Developmental Play for All Children

Developmental Play is an innovative paradigm bringing best global practice to the bottom of the pyramid. The approach was born out of a desire to provide a simple, accessible approach that synthesises best practice from across different disciplines for the children who need it most. It offers a scalable and affordable model that builds capacity among the adults who look after children most at risk. Through its online academy and virtual consultants it can support early childhood workers in health, education and community settings to build capacity to support children through play. The academy (www.createcatt-academy.com) provides short courses as well as a three-level online course endorsed by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. Developmental Play provides tried-and-tested training that brings together expertise from education, developmental psychology, occupational therapy and play therapy, and provides adults, teachers, clinicians, parents and care-givers with the skills they need to support children. Two pilot programmes are running in India and the Philippines, where 80 Certified Developmental Play Practitioners are rolling out the model as part of an expanding Developmental Play Community. For more information, see Caroline Essame (2020) Developmental Play: A new approach to understanding how all children learn through play, Childhood Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2020.1707531