Accredited Ministry of Education PLD Facilitator (Cultural Capabilities endorsed)

HundrED Community Lead (Oceania), Neuro Fellow & New Zealand Representative of the Global Recess Alliance

Co-lead Investigator: Ko te tākaro te kauwaka e pakari ake ai te tangata | Cultural pluralism for play based pedagogy: Developing and implementing an indigenised framework for play in a primary school setting.

Sarah Aiono is an experienced educator and thought leader dedicated to promoting the power of play in both educational and business environments. She completed her doctoral research in 2020 with Massey University, investigating the impact of two models of professional development on supporting the effective teaching of play practices in the primary classroom. Sarah is particularly passionate about helping teachers implement evidence-based play pedagogy with fidelity in their everyday classroom practice.

Sarah has extensive experience as a classroom teacher, teaching students across all year levels, including those with challenging behaviours and learning needs. Currently, she mentors and facilitates teacher professional learning as a PD facilitator. She also hosts the popular podcast series “Play Conversations” on Spotify and is a sought-after keynote speaker and guest presenter at numerous education events nationally and internationally.

As co-director and CEO of Longworth Education, Sarah supports schools in implementing evidence-informed play pedagogy, with a specific focus on ensuring effective teaching practices within primary school play-based learning environments.

In addition to her work in education, Sarah supports businesses in understanding the power of play to enhance employee productivity, wellbeing, and innovation. She presents workshops and seminars for corporate organisations, including the popular “From Boardroom to Sandpit” programme, which helps managers and business owners harness the power of play to improve productivity, innovation, initiative, and creativity in the workplace.

EdD, MEd, PGDipEd (SNRT), BEd (Tchg – Primary)