School playgrounds are crucial for children's learning and development

Deniz Uzgun

By Deniz Uzgun
Published October 1, 2019

The school playground is a mainstay of our childhoods and has long been considered a place of sanctuary and escape to ‘let off steam’ at school.

Many school leaders and decision makers aren’t aware of just how powerful school playground spaces can be for students’ development.

Now, new research suggests that this space can be incorporated into the school curriculum and could play a vital role ...

This story appeared in the October 2019 edition of Australian Teacher Magazine.

Story House Early Learning Black Rock Black Rock VIC

Explore how we enhance and support our Story House-ers at our Black Rock service, proudly certified as a Great Place to Work!

Childcare & Outside School Hours Care / Feb 25, 2026

School Counsellor - Jerrys Plains Public School

Jerrys Plains Public School Jerrys Plains

Teaching - Primary / Feb 25, 2026

Teacher Agriculture ($20k Recruitment Bonus plus $5-8k Relocation Support Payment) - Gulgong High School

Gulgong High School Gulgong

Teaching - Secondary / Feb 25, 2026

School news / Kids’ as young as 10 to be fitted with ankle bracelets, Qld police not impressed

Police and youth advocates are querying whether new state laws that will see children as young as 10 fitted with ankle bracelets are workable.

School news / Embed literacy instruction into PDHPE for incredible results: leading educator

Literacy and the explicit teaching of writing skills ought to be a focus of all PDHPE teachers’ practice and not left solely to English departments to handle, a leading educator has said.

School news / Gift to help educators teach maths with ‘confidence, clarity and impact’

A Melbourne university has received a $2.5 million gift to “use its foundations in evidence-based learning to help address Australia’s mathematics crisis”.

School news / Identifying children at risk of speech disorders to be made easier: new resource

A new tool for identifying children at risk of speech disorders has been developed by Melbourne researchers, reducing unnecessary treatment for common speech errors that often resolve on their own.

School news / ‘Improved behaviour across the board’: student leadership program sees huge results

Primary school children given the chance to teach their younger peers are showing remarkable improvements in their confidence, class work and mental health.

School news / Award-winning Vic school reveals what it takes to extend gifted students

High-ability students can expect to be thoroughly challenged in their learning when they come to Heathmont East Primary School.

School news / The urgency and promise of lifting STEM ed in non-metro NSW: research

STEM education in regional NSW schools offers actionable policy opportunities that recognise and leverage the unique strengths of non-metropolitan NSW, new research has found.

School news / Half of nation’s teens projected to face anxiety or depression, ‘crucial we act on evidence’

A generation of young Australians is at risk of experiencing a mental health crisis, according to new modelling.

School news / ‘We don’t talk about that in this class’: History teachers at risk with new hate speech laws

NSW history teachers are fearful about what the state’s new hate speech laws will mean for their practice, with one expert warning critical knowledge and discussion about the Holocaust is at risk of being silenced in the classroom.

School news / ‘Literacy underlies all achievement’: popular author Andy Griffiths speaks out

A “ridiculous” emphasis on testing and grading is totally antithetical to the business of creativity and genuine learning, our Australian Children’s Laureate for 2026 and 2027 says.

Comments