Getting better results from Play Studio

Play Studio is powered by a large language model that understands the School of Play philosophy, the PEGG framework, and Australian school contexts. It doesn't need to be told what PEGG means or why play matters — but it does need to know your class, your context, and your goal. These tips help you give it what it needs.

Be specific about your class

Vague descriptions produce generic resources. Specific descriptions produce resources that feel written for your actual class.

• Instead of: 'A gratitude activity for Year 5' — try: 'A gratitude activity for Year 5s who've just come back from a tough term. They need something warm and low-pressure to ease back in.'
• Instead of: 'A run sheet for an assembly' — try: 'A 45-minute student leadership assembly for Year 6 leaders running play sessions for Foundation–Year 2 students. The leaders are confident but need a clear structure.'
• Instead of: 'A family letter about exercise' — try: 'A family take-home for Foundation families about our movement week. Families have varied English literacy, so keep it warm and simple. Include one 5-minute activity they can do at the dinner table.'

Use all the context fields

The year level, group size, and setting fields aren't just labels — the AI uses them to calibrate everything from vocabulary complexity to physical setup instructions. A 'whole class (25)' in a 'school hall' gets very different instructions from a 'small group (6)' in a 'classroom'.

Mention what you want it to feel like

The AI responds well to emotional and atmospheric cues, not just functional ones.

• 'High energy and loud' vs. 'calm and reflective' will produce very different activities.
• 'Something that creates genuine laughter' signals the activity should have real play value, not just educational structure.
• 'Teachers need to be able to run this cold with no prep' tells it to make the instructions extremely clear and simple.

Mention constraints upfront

• Equipment: 'No equipment at all' or 'I have one ball per group'.
• Space: 'We're in a small classroom with desks' or 'we have the oval'.
• Inclusion: 'One student uses a wheelchair' or 'mixed abilities, some students are very shy'.
• Time: '10 minutes maximum' or 'I have a full 60-minute lesson'.

If you get a result you want to tweak

Hit Start over, update your description with what you want to change, and generate again. It's faster than editing a document by hand. Common refinements teachers use:

• Add 'include a competitive element' to activity cards to increase engagement for older students.
• Add 'suitable for students who are reluctant to share aloud' to check-ins to get written prompts instead of verbal ones.
• Add 'written in plain English for families with limited literacy' to family letters to simplify the language.
• Add 'with explicit AITSL Standard 4 connection' to lesson plans for your professional documentation.

One resource, multiple uses

A single well-written description can be reused across resource types. If you've written a great Play Activity Card description, try regenerating it as a 7-Day Challenge or a Family Take-Home — the context carries over and the AI will adapt the format.