Episode 6: Intentional Play-Based Learning with Preschoolers

Episode 6: Intentional Play-Based Learning with Preschoolers

In this episode, we explore child-led and inquiry-based learning in the preschool years, where children’s ideas, questions and interests shape the curriculum.  When children are central as co-contributors and collaborators, we honour their curiosity and capacity to construct knowledge. Through research, we value discussions and rich dialogue, problem-solving and creative exploration skills and opportunities.  Play-based learning is the work of children, and educators who listen deeply, provide intentionally chosen and sourced resources, materials and environments in turn invite responsive, rich and stimulating opportunities for play and discovery.    Together we reflect on the importance of deeply knowing children, their strengths, interests, routines and relationships, whilst working in partnership with families to understand their hopes and aspirations. These relationships help us design learning experiences that are meaningful, connected and responsive in the moment.   This episode reminds us that inquiry-based learning is joyful, dynamic and shared. It invites us to release control, trust children’s thinking and focus not just on what we teach, but on how we teach, fostering confidence, competence and a lifelong love of learning.   Host:  Michelle Richardson & Victoria McDowell   Guest:  Nicole Tytherleigh    Recommended audience:  Aimed at educators and teachers working in service settings with children in the preschool years, typically between 3 and 5 years, at any stage of their professional career, who are interested in intentional teaching through the lens of play-based learning.   Links:   * Education Hub Gowrie NSW Education Hub [https://www.gowriensw.com.au/educationhub/]   * Professional Learning Calendar 2026 Online Flipbook [https://heyzine.com/flip-book/3f64e8a77e.html]   * Thought Leadership Article: What is Play Based Learning? - Gowrie NSW [https://www.gowriensw.com.au/blog/what-is-play-based-learning]  * Thought Leadership Article: Types of Play for Early Childhood Development [https://www.gowriensw.com.au/thought-leadership/types-of-play-for-early-childhood-development]  Subscribe:   * Newsletter Get in Touch! [https://www.gowriensw.com.au/educationhub/consulting/#enquire-now]    * Instagram: @GowrieNSW.EducationHub      * Facebook: Gowrie NSW Education Hub

Episode 5: Intentional Play-Based Learning with Infants and Toddlers

When infants and toddlers feel safe, they play, and when they play, they learn.   In this episode, we explore what intentional play-based learning looks like alongside children from birth to three years, and how deeply it is woven into relationships, care and everyday moments.   For infants and toddlers, play doesn’t begin with learning experiences or resources. Rather, it begins with emotional safety. Learning at this age is profoundly embodied, sensory and relational. Care, play and learning are not separate; they are deeply intertwined.   We reframe intentional teaching as being less about planned experiences and more about noticing, responding and making thoughtful decisions. This might look like how we design our environments, how we use time, and when we step in and when we intentionally step back.   We acknowledge that the environment acts as an open invitation to play. Open-ended real materials, indoor and outdoor play every day, and seeing children as co-designers of their environment all deepen engagement and thinking.   We also return to caregiving routines, which make up most of the day for infants and toddlers as the curriculum itself. When educators slow down, invite participation and respond to cues, these moments become rich opportunities for language, learning and connection.   Intentional play-based learning with birth to three-year-olds is about creating the safety, time and environments children need to explore and learn in their own ways.     Host:  Michelle Richardson & Victoria McDowell   Guest:  Fiona Veld-Brown    Recommended audience:   Aimed at educators and teachers working in service settings with young children aged birth to three years at any stage of their professional career, who are interested in intentional teaching through the lens of play-based learning.     Links:   * Education Hub Gowrie NSW Education Hub [https://www.gowriensw.com.au/educationhub/]   * Professional Learning Calendar 2026 Online Flipbook [https://heyzine.com/flip-book/3f64e8a77e.html]   * Thought Leadership Article: What is Play Based Learning? - Gowrie NSW [https://www.gowriensw.com.au/blog/what-is-play-based-learning]  * Thought Leadership Article: Play Ideas and Games for Babies and Toddlers - Gowrie NSW [https://www.gowriensw.com.au/blog/games-for-toddlers/]  * Thought Leadership Article: Types of Play for Early Childhood Development [https://www.gowriensw.com.au/thought-leadership/types-of-play-for-early-childhood-development]    Subscribe:   * Newsletter Get in Touch! [https://www.gowriensw.com.au/educationhub/consulting/#enquire-now]    * Instagram: @GowrieNSW.EducationHub      * Facebook: Gowrie NSW Education Hub

Episode 4: Elevating Practitioner Inquiry

Practitioner inquiry is often misunderstood; seen as complex, academic or something extra to fit into already busy days. In this episode, we gently reframe what inquiry really is and why it matters so deeply across all age groups.   At its heart, practitioner inquiry is about noticing, wondering, reflecting together and responding intentionally. It’s not about having the answers, rather about being curious.   We explore how this approach aligns with Gowrie NSW’s Program Foundation of Practitioner Inquiry, where educators are recognised as thinkers and researchers and inquiry is embedded into everyday practice rather than ‘added on’ as professional development.   Through a birth to 3 age lens, we unpack why inquiry is particularly important in infant and toddler settings where much of the work is relational and often invisible. Inquiry helps make this work visible; it supports equitable decision-making and strengthens educators’ professional judgement.   This episode highlights what inquiry makes possible: professional courage, deeper collaboration and intentional practice. As Gowrie NSW pedagogical coaches, our role is not to provide answers, but to create the conditions where educators feel safe to question, reflect and act.   When inquiry becomes a way of working, it strengthens relationships, builds educator agency and improves outcomes for children and families.   Hosts:  Michelle Richardson & Victoria McDowell    Guest:  Fiona Veld-Brown    Recommended audience:  Aimed at educators and teachers in early and middle childhood service settings at any stage of their professional career who are interested in different ways of working, action research and being agents of change through practitioner inquiry.   Links:   * Education Hub Gowrie NSW Education Hub [https://www.gowriensw.com.au/educationhub/]   * Professional Learning Calendar 2026 Online Flipbook [https://heyzine.com/flip-book/3f64e8a77e.html]   * Thought Leadership Article: Embracing Practitioner Inquiry at  Gowrie NSW [https://www.gowriensw.com.au/blog/practitioner-inquiry-research-project]   * Book: Unlocking Practitioner Inquiry: Growing Professionally in Early Years [https://www.routledge.com/Unlocking-Practitioner-Inquiry-Growing-Professionally-in-Early-Years-Education/Gioia-Fleet-Patterson-Papic/p/book/9781032158259]  Subscribe:   * Newsletter Get in Touch! [https://www.gowriensw.com.au/educationhub/consulting/#enquire-now]    * Instagram: @GowrieNSW.EducationHub      * Facebook: Gowrie NSW Education Hub

Episode 3: Children's Rights and Empowerment

In this episode, we explore what children’s rights and empowerment look like at Gowrie NSW for our children aged birth through to 12 years.   Empowerment means children are active participants in what happens to, for and with them. For babies and toddlers, this isn’t about big decisions or special ‘activities’, rather it is about pace, touch, invitation and meaningful experiences where individual children are truly seen and heard in everyday moments. It is these routine times and care moments that make up most of a young child’s day. These are the moments where children’s rights are either honoured or unintentionally missed. A nappy change, for example, can be a task, or it can be a partnership, shaped by communication, invitation, waiting and gentle, predictable care.   As children grow, these moments bring confidence; they shape their identity and sense of belonging and provide opportunities for children to engage in meaningful learning and engagement, directly impacting their daily experience within the world.   Together, we reflect on how empowerment begins with our image of the child. When we see children as capable learners, regardless of their age or abilities, our practices shift, and children experience themselves as valued and influential individuals.   We explore how agency lives in the ordinary: choosing a bib, climbing a tree, participating in mealtime preparation or communicating through movement and gesture. For our youngest infants, hands are powerful tools for communication. Slowing down enough to notice subtle cues is a powerful act of respect.   These moments communicate big messages: I see you, I trust you, and you belong here. Children can influence what happens to them.   We also acknowledge that empowerment is for educators, too. When teams feel calm, confident and supported in their practice with children, children will feel this as well.   When we treat even our youngest children as worthy partners in their day, we’re not just supporting rights — we’re building identity, belonging, and lifelong confidence.   Host: Michelle Richardson    Guests:   Belinda Rouhan , Nicole Tytherleigh  & Fiona Veld-Brown    Recommended audience: Aimed toward teachers, educators, educational leaders and leaders in early and middle childhood who work directly with children, or those who have a passion for advocacy and want to know how to promote children’s rights in their daily practice.   Links:   * Education Hub Gowrie NSW Education Hub [https://www.gowriensw.com.au/educationhub/]   * Professional Learning Calendar 2026 Online Flipbook [https://heyzine.com/flip-book/3f64e8a77e.html]   * Lundy’s Model of Participation [https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2022-12/lundy_model_of_participation_0.pdf]    Subscribe:   * Newsletter Get in Touch! [https://www.gowriensw.com.au/educationhub/consulting/#enquire-now]    * Instagram: @GowrieNSW.EducationHub      * Facebook: Gowrie NSW Education Hub

Episode 2: Playwork in OSHC

In this episode, we explore Playwork and what it means for Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) services. At its core, Playwork recognises play as freely chosen, personally directed and essential to children and young people’s wellbeing and development.  Join Belinda as she delves deep into Playwork and explains how Playwork has challenged her own thinking, expectations and biases. Discovering Playwork also prompted her to think more deeply and reflect on her image of the child through the lens of Playwork.  Rather than offering affordances that are quick fixes or simple solutions, Belinda resonates with Playwork and the way it encourages educators to slow down, to notice with intention and to critically analyse how children’s play can evolve and be owned by the children involved.   Belinda unpacks the origins of Playwork and its strong alignment with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. With a focus on Article 12 and Article 31, Belinda highlights the key principles that Playwork aligns with. Belinda also openly acknowledges that Playwork is an ongoing learning journey, one that values research, discussion and curiosity.  This episode is an invitation to protect and advocate for all children’s right to play and to reimagine play in the OSHC environment as a place where childhood is respected, valued and embodied.   Hosts: Michelle Richardson & Victoria McDowell   Guest:  Belinda Rouhan  Recommended audience:  Aimed at all OSHC teachers and educators at any stage of their professional career who are curious about Playwork.     Links:  * Education Hub Gowrie NSW Education Hub [https://www.gowriensw.com.au/educationhub/]  * Professional Learning Calendar 2026 Online Flipbook [https://heyzine.com/flip-book/3f64e8a77e.html]  * Playwork Guiding Principles – Playwork Scrutiny Group 2005 [https://playwork.foundation/principles/]  * Play Australia [https://www.playaustralia.org.au/]   * Play Wales [https://play.wales/]  * Play Scotland [https://www.playscotland.org/]  * The Playwork Primer by Penny Wilson [https://www.playaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/LibraryDownloads/The%20Playwork%20Primer.pdf]  Subscribe:  * Newsletter Get in Touch! [https://www.gowriensw.com.au/educationhub/consulting/#enquire-now]   * Instagram: @GowrieNSW.EducationHub     * Facebook: Gowrie NSW Education Hub