Brick-by-Brick® Programme Training for Professionals
Are you a professional interested in using the Brick-by-Brick® programme? Find out more about our training here.
Working with the LEGO Foundation, we've developed a training pathway for professionals wishing to deliver the Brick-by-Brick® programme, the most up to date thinking in LEGO based therapy in their setting. Focusing on learning through play, acceptance of neurodiversity and playful facilitation, our training courses build on each other, giving you all you need on your journey to become a Brick-by-Brick Facilitator. Watch the video below and read on to find out more.
Why choose Play Included training?
Here are some reasons we think you'll love 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. Click on each level below to find out more.
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”
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!”
The Brick-by-Brick Programme
We will soon start developing a range of Specialist courses, to
Deepen your level of knowledge and experience
Learn about a wide range of relevant topics from experts in the field
Expand your expertise for different ages, populations and activities
Sign up to our mailing list and we'll keep you updated as these courses become available.
If you are an organisation wishing to deliver the Facilitator course in the Brick-by-Brick programme training in your part of the world, do please contact us to find out about our Train the Trainer programme. We are happy to hear from organisations who share our values and passion to help us scale up high quality training internationally.
We are in the process of developing a course for suitably qualified professionals to learn how to be a Mentor, to support new Facilitators in their Brick-by-Brick® programme delivery. Please sign up to our mailing list and we will let you know when this course becomes available.
Play Included Membership
Everyone who passes a Play Included training course becomes a Play Included Member. You must be a Play Included Member in order to run Brick Clubs. The fantastic membership benefits increase with each level of training, meaning the more training you do, the more resources you can access. Membership benefits include:-
Access to our professionals community of practice
Written guides and video guides to support your facilitation of Brick Clubs
Access to printable resources for delivering Brick Clubs
Online support from Play Included from Q&A sessions
We will be adding more and more to our membership in future, to add as much quality to Brick Clubs as we possibly can.
Course Prerequisites
It is most important that Brick Clubs are safe and enjoyable spaces for children and young people. As such, the prerequisites for attending our training include:-
You are a registered and recognised health, education or care professional (e.g. teacher, speech and language therapist, psychologist, counsellor, therapist, social worker, higher level teaching assistant etc.) with experience of working with children and young people.
In the UK, professionals in training (e.g. trainee psychologist, trainee social worker) and Level 2 (or above) Teaching Assistants are also eligible to train with us.
You are able to deliver Brick Clubs in a recognised organisation that routinely provides support, care, educational or medical provision to children and young people (e.g. school, educational centre or health service). A recognised organisation is an Education, Health, or Care provider that has its own complaints and safeguarding policy.
You agree to abide by Play Included's Safeguarding Policy, Code of Conduct, Privacy Policy, Play Included Terms & Conditions and The LEGO Foundation's Child Protection Policy.
Please contact us at bookings@playincluded.com if you are unsure whether you meet the prerequisites.