit. "This is the bench where you are welcome to sit, look at the garden and reflect for a bit. These are the plants which bloom and grown just like the children in the playground below." - Mrs Halsey (1957-2012)
Spring is finally on it's way!
March 2023
The fruit trees also got a new covering of wood chip and the buds are finally starting to push through!
Our five fruit trees make a great addition to the field. The cherry tree was planted in commemoration of the Queens Platinum Jubilee. It's planting was part of a special service where the Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Marion Brown MBE, dedicated the tree as apart of the Queen's Canopy which started our Jubilee celebrations!
Our hope is that the trees will continue to grow, produce fruit and offer shelter for years to come.
Mud Kitchen Pending
February 2023
The Play Team have been working hard over the last month to get the Mud kitchen up and running!
Panning for Gold!
January 2023
The search for gold has been popular with all the children. The children really thought they had hit the jackpot, unfortunately we had to break the sad news that our gold doesn't have a high retail price.
Special thanks to Mrs Mrbate who painted each individual gold stone!
Our wonderful Forest!
January 2023
We are very lucky to have such a wonderful forest that the children use for Forest School. We have opened up the unused end of the forest for free play at lunchtimes. It's become a land of; dens, mythical and magical creatures, homes, castles, burrows and holds explorations into mystical lands.
The addition of our first tyre swing is always in high demand. Even Mrs Hulley and Mrs Hale enjoyed testing its strength!
Making Play Better
Starting after half term each week we will be looking at how to improve a type of play at lunchtimes.:
Week 1 (20.02.23) 'Role Play.' Role Play involves children taking on roles and activities that are different to being themselves. This will usually involve imitating an adult, such as a parent or teacher. Alternatively, role play may involve the child acting out how they believe adults in other roles such as police, doctor or shop-worker may behave. A big thank you to Mrs Turley who brought in lots of costumes especially for role play. Thank you to all the families who have donated costumes to add to our collection. The role play is very popular with all ages at lunchtime.
Week 2 (27.02.23) 'Fantasy Play'. Fantasy play is when children create situations, characters and abilities that could not happen in the real world. They might pretend to be on another planet, in the past or the future, riding on dragons or that they have superpowers. If you have any small world toys that you could donate which could help with this theme, eg, teddies, cars, rockets, planes, toy figures and plastic crates such as bread boxes
Week 3 (06.03.23)’Communication play’ Children love to use their voices, but this is far from their only form of communication. Facial expressions, gestures and body language are all equally important to children's play. This play type sees children embracing all kinds of communication, whether through verbalising, miming, singing or dancing.
Week 4 (13.03.23)’ Dramatic and Socio-dramatic play’ Socio-dramatic play usually involves two or more children re-enacting everyday experiences from their lives, though some children will engage in this play style alone. It provides children with an opportunity to relive and process moments from their day in their play where they are in control. whether these experiences were positive or negative.
Week 5 (20.03.23) ‘Social play’ Social play is simply defined by affording children the opportunity to interact with one another. This play style cannot be enjoyed alone. It revolves around children spending time with their peers, enjoying and exploring their social interactions and relationships.
Arise
December 2022
Mrs Hulley and Mrs Hale spent many hours after school together; applying for grants to help make our school community a better place.
They were successful!
"ARISE Hatfield was set up to provide an annual fund of money to support local initiatives and socially based activities that enhance the lives of those living in Hatfield."
We are going to use the grant to develop our mud kitchen and hopefully our wheeled track.
Our Play Charter
November 2022
The Welly Boot Post & 'Where the lost things go' bin.
November 2023
The wellie boot post shows everyone, if wellie boots are needed on the field, or on really raining days if the field is shut completely! The forest sign shows if the children can make their way across the muddy field to still play in the forest.
OPAL at SPH 2022
The SPH Beach
Survey Results
SPH Teachers
How important do you think playtime is for our children?
Currently, what do you think about the levels of confidence, resilience and problem-solving skills you are observing in the children at our school?
If school could improve the play opportunities they offer, what types of things would you like to see and why?
SPH Parents
How important do you think playtime is for your child?
Do you think children have the same opportunities to play?
If school could improve the play opportunities they offer, what types of things would you like to see and why?
SPH Children
"We are part of God's family. We follow the way of Jesus by loving, learning and doing our best."
Awards we have achieved so far.