Why choose Play Included training?

• We are the original programme, and the only course endorsed by the LEGO Foundation.

• Learn with Dr. Gina Gomez de la Cuesta, Clinical Psychologist and author of the LEGO therapy manual and research articles.

• Our training is neurodiversity affirming, with a whole module in the Initiate course written by our neurodivergent consultants.

• Our training programmes are fun, engaging and inspirational. With high quality videos, interactive activities, playful quizzes and short, easily digestible modules, the Initiate course is one of the most fun online courses around!

• We offer a comprehensive training pathway to deepen your skills and knowledge. By developing your playful facilitation skills, you will be able to offer the best experiences and outcomes for children.

• Once you have trained, Play Included Membership offers you ongoing support and access to excellent resources to support your delivery of Brick Clubs, including printable resources, video 'how to' guides and online community.

• Play Included continue to carry out academic research and evaluation and we share the most up to date thinking with our community. This means you can be assured Play Included’s Brick-by-Brick® programme training represents the latest ideas and thinking.

Brick-by-Brick® training levels

Like LEGO bricks, our training levels build on one another to deepen understanding and develop full capabilities in facilitating Brick Clubs to support social and emotional development.

Level 1: Initiate

Get started with your Brick-by-Brick® training journey with our introductory course, called the Initiate course. This online, self-paced training provides all the background and introduction you need to understand the Brick-by-Brick programme.

Created by our very own Dr. Gina Gomez de la Cuesta & Dr Elinor Brett with expert input from autistic consultants, specialists from the LEGO Foundation and academic partners, this interactive and engaging online course guides your learning about the Brick-by-Brick programme with videos, examples, quizzes, reflection and play. Topics covered include:-

• Introduction to the Brick-by-Brick programme

• Introduction to autism and neurodiversity, co-created with our autistic consultants

• Learning through play and how this can support social and emotional development, co-created with LEGO Foundation playful facilitation experts

• The theoretical background and evidence base for the Brick-by-Brick programme

• Practicalities of running Brick Clubs for children and young people with a wide range of needs

• An introduction to playful facilitation of Brick Clubs and how best to support social interaction.

After completing the course, you will become a Play Included Member at the Initiate level, accessing basic resources for Brick Clubs. You will receive a certificate of completion and you will be able to progress to the level 02 Facilitator Course to put your learning into practise.

Professionals who tested our training have given wonderful feedback, with 100% saying their expectations of the course were exceeded or met. Here is what they had to say:-

“I just wanted to say how much I liked the training.  The layout and interactivity of it was great,  it was professional and well designed, and it was very interesting.”

“I want to say how much I enjoyed the training. Its was so pleasant (easy to navigate)  and informative. I cannot begin to share how excited we are about having this program at our Center”

Level 2: Facilitator

Once you have completed the Initiate course, you will be able to progress to become a recognised Brick-by-Brick® Facilitator by taking our in-person Facilitator course, enabling you to confidently deliver Brick Clubs of your own. The Facilitator course is a full day face-to-face workshop where you will learn through play, building on the knowledge you gained from the Initiate course. You will try out Brick Club activities and develop your understanding of playful facilitation with support from an expert Trainer. We think it's a great chance to learn together with colleagues, sharing ideas and inspiration.

After completing this course, you will be able to call yourself an official Brick-by-Brick® Facilitator and you can apply to be listed on our register of Facilitators coming to our website soon. We have had excellent feedback from the Facilitator course, with 96% of attendees strongly agreeing that it is a very important addition to the Initiate course for their delivery of Brick Clubs. It's also great fun, and embodies learning through play in action! “

The opportunity for experiential learning- actually trying out some of the activities really helped to consolidate the learning for me”

“I found myself pondering some of the topics that came up in both natural and more structured discussion even days later. I don't think I would have got the richness of this without the face to face course” “

The free play was also brilliant and a great opportunity to remember the joy in playing!”