In learning environments that prioritise purposeful play, you’ll see more than just busy hands. You’ll see tamariki testing ideas, asking questions, making discoveries and working together. Teachers are close by, guiding when needed and stepping back when the thinking is strong.
This is play-based learning at its best.
Why play-based learning matters
Play is how children make sense of the world. When teachers use play with purpose, it becomes a powerful tool for teaching and learning. Research from both New Zealand and overseas supports this approach. It helps tamariki develop key skills such as problem-solving, communication, focus, and resilience. These skills are essential for learning across the curriculum.
Te Whariki, Te Mataiaho, and the work of researchers such as Margaret Carr and David Whitebread all demonstrate that high-quality play supports strong learning outcomes. It encourages learners to take risks, work together and explore big ideas in a way that feels meaningful.
Importantly, play-based learning also supports wellbeing and engagement, two key areas of focus for schools across the motu. It honours the principles of ako and whanaungatanga, recognising that learning happens through relationships, and that both teachers and tamariki are active participants in the learning process.
Internationally respected inquiry educator Kath Murdoch reminds us that children learn best when they are invited to explore their own questions and construct understanding in active, hands-on ways. Her work highlights the importance of learner agency, reflection and authentic contexts, all of which sit at the heart of effective play-based learning.
Like Kath Murdoch’s inquiry model, rich play experiences allow tamariki to investigate, collaborate and develop deeper connections to their learning.
What play-based learning can look like
In one junior learning space, a group of children are building a ramp using blocks and tubes. They’re testing how steep it can go before a toy vehicle tips over. A teacher notices their frustration and leans in to ask, “What could you try to make it more stable?” The children pause, look closely at their design, and then try a new solution, adjusting the base and retesting the slope.
Nearby, another child is writing a sign for their pretend vet clinic. They carefully sound out the words and draw pictures to explain the clinic’s rules, using what they know about letters and symbols to communicate clearly.
In these moments, children are:
- Designing, testing and refining through hands-on problem solving
- Using language and symbols to communicate ideas and information
- Drawing on prior knowledge and noticing patterns
- Practising collaboration and self-management
- Exploring maths, science and literacy through real-world contexts
- Engaging in learner-led inquiry, questioning, experimenting and creating meaning
- The environment supports all of this. An effective play-based space includes flexible areas for movement and collaboration, open-ended materials that invite exploration, and culturally responsive resources that reflect the learners' identities.
The role of the teacher in play-based learning is both active and intentional. Teachers guide learning rather than direct it, stepping in to stretch thinking without interrupting the flow. This guidance can be verbal, through open-ended prompts and rich questioning, or non-verbal, such as placing a new material on a tray, pointing toward a visual prompt on a mini whiteboard, or simply sitting alongside a learner. Teachers often set up provocations, intentional invitations to explore, wonder or create. These provocations don’t dictate the learning but encourage tamariki to lead it.
Teachers also have a critical role in documenting student voice, capturing the ideas, questions and reflections that tamariki share during play. This might look like jotting quotes on Post-it notes, snapping photos on a class iPad, or adding drawings and labels to a display board. These practices help make thinking visible and support tamariki to reflect, revisit and celebrate their learning journeys. Just as importantly, they provide teachers with valuable insight into emerging interests, learning pathways, or misunderstandings that may need to be addressed through timely and explicit teaching.
Resourcing to support learning
OfficeMax works with schools across Aotearoa to support the practical side of play-based learning. That includes:
- Te Ao Maori resources – puzzles, poi, Maori counting blocks, all available through OfficeMax's culturally responsive learning range
- Art and sensory materials – textured card, crayons, watercolour paints, modelling compounds like clay, and sewing kits
- Tools for documenting learning and student voice – Post-it notes, mini whiteboards, adhesive modelling pad, display boards that help make learning visible
- Flexible storage – clear tubs, trolleys and mobile shelving that tamariki can easily access and manage themselves
- Flexible furniture – soft seating, low tables, and adjustable shelving that support both quiet focus and collaborative group work
- Investigation and construction tools – science kits, magnifying glasses, measuring gear, plus durable play-centred materials ideal for open-ended exploration
- Robotics – our Sphero range and Kai’s education tools introduce students to programming, debugging and design through real-world STEAM learning.
These resources help bring learning to life. When tamariki can see, touch and interact with the world around them, they engage more deeply and confidently.
What it looks like in practice
At Hobsonville Point Primary School, one of their Years 0–2 learning commons, LC3, has been thoughtfully designed to support play-based learning. In this space, tamariki explore ideas using a wide range of creative and sensory materials.
The photos shown here capture three of their rich learning invitations: The Language of Paper, The Language of Paint, and The Language of Mark Making. These thoughtfully curated provocations are resourced with everyday materials and reflect Reggio-inspired practices that value creativity, exploration and student voice.
You’ll also notice visible references to The 100 Languages, a concept from the Reggio Emilia philosophy that celebrates the many ways children express themselves, through movement, storytelling, colour, texture and more.
Whether children are folding, painting, sorting or storytelling, these provocations allow space for curiosity to flourish and for teachers to document thinking, scaffold language, and guide emerging ideas.
What to ask in your own school
If you are exploring or evolving play-based learning in your school, here are some questions that might help:
- Do our spaces invite curiosity and creativity?
- Are our materials open-ended and easily accessible for learners?
- Do the resources reflect our learners and their identities?
- Are we upholding our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in our learning spaces?
- Is there room for tamariki to work together, move and lead their learning?
- Are we giving learners time and space to explore, create and revisit their ideas?
- Small changes can lead to big shifts. A storytelling basket, a building table or a display of student thinking can make a real difference.
Bringing it together
Play-based learning helps tamariki develop the confidence and capability to think for themselves, work with others and find meaning in their learning. It supports the curriculum and helps build future-focused learners.
At OfficeMax, we are proud to work alongside schools across the motu to create spaces that support purposeful play. Whether you are resourcing a single area or designing a new space, we can help with practical solutions that work for your learners.
As part of our commitment to supporting teaching and learning, OfficeMax also has a dedicated Learning Consultant on our education team. This means we can offer guidance not just on what, but also on the why and how of creating rich, play-based environments that align with curriculum and pedagogy.
Want to find out more?
Visit officemax.co.nz, connect with your local Account Manager, or speak with our Learning Consultant about how play-based learning could come to life in your school.