The children were not interested in the textbooks in front of them. But when the activity shifted towards fun and play, something changed. They began to engage, build trust and ask questions. In Shweta’s words, they began to “become human again”.
That observation stayed with Shweta Chari, Co-founder and CEO of The Opentree Foundation, long after she left the classroom. It would eventually shape her journey from volunteering with non-profits and spending six years in the corporate technology sector to building an organisation focused on bringing play-based learning into Maharashtra’s government schools.
Today, The Opentree Foundation, (TOF), is working towards a future where play is not treated as an extra activity, but as an integral part of how children learn. Since 2004, the organisation has reached over 1 million children across more than 900 schools and trained 10,000 teachers in Maharashtra.
Questions That Began During Her School Years
Shweta’s journey into the social sector began long before The Opentree Foundation.
During her school years, she was exposed to the realities of children who did not have access to the same opportunities and basic care as others. She began questioning why some children were not in school and why others lacked the support needed to grow and learn.
Those questions led her to volunteer with non-profits from a young age.
Later, while teaching children in a shelterhome, she noticed a clear difference in how they responded to academic learning and play. Textbooks did not immediately capture their interest. Play did.
The experience gave Shweta a different understanding of learning. Through play, children could build trust, express themselves and become more willing to explore and ask questions.
A Weekend Project Alongside a Corporate Career
The idea remained with Shweta even after she began her career in technology.
She spent six years in the corporate sector while TOF began as a weekend project. Over time, however, the search for deeper meaning and purpose led her to leave her corporate career and focus on the foundation full-time.
While speaking to The Logical Indian, Shweta summed up the philosophy behind her work: “Play is not a distraction from the future but is actually the preparation.”
For her, the challenge was not simply to make learning more entertaining. It was to understand how curiosity could become the starting point for learning.
The organisation observed that many children lacked motivation towards academic studies, while concerns around learning levels in English and Mathematics were also reflected in ASER reports. The aim, therefore, was to build what Shweta describes as a “propensity for learning” through curiosity.
From Games and Toys to Classrooms
In its early years, the initiative focused on collecting, refurbishing and distributing ethically sound games and toys to children.
The work began in Mumbai and later expanded to Pune, Bangalore and Delhi through volunteer chapters. However, the idea of prioritising play was not always easily accepted.
One of the organisation’s biggest challenges was proving that play mattered in the Indian context. Critics questioned the importance of games and toys when many children and families faced immediate concerns such as food and clothing.
For Shweta and her team, however, play was not an alternative to children’s basic needs. It was part of how children could learn, communicate, build relationships and develop confidence.
Over time, the organisation moved beyond distributing play materials towards integrating play into the learning environment itself.
Bringing Play into Government Schools
Today, TOF runs its Play2Learn programme in BMC and low-income private schools in Mumbai and Zilla Parishad schools across rural Maharashtra, working with children from Pre-primary to Grade 8.
The programme uses structured play sessions and open-ended, low-cost play materials designed to give children a greater role in their own learning. Children work in groups, make decisions, debate rules and experiment, including when things do not work as expected.
Teachers are trained as Play Champions and supported in integrating play-based practices into their classrooms. Schools are also provided with play kits to facilitate and observe play sessions.
The approach has led teachers to observe higher attendance, engagement and participation, stronger teacher-student bonds and improvements in students’ confidence, communication and life skills.
Rather than positioning play outside the formal education system, TOF is integrating it into the school day. Its broader goal is to support a government-adopted model for play-based learning across Maharashtra’s government schools.
What the Numbers Are Showing
TOF has tracked changes among children from grade 1 to 8 in partner schools across rural and urban Maharashtra.
According to the TOF’s Impact Report 2024-25, the programme has recorded more than 50% improvement in critical thinking and communication skills. Additionally, 44% of teachers observed that learning from play sessions carried into regular classrooms.
The impact report also states that children from schools with very limited resources performed at the same levels as children from schools with significantly greater resources after going through the programme.
The organisation currently states that its work reaches 200,000 children every year across more than 700 schools in Maharashtra.
These findings form part of the case Shweta and her team are making for play as a serious component of education rather than simply a break from it.
Children Are Getting Less Time to Play
The Opentree Foundation’s upcoming State of Play Report, described in the provided material as India’s first study of its kind, is based on a play sufficiency assessment involving 605 children, parents, teachers and community members across 36 schools and centres in six districts of Maharashtra: Ahilyanagar, Beed, Latur, Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban and Pune.
The assessment examined how children experience play at home, in school and in their neighbourhoods.
Its findings point to a decline in play as children grow older, particularly among girls. Around 35% of older girls are playing for less than an hour a day, compared with 14% of older boys.
Creative and exploratory play is also increasingly being replaced by screens and sedentary activity. Academic pressure, safety concerns and social judgement from neighbours are identified as factors limiting children’s time to play. More than half of the teachers surveyed said children were receiving less than an hour of play-based learning during the school day.
For Shweta, these findings add greater urgency to the work that began with her own observations while teaching children years ago.
Working With Government, Not Around It
One of Shweta’s key lessons for new social entrepreneurs is that the work is not about the founder. It is about the people being served.
She also stresses the importance of collaborating with the government rather than attempting to reinvent systems independently.
That approach is reflected in TOF’s work with Maharashtra’s government school system and its ambition to expand play-based learning across the state. The foundation is also developing its Foundational Play™ Playbook as a practical guide for implementing play-based learning.
Towards a Right to Play
For Shweta, the long-term vision goes beyond expanding programmes or increasing the number of schools involved. She wants to see the Right to Play recognised at a policy level in India.
In conversation with The Logical Indian, Shweta’s journey reflects a progression from a weekend initiative that collected and distributed games and toys to an organisation working to bring play into government classrooms and make it part of the learning process.
Her belief remains simple: play is not separate from learning. It is part of how children communicate, make decisions, work with others, explore possibilities and respond when things do not go according to plan.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Shweta’s journey raises an important question about what education should prepare children for. Academic knowledge remains essential, but learning is also shaped by curiosity, communication, confidence and the ability to engage with others. The work of The Opentree Foundation suggests that play need not sit outside the classroom as a reward or a break. It can become part of the learning process itself.
The organisation’s collaboration with government schools also highlights the importance of strengthening existing public systems. As TOF works towards a larger play-based learning model in Maharashtra, its vision of the Right to Play invites a broader conversation about whether every child has enough space, time and opportunity not just to study, but to explore, question and learn through play.
Do you think every child should have the Right to Play as part of their education and development?
If you’d like us to feature your story, please write to us at csr@5w1h.media
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