Two independent studies. Measurable improvements across happiness, energy, autonomy and social connection, for kids and for adults.
Compiled with La Trobe University and partner schools. The full research summary, with methodology, sample sizes and citations.
Co-authored with La Trobe University researchers and Todd Gibson. Methodology and conflict-of-interest declarations included in the report.
Read the published article →Two independent studies. Measurable improvements across happiness, energy, autonomy and social connection, for kids and for adults.
A year-long investigation tracking the impact of the School of Play curriculum across primary and secondary schools.
A structured play program by Todd Gibson and Dale Sidebottom measured wellbeing change after one-hour sessions.
When play is part of the system, not just a break from it, the outcomes follow.
Outside the formal research, schools across the region have built long-running partnerships with us. Two of them, below, illustrate what an embedded play culture looks like over multiple years.
How Mossgiel Park Primary became a whole-school play culture. Three years of consistent practice, staff buy-in from day one, and a principal who made play a non-negotiable part of every week.
How Clyde Creek Primary embedded play, exercise, gratitude and giving into every corner of school life — and what the data looked like when they did.
These are partnership descriptions, not measured research outcomes. For peer-reviewable wellbeing measurements see the two formal studies above.
Both studies follow the same independent process, pre-study baseline, structured intervention, post-study measurement, third-party analysis.
Anonymous wellbeing survey across all participants. Capture starting state across multiple validated measures.
PEGG framework introduced for a defined window, daily 5-minute rituals plus weekly longer activities.
Identical measures repeated. Anonymous self-report plus teacher and parent observational data.
La Trobe University researchers analyse and publish, no editorial influence from The School of Play.
Our research demonstrates structured play's capacity to meaningfully improve wellbeing across diverse age groups, communities and contexts.
Universities, education departments and independent researchers, we welcome collaboration on longitudinal play-based wellbeing studies.
Start a conversation →Our two full-year studies with La Trobe University have been peer-reviewed and published in the Journal of Play in Adulthood, the academic record behind the numbers above.
A full-year study of our FunShops professional development for adults, measuring change in wellbeing, energy and social connection across the whole workforce.
A full-year study of our student agency and leadership program, tracking autonomy, confidence and engagement as play became part of the school week.
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Pair the research with the program. Curriculum for schools, leadership workshops for teams, and a free app for families. The research is real, the play is the part you'll remember.
