“Very fun, engaging and hands-on. Dale was very enthusiastic and had lots of brilliant ideas and activities suitable for all. The best workshop I have attended in years.”
SM
Sarah Mc
Bangkok Patana College
That’s right, we call them FunShops, because workshops can be boring and ours are absolutely not. Two signature staff PD experiences, The Superpowers of Play & Connection and The Trust Lab, plus the high-energy student sessions we built our name on. No sitting. No PowerPoint marathons. Staff don’t just learn it, they feel it.
Delivered face to face in over 25 countries by The School of Play team. Expect laughter, connection, movement and the kind of professional learning people are still using next term.
What a room of 200 looks like, three minutes in. Sound up.
Most PD asks staff to sit still and absorb. Ours asks them to move, laugh, connect and create, because when we change the energy in the room, we change what’s possible within it. Choose the experience your school needs most, or combine both across a day.
How can we use play to transform the way people connect, engage and learn?
Play is not a break from learning. Play is one of the most powerful ways we learn, connect and grow. This experience gives educators the tools, confidence and inspiration to bring more play, connection and joy into their classrooms, and they experience every strategy firsthand before they ever use it with students.
Through laughter, movement, collaboration and shared challenges, staff reconnect with one another while building a toolkit they can use the very next day.
Part professional learning. Part team building. A whole lot of connection.
Staff leave energised, connected and equipped with practical strategies they can use immediately. When educators are connected, students feel it.
Why play is such a powerful vehicle for learning, engagement, connection, creativity and wellbeing, and why it belongs at the heart of great teaching.
Practical ways to intentionally build stronger relationships, trust and belonging, so students feel known, valued and ready to participate.
The difference between compliance and genuine engagement, and how playful practice increases curiosity, participation and investment.
How positive primers, brain breaks, movement and shared experiences shift the energy of a group and set up positive behaviour.
Connecting play to curriculum, wellbeing and social-emotional learning: meaningful experiences with clear outcomes, not games for the sake of games.
A bank of practical, adaptable activities to use immediately as lesson starters, brain breaks, energisers and learning experiences.
The confidence to adapt, remix and create playful learning experiences based on the students in front of you.
The impact of play on staff wellbeing, energy and connection, and how a connected staff team lifts the culture of a whole school.
Staff don’t just leave understanding the power of play. They leave having felt it.
How do we intentionally create a culture where people trust one another, belong and move forward together?
Great school cultures don’t happen by accident. They are built in the small moments: how people show up, how they communicate, how they support one another when things get difficult, and whether the values on the wall can actually be felt in the hallways, classrooms and staffroom.
This isn’t a session about telling staff what their culture should be. It’s about bringing people together to create it, then taking those same principles of trust and belonging straight into the classroom.
What kind of culture do we want to be part of, and what do we each need to contribute to create it?
The question every great team eventually asks. The Trust Lab is where your staff answer it together.
Culture is not a poster, policy or set of values. It is the accumulation of everyday behaviours, interactions and experiences.
What trust looks, sounds and feels like within a staff team, and the behaviours that strengthen or slowly erode it.
Shifting from individual contribution to collective responsibility: supporting one another and moving forward as one team.
Creating space for people to speak, question, contribute ideas, make mistakes and ask for help without fear.
Moving values from words on the wall to behaviours people can actually see and feel in action.
Meaningful opportunities for staff to contribute to the culture they want, building genuine agency and collective ownership.
Taking trust, belonging and connection into the classroom, where relationships and rituals shape what students experience daily.
Learning environments where students do not simply do what they are told, but genuinely want to participate.
Practical ways to build the trust students need to take risks, contribute and fall in love with learning.
A shared commitment to finish: how do we want to show up for one another, and how will we protect this culture?
Your staff leave with a tangible culture commitment they built together, not one handed down from leadership.
No two schools are the same, and neither are our sessions. Both signature experiences flex to your staff, your priorities and the time you have.
Perfect for staff meetings, conferences, network events and twilight PD. Staff leave inspired, energised and equipped with ideas they can use immediately.
Our most popular format. Greater depth, more staff participation and meaningful reflection, while keeping the energy and engagement high.
Additional collaborative activities, implementation planning and team discussion, with time for staff to apply the learning to their own context.
The complete School of Play experience: immersive learning, practical application, collaborative planning and a clear action plan to embed it all.
Looking beyond your own school? Both experiences also run as cluster, network or conference sessions, creating powerful opportunities for shared learning and collective impact across school communities.
Student FunShops are where we made our name: high-energy sessions of movement, mindfulness and connection games. Many schools run staff PD and student sessions on the same day, so everyone shares the language of play by home time.
Movement, mindfulness and connection games tailored to every age group, from a single class to a whole-school takeover.
The two signature PD experiences above, or a custom blend of both, matched to your term and your priorities.
Take the joy of play over the school fence and into family homes to spark connection and improved wellbeing.
Keynotes and breakout sessions, fully customised to the audience and the theme of your event.
Popular combo: a morning of student FunShops, an afternoon of staff PD. One visit, one shared experience, a whole school speaking the same language.
From Bangkok to Brisbane, Singapore to Qatar, FunShops travel wherever the school community is.
Send a quick brief: audience, goals, date, and which experience caught your eye. We reply within one business day.
30 minutes to understand your school, your culture and what success looks like.
We design a session tailored to your context: agenda, activities, equipment, run sheet.
We arrive ready. Staff and students have the kind of session they will still talk about next term.
Photos, debrief and follow-up resources in your inbox within 48 hours.
Every FunShop is end-to-end facilitated. Show up, make space, and let us handle the rest.
Every FunShop follows the same arc, from arrival energy to genuine connection. Here's what a typical session looks like.
Big energy, music up, instant ice-breakers. The room finds its pulse.
Cooperative games that shift the body and the mood; laughter is mandatory.
Smaller-circle reflections, partner challenges, gratitude rituals.
Real stories from real schools: what changed, what stuck, what to take home.
Each participant walks out with three things they will try this week.
Photos, session notes and follow-up resources land in your inbox within 48 hours.
Every FunShop is led by Dale, Paul or a vetted member of the core team, never an outsourced trainer with a script. The energy in the room comes from people who've done it five hundred times before.
Founding Director
Dale serves as the internationally recognised founding director of The School of Play, ClassBreak, Energetic Education and Jugar Life. He brings over twenty years of experience in education and health. He authored All Work No Play and hosts the Energetic Radio podcast. As a TEDx speaker, he has engaged audiences across 25 countries.
Director
Paul contributes more than twenty years of comprehensive educational experience. His career evolved from dedicated classroom teaching to accomplished Assistant Principal roles, with emphasis on fostering wellbeing and positive education. Beyond classroom work, he has collaborated with professional athletes and prestigious sporting clubs on player welfare, including a recent position at the Collingwood Football Club.
School of Play core facilitators
For multi-day events or back-to-back regional tours, our core team of vetted educators co-facilitates with Dale and Paul. Every facilitator is trained on the same play-based methodology.
Real words from real schools. No cherry-picking: these are the messages that land in our inbox after every session.
“Very fun, engaging and hands-on. Dale was very enthusiastic and had lots of brilliant ideas and activities suitable for all. The best workshop I have attended in years.”
“Dale's keynote was the opening session and we couldn't have asked for a better start. Within the first few minutes he had the audience moving and laughing. He provided simple practical tips that we can all use every day to support mental health and well-being.”
“Unprecedented times, yet one thing stays true: people want to find happiness and joy in life. Dale did such a great job with our staff, we put on a second session for our clients.”
Can't find what you're looking for? Drop us a line and we'll get back to you within one business day.
Real answers, real humans.
No bots, no run-arounds.
If your priority is classroom practice, engagement and giving every teacher a toolkit they can use tomorrow, choose The Superpowers of Play & Connection. If your priority is staff culture, trust and how your team works together, choose The Trust Lab. Not sure? Tell us your goals on the discovery call and we will recommend one, or design a day that blends both.
Most schools book 4 to 8 weeks ahead. We can sometimes accommodate shorter notice, just ask. International bookings need 8 to 12 weeks for travel logistics.
Anywhere. We've delivered FunShops across 25+ countries, from Warrnambool to Singapore, Melbourne to Manchester. International travel costs are added at cost.
Yes, and many schools do exactly that: a morning FunShop with students, an afternoon PD with staff. Everyone walks away with the same shared experience and the same language of play.
Every FunShop has indoor and outdoor formats baked in. We arrive ready to flip the plan; kids barely notice the difference.
Almost nothing. We send a one-page logistics checklist two weeks out: usually just a hall or oval, basic AV (mic + speakers if available), a list of any kids who can't run/jump, and a friendly staff face for arrival. We bring everything else.
We facilitate end-to-end. Staff are welcome to join in (we encourage it, modelling matters), but you don't need to assign anyone to run anything. We arrive, deliver and pack up.
Yes. We tailor the format to age: primary skews toward cooperative games and storytelling, secondary toward leadership challenges and reflective rituals. Same arc, different language.
Yes. We've worked with schools navigating bereavement, restructure, conflict and SEL crisis. Tell us the context on the discovery call and we'll design accordingly; no one outside your team ever hears specifics.
Pre-event consultation call, full facilitation, all equipment + materials, photos and a session debrief, plus optional follow-up resources for staff. International travel is added at cost; nothing else is hidden.
The Superpowers of Play & Connection. The Trust Lab. Student FunShops. Tell us what your school needs and we will design the rest, tailored to your staff, your students and your context.
