Engage Playfully

11/06/2026

🌟 Happy International Day of Play! 🌟

At Engage Playfully, we see every day just how powerful play truly is. Play helps children make sense of their world, express big feelings, build confidence, connect with others, and discover who they are all through moments of joy, curiosity, imagination, and movement.

Today is a beautiful reminder that play isn’t “just play.”
It’s learning.
It’s healing.
It’s communication.
It’s connection.
And it’s essential.

Whether it’s building, creating, pretending, exploring, or simply being silly, we celebrate the magic that happens when children are given the space to play freely and be themselves.

Here’s to protecting play, valuing play, and making room for more of it today and every day. 💛

10/06/2026

The importance and power of play.

The first time Renae Powell waved her eldest child through the primary school gates she felt something was missing: play time.

09/06/2026

Registered Play Therapist with PTPA ❤️

05/06/2026

Supporting Student Wellbeing in Schools — Engage Playfully

At Engage Playfully, we partner with schools to provide meaningful, relationship‑based wellbeing support through our trained therapy animals, counsellors, and play therapists. Our school programs are designed to help students feel safe, connected, and confident so they can thrive both in and out of the classroom.

Our certified therapy dogs and therapy rabbit work alongside our qualified clinicians to support:
• Emotional regulation and calming
• Confidence and self‑esteem
• Social skills and peer connection
• Engagement, attendance, and school belonging
• Anxiety, transitions, and big feelings
• Positive behaviour and coping strategies

We work closely with teachers and wellbeing teams to ensure every session is purposeful, trauma‑informed, and aligned with each student’s individual needs.

Whether it’s small‑group programs or 1:1 support, our goal is simple: to help students feel understood, supported, and ready to learn with a little help from our furry co‑therapists.

If your school is interested in bringing Animal‑Assisted Play Therapy or wellbeing support to your students, we’d love to chat.

We are now taking school bookings for 2027.

04/06/2026

Growing Confidence through play.

03/06/2026

We've been nominated in the Clickability Awards
If you've had a great experience with our team, we'd love your support.
It only takes 30 seconds to vote:

https://awards.clickability.com.au/providers/engage-playfully?fbclid=IwY2xjawSMXeBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe5q9mbX41TXD41vsCXPXNZ9Vm7BfkzdZGmTRsetU-cltcS0RIzOaYGm__y6w_aem_pFt29-XIGtDSraK28zet7Q

Every vote means a lot to us and helps others find trusted support.

31/05/2026

School refusal often stems from anxiety, sensory overload, or difficulty feeling safe and connected in the school environment. Animal Assisted Play Therapy provides a therapeutic bridge back to learning by supporting emotional regulation, confidence, and relational safety.
Our therapy animals—Waffles, Poppy, and Winnie—help create a calm, grounding environment where students can explore their feelings, practise coping strategies, and rebuild positive associations with school. Sessions can be delivered 1:1 or as part of a school‑based support plan.
Engage Playfully partners with schools and families to support gradual re‑engagement and improved wellbeing.
Get in touch to learn how Engage Playfully can help your child and family.

28/05/2026

Take a look at this short video of Waffles and our therapist getting the space ready at one of our local schools. Our school‑based Animal Assisted Play Therapy sessions create a calm, supportive environment where students can regulate, connect, and build confidence.
Engage Playfully offers social‑emotional group programs and 1:1 support within schools, supported by our therapy team including Waffles the rabbit, and therapy dogs Poppy and Winnie.
If your school is interested in exploring these services, we’d love to chat.

28/05/2026

Engage Playfully provides child‑led, relationship‑based therapeutic supports that integrate the benefits of Animal Assisted Play Therapy. Our sessions help children build emotional regulation, confidence, communication skills, and a sense of safety through meaningful connection and play.
We offer clinic‑based sessions in Frankston, school‑based programs, and community support options. Schools can also engage our services for small social‑emotional group programs or individual 1:1 support.
Families can access services through NDIS funding or privately.
If you’d like to learn more about how our therapy animals and play‑based approach can support your child or school community, please get in touch.

21/05/2026

The Power of animals and evidence based programs is something we see daily in the schools we work with. Building confidence, resilience, communication and a pure joy that lifts them up to face daily challenges. 🐾🐾🐾

Just because a child is physically in the classroom doesn’t mean they feel safe, regulated or ready to learn.

Many children spend their school day in survival mode — overwhelmed by noise, pressure, uncertainty, social demands or the constant effort of masking how hard things really feel.

From the outside, it can look like they’re “coping.”

But internally, their nervous system may be overloaded.

When children are dysregulated, anxious or emotionally exhausted, learning becomes incredibly difficult. This isn’t about behaviour, motivation or “trying harder.”

It’s about understanding that emotional safety and connection are essential foundations for learning.

At Animal Therapies Ltd, we often see how animal-assisted learning can help children feel calmer, more connected and more emotionally secure.

Animals can provide a sense of safety without judgment or pressure. They help create opportunities for regulation, confidence, communication and engagement in ways that feel natural and supportive.

For some children, meaningful learning begins only after their nervous system feels safe enough to participate.