The Australian state school I went to in the 1950s didn't have them either. My role as a sheep was at Sunday school. More recently (1960s-1990s)they were to be found in Kindergardens/preschools for 3-4 year-olds. They still have them out here in rural Victoria but they are less common in urban Preschools.
True-love's daughter played Mary in a Nativity play when she was 4. There were two Marys. One was played by a sweet little girl with Down's syndrome. True-love's daughter told us all she was to play , "The Ordinary Mary, not The Special Mary". They both gave a special performance as it turned out. We all cried a lot. Joy