1 What is the PLAY IS THE WAY Program Kit?

It is a package of manuals, books, DVD’s, timetables and an implementation manual that make up the PLAY IS THE WAY Program for the development of pro-social behaviour in primary school children.

2 How does the program work?

It uses specific physically interactive games to help children master their emotions and manage their behaviour.

By playing the games children make discoveries about what does and does not work to achieve the objectives of the games.

Process is more important than success and from immersion in the games comes the experiences and encounters that lead to positive and beneficial change.

Teachers use the appropriate timetable of games for their class and using the relevant resources, guide their students through the processes and discoveries that empower and inspire students to develop self-understanding, self-control and empathy.

By working through the timetable teachers broaden and deepen the program’s benefits and habituate positive and effective patterns of behaviour.

3 Has the program been evaluated?

Yes it has, by Helen Street, an Associate Professor and senior lecturer at the University of WA and co-founder of Wise Solutions.

Helen Street has evaluated the program in various schools and it’s on the strength of these evaluations that we confidently recommend our program to primary schools.

Your are welcome to read her evaluation by clicking here

4 What is the purpose of the site licence?

The site licence is a means of protecting the significant intellectual property contained within the DVD’s.

Schools purchasing the DVD’s sign a site licence which permits them to make up to 5 authorised copies of each DVD in the program kit. With the original purchased copy, that makes 6 complete sets of the DVD’s for a school to use.

This allows schools to distribute copies to their teachers to facilitate easier and more effective training in the program.

The copied DVD’s remain the property of the school and as the term “site licence” suggests, can only be used on the site of the purchasing school.

5 Is the program sustainable?

It would be of little value if it wasn’t. The timetables give teachers a full year of games to play with their students.

Broken into timetables for junior, middle and upper primary, the program has so much content and benefit that each timetable can be repeated several times, for each age group, without diminished results.

6 Is any special training required to implement the program?

Teachers are capable and creative people and have the skills to easily exploit the benefits of the program.

It does help to have a core of teachers to drive the program in your school and keep abreast of the material contained in the resources.

The implementation guide, and the timetables contained within, make it simple to establish and maintain the program.

Many schools wanting to ensure a positive and energised start to the program send teachers to a Game Factory one day professional development workshop. Though not essential, the workshop serves to inform, inspire and expose participants to the program’s possibilities.

7 Does the program have to start at the beginning of the year?

Like all good medicine it should be taken as need determines.

If a school has concerns about the positive social behaviour and wellbeing of their students and believe that an effective intervention would help, then it’s important they take action as soon as realistically possible.

Although the PLAY IS THE WAY Program is organised into a yearly timetable it can be started at any time.

Wherever you are in the school year simply begin at the start of the first timetable and call that week one, and proceed from there.

The sooner you start the sooner you and your students will enjoy the benefits of improved social cohesion, self improvement and classroom safety.

8 What's in it for teachers?

Teachers train as they use the program. Their repertoire of skills and strategies improves with continued involvement in the program.

The resources coach teachers in the use of an effective language by which to guide children. With use and practice this language becomes a tool used in every area of a teachers interactions with students.

The DVD’s are like having ongoing professional development at your fingertips. If difficult behaviour is a source of concern and stress then having a means to change and improve it can only lead to calmer, more satisfying teaching.

9 Do teachers need to be sporty or fit to use the program?

PLAY IS THE WAY is a games program as opposed to a sports program.

Teachers do not need to be fit or sporty to use the program. Little demonstration is necessary as the games are simple in structure and easy to explain.

Teachers are encouraged, especially in the early stages of the games, to let their students play while they observe. Helping students discover the many and various things required to improve the game is the teachers main task.

10 Does it only work if children have difficult behaviours?

The skills of pro-social behaviour advantage all children. Indeed, they advantage adults as well.

Maintaining these skills is best achieved by trying to improve them.

Socially and emotionally competent children, with the skills to cooperate and effectively work with others, will enjoy the challenges the program presents.

The wide variety of games and activities invariably reveal areas of weakness and concern in even the “best” of students.

The old adage, “practice makes perfect” holds true and if children are not actively practicing the skills of pro-social behaviour, it can be safely assumed those skills will deteriorate over time.

11 Is it an effective program for all ages in primary school?

Yes, it certainly is.

12 Does the program work in a single gender school?

The skills of pro-social behaviour are necessary for both boys and girls and the program develops these skills irrespective of gender.

13 Is the program effective for children with disabilities?

A characteristic of the games is that they are easy to adapt and modify. As a consequence they can be altered to include a wide range of differences and disadvantages.

However, it must be said that disability has a very broad definition and there are some games where inclusion is not possible and certain physical or intellectual skills are a prerequisite for participation.

That said, the threshold for involvement is not high and children with little inclination or skills for physical activity are able to get involved and improve as their participation increases.

14 Does the program work in small schools?

A great many of the games and activities can be played in multi-aged groups and provided a group is somewhere between 14 and 20 students can be formed, there should be little difficulty in using the program.

We would, of course recommend you add the Social & Emotional Learning Activity Pack to your shopping list.

15 How do I get started with games?

If you have the PLAY IS THE WAY Program Kit, just follow the implementation guide, select your appropriate timetable and start with the first game suggested.

If you haven’t got the kit, it’s important to read the first few pages of Games For Growing and use the selection table to get you off to a good start.

16 How long do I play games for?

We recommend a minimum of one hour per week be set aside to play games. Schools playing one hour of games per week typically break the hour into 2 × 30 minute sessions or 3 × 20 minute sessions. Some schools will hold the hour as a single session.

As a rule of thumb, the greater the behavioural change desired, the more time needed and the more regular and frequent the sessions should be. Three to four sessions of 15-20 minutes each session will help to habituate lessons learnt – as will a couple of one hour sessions on either consecutive or alternate days. Many combinations are possible and it may call for some trial and error before timetables are established.

17 Does the program work in secondary schools?

We created the program for primary schools because we have always believed the earlier the intervention, the better.

Interestingly, over the past few years an increasing number of secondary schools have shown an interest in the program.

Teachers working with students in the first two years of high school have attended our workshops and we have had some positive feedback about the program’s effectiveness in these early years.

As regular engagement with the play process is essential, timetabling can make it difficult for secondary schools to use the program to its full potential.

18 What equipment will I need?

The following equipment list will enable you to play all of The Game Factory games with a group of up to thirty participants. Specific equipment lists are detailed at the beginning of each game in the manuals. Remember many of The Game Factory games don’t require any equipment at all.

• 20 hula hoops
• 20 household buckets
• 4 large buckets (washing baskets will do)
• 6 Blindfolds (painting swimming goggles black inside and out works well)
• 40 Balloons
• 6 Large plastic balls (consisting of at least 4 different colours)
• 20 Small foam filled balls
• 1 Skipping rope (15 metres long and 10mm thick)
• 60 Plastic washing pegs
• 20 Ping pong balls
• 30 Bean bags (3 different colours)
• Stopwatch
• Whistle
• Chalk for marking lines

All items are readily available from most supermarkets, variety stores or $2 shops.

19 Tell me about your professional development workshops

Our one-day professional development workshops are a hands on opportunity to experience some of the games in our program.

Strategies, insights, observations and the highly effective language used in the program are shared and demonstrated.

The workshops are practical, engaging and the perfect opportunity to get a first hand, inspiring experience of the program’s proven effectiveness.

For more workshop information click here