Play Award

An annual award for a primary school with a learning program, class or an individual student or teacher, that has made a remarkable and ongoing contribution to ‘play in learning’ with demonstrated positive impacts. 

Award Amount: $10,000  

The Sydney Opera House has an ongoing and rich connection with play and its intrinsic connection to the arts and learning. From the inspiring stories on our stages, to the artists who enliven our Centre for Creativity, we are committed to equipping artists and audiences with the capacity and skills to embed play in their classrooms, creative and civic spaces, and everyday life.  

It is in this spirit that we continue our relationship with renowned educator Professor Pasi Sahlberg, and present the Sydney Opera House Play Award. 

This annual Award (2024–2027 inclusive) will be given to a primary-aged school, learning program, class or an individual student or teacher, who has made a remarkable and ongoing contribution to play in learning with demonstrated positive impact in the school community. 

The 2027 Play Award applications will open in Term 1 2027 

At Berrinba East State School the observation “Kids won’t talk unless they have something to talk about.” became the catalyst for a whole-school, evidence-informed shift to embed Play as a core philosophy driving learning, wellbeing, and connection. Starting in the playground, the school embraced the community as partners to develop engaging play spaces to spark curiosity, imagination, and creativity, enabling students to enter deep states of “play flow.” Outdoor play at Berrinba East includes tree climbing, cubby building and animal and plant exploration. Mud Play areas such as ‘Dig It Creek’, a bike track program that students construct and maintain and farm spaces such as an outdoor kitchen garden, indigenous garden and chicken coop, embedding respect for land, sustainability, and traditional understandings of caring for Country. Combined with the explicit teaching of how to safely access these environments and assess and mitigate risk through specialist Outdoor Play and Learning lessons, the impact was immediate. Within 12 months, violent incidents reduced by 75.5% and suspensions by 40%, with sustained improvements over time. Playground incidents now account for only 11.9% of behaviour incidents in 2026, compared to 55.9% in 2021. As one student reflected, “Before, I used to get in trouble because I didn’t know what to do. Now I have things to build, and people play with and to talk to.”

Berrinba East State School Principal Steve Kanowski said, "We are incredibly proud of the work we do here at Berrinba East State School and are thrilled to see it acknowledged and celebrated in this way. We are often locally referred to as the “little school from Logan that does big things,” and opportunities like this continue to reinforce the incredible work our staff, students and community are doing together.” 

Play Award Sponsor Pasi Sahlberg said "Berrinba East State School shows what becomes possible when play is treated as a powerful foundation for language, wellbeing, belonging, and human flourishing. By connecting outdoor play, community partnership, First Nations perspectives, and intentional pedagogy, the school has created rich conditions for children to imagine, build, talk, take responsible risks, learn, and play together.” 

Time2Play is a two-year initiative (2025–2026) designed to transform learner outcomes by increasing opportunities for unstructured play during the school day across 12 public schools in the northeast metropolitan area of Adelaide SA. The initiative aims to move beyond seeing play as a "break" from learning and instead recognise it as the "work of childhood" that builds social competence, emotional resilience, and adaptability. Unique as a collaborative model, Time2Play has five core objectives for participating schools: Increase the time allocated for unstructured play; build educator understanding of its developmental benefits; evaluate its impact on wellbeing, engagement, and learning (particularly for children facing barriers); clarify the role of educators in facilitating play and engage families and communities in recognising its value. This initiative has led to significant improvements in student happiness and emotional regulation. Time2Play fosters empathy and inclusion, allowing students who may struggle in traditional classroom settings to demonstrate leadership and mastery through hands-on, self-directed activity. 

At East Derwent Primary School Play and Inquiry Based learning is embedded across the school from K-6, with the belief that curiosity is the key to unlocking deeper learning. The Nature Partners program came about through a joint Caring For Country initiative, partnering with local council and local First Nations community groups. The program supports students across year levels to participate in a full day of offsite activity at a nature site of local and cultural significance. Activities are supported by local community groups and knowledge holders. By sharing knowledge through dance, art, play and working to care for and restore a beautiful parklands area our students build transferrable skills that they can take back to their own lives. The program has created significant learning opportunities that cannot be taught in the classroom, deepening students connection to Country and local Aboriginal community. Nature Partners is a natural yet decisive progression from Nature Play that supports environmental impacts that can affect local communities in a way that is playful and purposeful.

Berrima Public School’s Playgrounded philosophy infuses lessons with the power of play so that every child, regardless of their background or circumstances, has equal access to play-based learning. Inside the classroom, play is woven into many lessons. Teachers design treasure hunts where solving math problems lead to hidden clues, science labs where children can explore the properties of materials through hands-on experiments, and dramatic play that brings history to life with role-playing activities. Outside of the classroom outdoor spaces are used as living classrooms, where nature walks turn into scavenger hunts. At Berrima Public School play is recognised as the natural language through which children discover the world around them—a joyful and instinctive way of learning about the world and developing the knowledge, skills, understandings and attitudes needed to successfully navigate life. 

Berrima Public School Assistant Principal, Joanne Kennedy said, "We are honoured to receive this Award in celebration of the transformative power of play to ignite curiosity, foster creativity, and deepen children’s engagement with the world around them. This recognition of Playgrounded affirms our commitment to creating joyful, inclusive, and imaginative environments where every child can thrive.” 

Play Award Judge Kathy Hirsh-Pasek shared praise on behalf of the judging panel, “Berrima show us how public schools can seamlessly build playful learning into the fabric of their educational mission” 

Banksia Park School’s play-based learning initiative is deeply rooted in community connection, staff passion, and a shared vision to recognise the value of unstructured play in childhood development. The school’s program includes nature play sessions for students and community members with younger children, in-class breakout play areas featuring ‘small worlds’, ‘imaginative zones’ and flexible play spaces, a dedicated play room that students access weekly and which is also hosts wellbeing and social-emotional groups for therapeutic play and ‘campfire sessions’ that offer quiet moments of connection, storytelling, and reflection. At Banksia Park play has reignited motivation and engagement across the student cohort and staff collaboration has flourished. 

Preshil, The Margaret Lyttle Memorial School’s play program “A Backyard for our Children” invites self-led, unprescribed outdoor play, so that children can activate their imagination, and grow their conceptual thinking, through creating their own games and scenarios. There is a forest of bamboo, trees to climb and swing from, dirt mounds to dig and hoses to create dams. Dense shrubberies to hide within, ponds to splash about with, and cubbies and huts that the children build with recycled wood and tools from the school’s outdoor workshop. Indoor spaces are also freely accessible so children can choose how and when they engage in play or in spending time to rest and recentre “A Backyard for our Children” acknowledges that play and recreation is as diverse as children, and prescribed playgrounds often preference sporting play over other styles of recreation. Differentiation in play is inclusive of all children, is open to accepting play in all its forms, is built on the premise of ownership of space, and meets the children where they are, on any given day.  

We are seeking supporters to grow the scale and ambition of the Play Award. If you are interested in donating towards this award and making play central to our lives and learning, please email Tamara Harrison, Head of Children, Families and Creative Learning.