Teachers at the Foundation of Learning Through Play

According to Right to Play, play-based early childhood education can increase learning by an equivalent of four additional months in school. Yet, in many parts of the world, play is not embedded into early learning programmes. Learners are taught how to copy letters from the blackboard, repeat numbers in unison, and praised for sitting still and quiet, ignoring how young children actually learn. There is a focus on enrolment but, it’s not matched with investment and resources for teacher professional development. 

Teachers can be expected to deliver results with limited training and, until recently, little recognition. “There is an issue of being looked down upon as an ECE teacher,” says Ngandu Siamwaanja, an early years teacher in Zambia. “ECE is seen as inferior.” That reality echoes across borders and continents: most early childhood educators are women and most are underpaid, undervalued, and under-supported. 

Through the IT’S PLAY initiative, VVOB with support from The Lego Foundation, has been working to change this narrative. By integrating learning through play methodologies into the ECE systems of Zambia, Rwanda and Uganda, IT’S PLAY directly reached 1766 pre-primary teachers, 310 teacher educators and key government officials, and over 100,000 learners from 2021 to 2025. While each country contextualised the approach to its own system, the regional effort demonstrates that playful pedagogy is doable at scale.  

Building on national policy commitments to holistic, play-based early learning, Uganda has taken a systematic approach to making play part of everyday teaching. Through the IT’S PLAY initiative, the Ministry of Education and Sports, in collaboration with Gulu Core Primary Teachers’ College, the National Curriculum Development Centre, and with technical support from VVOB, co-developed a set of national teacher manuals for pre-primary education focused on playful pedagogy, emergent literacy, and emergent numeracy. Launched earlier this year, these new manuals are designed to bridge the gap between policy and practice, giving teachers a critical tool to bring play into the classroom.  

Speaking on the importance of play in education, Uganda’s Minister of Education and Sports/First Lady, Hon Janet Kataha Museveni said “the Government of Uganda appreciates the value of play in supporting children’s holistic development and lifelong learning.” 

Each manual is aligned with Uganda’s Learning Framework and Caregiver’s Guide and offers context-specific strategies for using play to develop foundational skills. They show how everyday items such as stones, bottle caps, and cardboard can become teaching materials. Activities like storytelling with puppets, letter tracing in sand, or setting up a pretend market to practice counting, make learning active, inclusive, and responsive to children’s developmental needs. 

Seaking to VVOB, Lematiya O. Hanington, one of the 47 tutors from participating teacher colleges involved in the project, emphasised the positive impact of play in learning: “When children learn through play, they enjoy, there is socialisation, there is team spirit, they work together, and more importantly, enrolment is boosted when you use this play-way method,” she said. "Play is the way to go." 

Integration into Uganda’s national Continuous Professional Development (CPD) system, means these manuals will serve as core tools for in-service training, mentoring, and ongoing support for pre-primary teachers. College tutors, district education officers, and CPD providers can use the manuals to coach teachers, modelling, and reflecting on how play-based methods can improve teaching practice and learning outcomes in classrooms. 

Similarly, in Zambia, IT'S PLAY the initiative worked at every level — from ministry officials and curriculum specialists, to district officers, school leaders, and classroom teachers, to establish learning through play as the mainstream teaching approach in early childhood education. 

Supported by the IT'S PLAY programme, education officials and curriculum experts explored what play means in the context of early childhood learning, how to integrate it into national frameworks, and how to monitor its use in schools. Teacher trainers and school-based support staff and leadership were equipped not only with enhanced knowledge of playful pedagogies, but also with coaching and facilitation skills, so they could guide teachers in their daily teaching practice. For teachers themselves, the focus was on providing them with practical strategies and materials for creating playful, child-centred classrooms, supported by ongoing mentoring from officials and school leaders.  

Evidence from the project shows that this systemic investment is paying off. Teachers increasingly adopted child-centred practices, classrooms became more interactive and resource-rich, and learners showed stronger engagement and interest in literacy activities. While challenges remain, such as balancing structured and unstructured play and managing large, active classrooms, there is a clear trend towards more joyful and effective early learning environments. 

For Lusaka-based ECE teacher Mary Mutambo, play-based learning offers the kind of learning that lasts a lifetime. “It’s the best,” says Mutambo. “When you use learner centred methods, learners won't forget because they're the ones who are doing it. So even after 30 years you remember it.” 

Speaking to VVOB, on the development of Zambia‘s new education curriculum and the impact of IT’S PLAY, Felix Ngoma, Provincial Education Officer of Education in Lusaka said “Play-based learning is an important part of what we do.” Ngoma said early childhood education “sets a good foundation for education” and “ensures results”, indicating it will remain a priority of Ministry of Education: “Early childhood education is here with us to stay. Play-based learning is here to stay.” 

If taken seriously, play offers a core strategy for delivering inclusive, quality early education and setting learners up to acquire the foundational skills they’ll need for the rest of their lives. When governments, teacher training institutions, and development partners collaborate within systems, play becomes more than a pedagogical approach. It becomes a pathway to quality, equity, and sustainability in early education. 

Learn more about the power of play in our technical brief on play-based learning.