| Play School | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's television |
| Written by | Henrietta Clark |
| Presented by | see Presenters |
| Theme music composer | Richard Connolly (lyrics by Rosemary Milne) |
| Opening theme | "There's A Bear In There" |
| Ending theme | "There's A Bear In There" (instrumental) |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 46 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Claire Henderson Henrietta Clark John Fox Virginia Lumsden Jan Stradling |
| Producer(s) | Allan Kendall Henrietta Clark Ros Lawson John Fox Tracey Ellison Wendy Gray Sophie Emtage |
| Location(s) | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC1 (Mornings: 18 July 1966–2 May 2011) (Afternoons: 18 July 1966–present) ABC2 (Mornings: 2005–2011) (Afternoons: 2005–2011) ABC4 Kids (Mornings: 2 May 2011–present) (Afternoons: 2 May 2011–present) |
| Picture format | 4:3 (1966–2003) 16:9 (2003–present) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original run | 18 July 1966 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
| Production website | |
Play School is an Australian educational television show for children produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It is the longest-running children's show in Australia, and the second longest running children's show in the world.[1] An estimated 80% of pre-school children under six watch the programme at least once a week.[2] It is screened twice every weekday at 3:05 pm on ABC1 (from 2 May 2011) 9:30 am and 4:35 pm on ABC4 Kids (from 2 May 2011).
Contents |
Play School began production in 18 July 1966 based on a British programme of the same name. The first Australian Play School episode was transmitted on 18 July of that year. It has been produced continuously from this time. It has launched the careers of several Australian actors and television presenters. It was admitted to the Logies Hall of Fame on its 40th anniversary in 2006. This was in recognition of the strong influence the show has had in at least three generations of Australian children. Play School was the third show to enter the Hall of Fame in its own right, after Four Corners (1992) and Neighbours (2005), it's also the first children's show inducted in the Logie Hall of Fame.
During the presentation of the Logie Awards, a package showing memorable scenes from the show throughout its history was shown, before notable presenters (from past and present) came onto the stage with some of the favourite toys from the show. After these presenters accepted the award, the audience then joined them for a stirring rendition of the Play School Theme.
On 31 May 2004 a segment was shown showing what was taken by the public to be two lesbians taking their child and her friend to an amusement park. A little girl narrated the clip, stating "My Mums are taking me and my friend Merryn to an amusement park." The clip was raised as controversial by the media, and three federal ministers expressed dislike over the screening of the clip. The ABC responded however, saying that "Play School aims to reflect the diversity of Australian children, embracing all manner of race, religions and family situations." The producers of the segment also said the segment showed the girl being accompanied by her birth mother and her step mother (hence "two mums") and they believed most people would automatically assume the same.
In 1992, a through the windows segment featured an early performance by the Australian children's musical group The Wiggles performing the songs Get Ready To Wiggle and Rock-A-Bye-Your-Bear at a day care centre.
On Monday 4 July 2011, Play School updated its opening titles using a combination of stop motion and computer animation with a new arrangement of the Play School theme song sung by presenters Jay Laga'aia and Justine Clarke.[3]
The format of the show is activities, songs and games with either host passing back to each other at the end of their segment, and frequently joining each other in activities. Each day the presenters look at the calendar to find out which day of the week it is, read a story, and look through the windows. From 1970 to 2000, they had a rocket clock which was shaped like a rocket and a flower clock which was shaped like a flower. Until 2000, the windows looked almost exactly like their British counterparts with a few slight differences. They changed the background behind the windows from black to white at the end of 1967 and they then changed it to light blue in 1985. In the late '80s they also changed the windows to look like their British counterparts had in the late '70s through to the axing of the show. Every week there is a common theme running through the programme that the actors will reflect upon during the episode.
In 2000, the show had a massive revamp, with the rocket and flower clocks and the three windows put in storage in favour of a newer style Play School. The main clock was now simply called the Play School Clock, which was controlled by one of the presenters standing at the top of the clock and turning a winding device, which caused the clue to the story to slide down a slippery dip. That was soon replaced by the Hickory Dickory Clock which featured clockwork resembling the Hickory Dickory nursery rhyme. That was soon replaced by the Train Clock which resembles a train station with a clock above it. The windows were also heavily changed. They were now built into a massive rotating prop which was built underneath the clock (shown one week) and 'controlled' by one of the presenters pulling a lever back and forwards. The windows (now including a diamond window) would spin around and would slowly be eliminated as the window they would look through until they got to the fourth window and the camera would slowly zoom in and fade out into the fill. The order in which they appear is Square~Diamond~Round~Arched~Square. That was soon replaced by windows with animation where Jemima stands next to the round window, little ted stands next to the square window, big ted stands next to the diamond window and humpty stands next to the arched window and the window chosen goes through to pre-recorded footage.
Most Outstanding Children's Program
Hall of Fame 2006
Best Children's Album:
From the inception of the programme, 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 actors, because they feel they are becoming part of a generation of children's lives and providing a foundation for learning things that will last for life.
Play School's stated philosophy is to encourage a child 'to wonder, to think, to feel and to imagine'. The duo (sometimes a trio when joined by hearing impaired actress Sofya Gollan) of presenters (now almost always a male/female pairing, but has previously been two females or two males) 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.
The theme song was composed by prominent Australian composer Richard Connolly.
There's a bear in there
And a chair as well
There are people with games
And stories to tell
Open wide, come inside
It's Play School.