Lunchtime CAPS Project
In September 2021, we made significant changes to our lunchtime provision. In partnership with the University of Gloucestershire, we launched our CAPS Playtimes initiative. Children's Access to Play in Schools (CAPS) is a project deisgned to get children more active during playtimes and lunchtimes. We had started preparations to launch CAPS in erly 2020 but Covid has since not allowed us to mix freely at lunchtimes.
This article is from The British Association for Early Childhood Education and considers the benefits of children taking risks in play https://early-education.org.uk/taking-risks-in-play/. Our new approach is very much rooted in research from the British Assocaition for Early Childhood Education.
Please find our play policy here
CAPS Risk Benefit Record Sheet Upton Ongoing (Feb 2024)
Below is a video presentation for parents/carers from Mr Lewis explaining CAPS in more detail.
Risk-Benefit
We cannot - nor do we aim to - remove all risks at lunchtimes and playtimes. Part of the CAPS ethos is that children must learn to take risks and decide what they are able to safely achieve. However, we have taken many steps to ensure the risks children are taking are not extreme or unnecessary. Below is our risk-benefit assessment. We believe the benefits of our lunchtime approach far outweigh the risks.
The benefits include
Children's Access to Play in Schools is a project run by the University of Gloucestershire based very closely on OPAL. OPAL stands for Outdoor Play and Learning and is used by two schools locally. One of these schools is St Peter's Primary School and we have worked very closely with them to develop out lunchtimes and train our Play Leaders. Below is a video from St Micahel's School in Surrey and it gives you an idea of the sort of lunchtime provision we are aiming for here at Upton St Leonards.
Building foundations for a love of life, a love of learning and a love of one another
