Steve Kanowski
Berrinba East State School, QLD
Turrbal, Yagara, Yugambeh, and Yugara/Yugarapul
Teaching Fellow
Steve Kanowski is a Queensland Principal who turned oral language data into a whole-school redesign, rebuilding how young children learn to speak, connect and thrive at school.
At Berrinba East State School, where 31.9% of students were arriving developmentally vulnerable in communication skills, Steve led the rollout of Play Pedagogy and OPAL, blending explicit instruction with play-based learning grounded in the Play Cycle and Abecedarian strategies.
He built data-triangulated systems linking AEDC, behavioural and academic measures, and trained staff using the P-BLOT observation tool, shifting teachers from supervising play to deliberately designing language-rich learning experiences from Prep to Year 6.
The results have been striking: a 75.5% drop in violent incidents, 40% fewer suspensions, a 21.9% rise in students achieving a C grade or higher in English, and a 17–22% improvement in AEDC communication and vulnerability measures.
Through a research partnership with Dr Sarah Aiono, Steve has helped establish play as a precise, evidence-based pedagogy rather than an engagement tactic, embedding a coaching model that has lifted teacher confidence and instructional consistency school-wide.
Steve’s influence now extends well beyond the classroom. He leads the Queensland Playmakers Alliance, a network of more than 70 schools, early learning centres and OSHC providers, and drives the Jarjums Matter Early Years Neighbourhood Network, connecting early childhood providers and schools to build continuity of language-rich learning before children even reach Prep.
This work has driven a 17% rise in students on track for communication skills and engaged more than 1,300 participants through the Curious Communities initiative.
Steve’s approach shows what’s possible when a single educator treats data as a call to action: previously disengaged, developmentally vulnerable students are now confident, capable communicators, and an entire community of schools has a proven model to follow.