Downs View Infant School

22/10/2026

We are so proud to announce that we are an OPAL platinum school!

We had some amazing feedback from our OPAL mentor congratulating us on this well-deserved achievement and recognising just how hard everyone has worked to make it happen. She described our playtimes as “so joyful for children and staff” and praised our systems for being “really tight and sustainable.”

She said that one of the highlights was hearing the children talk so enthusiastically about their play.She was delighted to hear children saying things like, “I love play; I can go anywhere I like!” and seeing how excited they were to show her all the different areas they can explore. This really captures the heart of the OPAL ethos: giving children the freedom, confidence and opportunities to lead their own play.

A HUGE thank you to everyone involved. From the working parties and preparing our play spaces to embracing new ideas, supporting the children and taking on the OPAL ethos, this achievement has been a true team effort. To quote our mentor ‘’you’ve truly found the magic’’.

03/10/2026

A huge thank you to everyone who came along and helped at our working party day today!

We really do have the most amazing community, and together we’ve achieved so much. From creating, improving and getting stuck in, every helping hand has made a difference.

We’re so excited to see our OPAL play opportunities continuing to grow and develop, giving our children even more freedom, creativity and adventure in their play. 🌿✨

Thank you to everyone who gave their time, energy and enthusiasm — we couldn’t do it without you! What a brilliant team!

25/09/2026

We’re moving to My Child At School (MCAS), our new all-in-one platform for school communications, attendance reporting, parents’ evening bookings, trip information and payments.

Please take a look at the poster to see some of the great features MCAS has to offer. A ParentMail containing further information, including the rollout timeline and activation details, has also been sent to all parents and carers today.

We look forward to making communication between home and school even easier through MCAS!

07/09/2026

🌿 Opal Working Party Day 🌿
Would you be able to spare a little time to help us make our children’s play space even better?

We’re holding an Opal Working Party Day and would love to have as many parents and carers as possible join us. Whether you can spare a whole day, an hour, or just lend a hand with a particular job, every bit of help makes a difference.

It’s a great chance to work together as a school community and create a fantastic space for our children to enjoy. Many hands really do make light work!

If you’re able to come along and help, please let your child’s class teacher or the school office know.
We’d love to see you there, thank you for helping us make our children’s play space the best it can be! 💚

04/09/2026

A new small world area within our OPAL play will be opening on Monday!

The children were introduced to the new area during assembly today and are already bursting with ideas about how they can use their imaginations to create exciting stories and imaginative play experiences. There was even talk of a cow going to space!🐄🚀

We can’t wait to see where their creativity takes them!

As always if anyone has anything they are able to donate it would be greatly appreciated.

04/09/2026

10/07/2026

Yesterday the children and staff flew we would like to thank you all for the kind donations made to help support Huxley in his fight against leukaemia.