Welcome, inclusive by design
Special Education is The School of Play's flagship inclusive curriculum: 36 weekly bundles, every lesson published in three differentiated levels (A–B, C–D, F-3) so a teacher can pick the level that matches each learner without redesigning the lesson. The program runs the same five-lesson shape every week, Overview, Play, Written, Exercise, Gratitude, built specifically for specialist schools, SDS settings, inclusive mainstream classrooms and dedicated wellbeing programs.
If you have been pulling apart mainstream curricula to make them work for your learners, this is the one you have been asking for.
Standards, Towards Foundation, Vic Curriculum F–10 and EYLF
Every lesson is mapped to multiple educational frameworks because Special Education classrooms span them:
- Towards Foundation Levels A–D (Victorian Curriculum), explicit alignment for every Special Education learner working below Foundation level.
- Victorian Curriculum F–10 (Levels F-3), for learners progressing into mainstream curriculum bands.
- EYLF and VEYLDF, for early-intervention specialist settings.
- Respectful Relationships, RR Topics 1–4 delivered with adapted language.
- CASEL 5, adapted SEL framework for diverse learners.
The three differentiated levels
Every game ships with three PDFs at different levels of cognitive and motor demand:
- Level A–B, sensory-rich, minimal verbal demand, supported access. Built for learners working in the early Towards Foundation bands.
- Level C–D, symbolic, single-step instructions, scaffolded social interaction. Built for learners moving toward Foundation.
- Level F-3, closer to mainstream Foundation–Year 3 work, with built-in accommodations.
Your first week, calibrating to your learners
Run a single bundle in week one. Pick ONE level for the whole class to start, even if you will mix levels by week three:
- Monday morning, Overview video. Play it twice. The repetition is the lesson.
- Tuesday, Play game at the chosen level. Watch which learners want more challenge; those go up a level next week.
- Wednesday, Written game (Level A–B is often drawing or symbol-matching; Level F-3 is more sentence-based).
- Thursday, Exercise game. Build in extra movement breaks if your class needs them.
- Friday, Gratitude ritual. Even with pre-verbal learners, a "thumbs up / thumbs down for one thing" version works.
A note on sensory pacing
Every Level A–B and C–D lesson includes a short "sensory pacing" note, whether the lesson is louder/quieter, faster/slower, more visual or more physical. Many teachers use these notes to order the day so a higher-arousal Play lesson is followed by a quieter Written or Gratitude lesson. This is practical lesson-ordering guidance only; for anything that needs a clinical lens, the school’s allied health team is the right next step.
For an inclusive mainstream classroom
If you are running Special Education lessons in an inclusive mainstream room, the easiest model is to pick the same lesson at multiple levels, Level F-3 for most of the room, Level C–D as a small-group rotation with an aide. The shared Overview video at the start unifies the experience for all learners.
Sharing the program with families
Many specialist schools share the Family Guide with parents and carers at the start of term. The print button at the bottom of this page outputs a school-branded PDF you can attach to your communications, so families see the same five-lesson rhythm their child is experiencing in the room.
Questions about the curriculum
Email support@theschoolofplay.co or open the chat on the home page. The team can help with anything to do with running the program, choosing the right level for a learner, sequencing lessons across a term, or scaling across multiple classrooms.
