Play School is an Australian educational television show for children produced by the educational department[2] of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), based on the original British version created by Joy Whitby, with many of the presenters former school teachers, whilst others being a mix of well known stage and screen actors and musicians.

It was admitted to the Logie Hall of Fame on its 40th anniversary in 2006, in recognition of the strong influence the show has had on at least three generations of Australian children.

[6] 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 theme song sung by presenters Jay Laga'aia and Justine Clarke.

[9] On 8 July 2019, Aboriginal presenters Luke Carroll, Miranda Tapsell and Hunter Page-Lochard hosted a special episode featuring an Acknowledgement of Country celebrating Australia's first people, sharing knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and highlighting the importance of caring for Country together.

It was more vibrant than the original Perspex model and it was introduced along with the other changes to the Play School set to make most of the colour television which arrived in Australia the previous year.

In 2000, the show had a considerable revamp, with the rocket and flower clocks and the three windows put in storage[12][13][14] in favour of a newer-style Play School.

Occasionally the pianist would make an on-camera appearance, one of the more well known being Warren Carr who served as musical director for over 20 years.

Working on Play School has come to be considered an unusually demanding and important job for some actors,[22] 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.

[24] On 31 May 2004, a "through the windows" segment narrated by Brenna Harding[25] featured the sentence "My Mums are taking me and my friend Merryn to an amusement park".

The ABC responded, however, by saying that "Play School aims to reflect the diversity of Australian children, embracing all manner of race, religions and family situations".

A 2013 episode showed Alex Papps constructing some kind of contraption which involved a straw inserted through the side of a plastic bottle, which was then filled with hot water, accidentally resembling a bong.

[26] In October 2022, Courtney Act appeared on an episode of spin-off Play School Story Time, where she read The Spectacular Suit by Kat Patrick.

[28] Anderson denied this, while Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young accused Antic of using "deeply offensive" language.

Originating as simple animations with vocals from select presenters, the logos and their respective openers have evolved over the many years of the series.

The most recent logo, introduced in 2011, features an opener made entirely of stop-motion animation with vocals by presenters Justine Clarke and Jay Laga'aia.

Australian musician Don Spencer is a noted presence on the program, having not only been a presenter for some 28 years but also releasing several related tie-in records.

[32] While the show is written by preschool education experts, the presenters are all well-known actors or musicians who can connect well with the target audience.