Playschool

Play School is an educational television programme for pre-school aged children.

United Kingdom

The original manifestation of Play School was a long-running British series. It was produced by the BBC and ran from 21 April 1964 until 11 March 1988. It accidentally became the first ever programme to be shown on the fledgling BBC TWO after a power cut halted the opening night programming. Play School originally appeared on weekdays at 11am on BBC TWO and later acquired a mid-afternoon BBC ONE repeat.

Presenters throughout the 24-year run included Brian Cant, Carol Chell, Chloe Ashcroft, Derek Griffiths, Eric Thompson, Floella Benjamin, Fred Harris, Johnny Ball, Julie Stevens and teddy bears Big Ted and Little Ted, Humpty Dumpty (the egg from the nursery rhyme, sometime just 'Humpty'), ragdoll Jemima and, finally, Hamble -- a rather dirty and ordinary plastic doll. Hamble was replaced in the later years of the series by Poppy who, in response to changing sensibilities and attitudes, was black. The original doll was also getting rather fragile at this point. The high point of each episode was the video excursion into the outside world taken through one of three windows: the young viewers were invited to guess whether the round, square, or arched window would be chosen that day. A triangular window was added in 1983.

For a while, Play School also had a sister programme, called Play Away.

Australia

An Australian version, also called Play School, is still being produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for Australian and international distribution. It is notable because it is the longest-running program on Australian television, and second only to the American educational program Sesame Street in terms of influence on Australian children. The first episodes aired in 1966. Two episodes screen every day, at 9am and 3pm.

From the inception of the program, the producers of Play School have made efforts to promote equality, playful education, and a love of learning in its audience. Working on Play School has come to be considered an unusually demanding and important job for some talented actors, because they feel they are becoming part of a generation of children's lives and providing a foundation for learning that will last for life. Long-running Play School presenters have included Noni Hazlehurst, Benita Collings, Alister Smart, Don Spencer (who also appeared in the UK Play School), and John Hamblin. Other notable presenters have included Trisha Goddard, Jay Laga'aia, Deborah Mailman, Philip Quast, Rhys Muldoon and John Waters.

Play School's stated philosophy is to encourage a child 'to wonder, to think, to feel and to imagine'. The two presenters (always a male/female pairing) address the child directly and personally, so that every child watching the show feels that they are spending time with two people they know and can trust. Into this relationship are woven the stories, songs and activities that form the fabric of Australian children's culture.

Play School is successful because it satisfies our basic human need to interact with other people and to be valued by them.

Canada

The Canadian show The Polka Dot Door is an adaptation of the Play School format.

Quotes

• Here is a house, here is a door, windows -- one, two, three, four. Ready to knock? Turn the lock. It's Play School. --Opening voiceover of the BBC version.
• There's a bear in there, and a chair as well. There's people with games, and stories to tell. Open wide, come inside -- it's Play School. --Opening jingle of the ABC version.

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