Welcome to the Carly Budd
Developmental Play Academy®
A multi award-winning online education platform, empowering professionals across Perinatal and Postnatal Services, Health and Social Care, Early Years, Charity initiatives, and the Parent/Baby Wellbeing sector with evidence-based knowledge and practical skills. Discover how to nurture healthy development and wellbeing through movement and meaningful play - from playful, happy tummy time to engaging, complex toddler activities -giving both you and the families you support the tools to thrive.
Training here is not your typical early-years or baby group training. This is advanced, Occupational Therapist-led neurodevelopmental CPD training designed for practitioners who support both typically developing babies and little ones with additional needs and disabilities, and who want to dive more deeply into the intricacies of child development to bring developmentally appropriate and inclusive play spaces to the communities in which they serve.
All training is grounded in a neurodevelopmental and health-promotion lens, drawing on Carly’s years of clinical experience specialising in paediatric OT. You’ll gain a deep understanding of the sensory and movement needs of the developing brain and nervous system, and discover the power of rich, diverse play and movement experiences from birth and their lifelong impact.
Through self-paced accredited courses and programmes you will:
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Deepen your expertise and confidence
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Embed this knowledge into your current role or build a new, or improved inclusive service
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Gain hundreds of practical, actionable play ideas
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Learn progressive, evidence-based strategies for supporting development
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Strengthen the foundations of a child’s function, wellbeing, and parent–caregiver connection
Why Invest in training with
Carly Budd?
Expert Guidance:
Benefit from Carly's wealth of experience as a Multi Award Winning Paediatric Occupational Therapist and registered Health Professional, guiding you through the intricacies of early child development from a neurodevelopmental lens.
Health Promotion:
Learn to create, share and provide nurturing play environments, incorporating gentle multi-sensory experiences. Understand the importance of varied play diets and positions for play from birth, empowering parents to extend this learning into their homes with life long health and wellbeing benefits.
Thriving Environments:
Babies and children learn to be human in the environments in which they are in. Explore how Carly's training facilitates crucial childhood occupations, creating environments where young children and their families not only survive but truly thrive.
Grounded Knowledge:
Carly’s training is firmly rooted in evidence-based practices, ensuring you receive reliable and developmentally appropriate information on the impact of play on child neurodevelopment and future health and wellbeing outcomes.
Connection Building:
Discover the vital nature of fostering meaningful connections between caregivers and young children, enhancing the quality of interactions in the critical first 1001 days and beyond..
Contributing to Everydayness of Play:
By sharing knowledge and expertise, Carly aims to contribute to the "everydayness" of child development, benefiting the developing brains and nervous systems of young children in your community with simple, low, or no-cost ways.
Find the right Practitioner Training for you
Whether you are new to developmental play or ready to deepen your knowledge, there is a pathway to suit the way you work.
My training is designed to give you more than a certificate. You will build a deeper understanding of how babies and toddlers develop, how play and movement support that development, and how to adapt your approach for children with developmental differences, disabilities and additional needs.
Developmental Play Training Pathway:
1) Tummy Time Practitioner PLUS+
Focused training for practitioners supporting babies from birth. If you are looking for a focused training in tummy time, early floor based play and movement, and crucially the depths of WHY and HOW this is the place to start.
You will learn how to rethink tummy time in a practical, positive and achievable way for families, including how to adapt your approach for babies who find it difficult or who have additional needs.
Explore Tummy Time Practitioner PLUS+ Pathway
2) Advanced Practitioner in Developmental Play 0-1
This is where you move beyond tummy time and begin to understand infant development as a whole; movement, positioning, sensory development, play, parent education, mini milestones and supporting babies with additional needs and complex medical conditions. This is your complete training for supporting babies from birth to 1 year. This is the place I recommend starting if you want a deeper understanding of infant development and how to use developmental play within your work.
Your training via this pathway includes the full Tummy Time Practitioner PLUS+ training. You will finish with a wealth of practical ideas, teaching resources and knowledge that you can take straight into your work with babies and families.
Explore the Advanced Practitioner in Developmental Play 0-1 Pathway
3) Advanced Practitioner in Developmental Play 0-3
The complete pathway from birth to 3 years; this gives you the biggest saving by enrolling on the full programme.
If you want to support children across the full 0 to 3 years, this is the complete Developmental Play pathway. It brings together the Infant Developmental Play Practitioner Advanced Diploma and the Toddler Developmental Play Diploma, giving you a deeper understanding of development from birth through the toddler years.
You can work through the training at your own pace, building your knowledge from those early developmental foundations through to more complex toddler play and movement.
Explore the Advanced Practitioner in Developmental Play 0-3 Pathway
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Specialist Practitioner Training
Alongside the Developmental Play pathway, I also offer specialist training for practitioners looking to develop particular areas of practice.
Play the Nature Way®: Nature Play Practitioner Training
A specialist training programme exploring how nature can become a meaningful and accessible context for play, development, wellbeing and learning for children aged 1 to 5 years. Ideal for practitioners delivering outdoor sessions, nature based learning, family support programmes and inclusive play opportunities.
Explore Play the Nature Way Training
Adapting Baby Massage and Baby Yoga for Babies with Additional Needs: CPD Workshop
Designed for qualified baby massage and baby yoga teachers, this specialist training explores how to adapt sessions for babies with developmental differences, disabilities, complex medical needs and physical challenges, helping you create more inclusive and accessible services for families.
Tummy Time Play Practitioner Training 0- 6m+
Advanced Practitioner CPD Course
Advanced Diploma in Infant Developmental Play 0-1 Years
Infant Developmental Play Practitoner course
Advanced Diploma in Toddler Developmental Play 1-3 years
Toddler developmental play practitioner course
Play the Nature Way Practitioner Training 1-5 years
Nature Play Practitioner Course
Adapting Baby Massage and Baby Yoga
CPD for qualified Infant Massage and Yoga Teachers
“The truth is that play seems to be one of the most advanced methods nature has invented to allow a complex brain to create itself.”
Dr Stuart Brown
The Carly Budd Developmental Play Academy® is for you if:
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You care deeply about babies, children, and their parents or caregivers.
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You want to support children aged 0–3 with developmentally appropriate, meaningful play - not trends or gimmicks.
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You want to explore child development, movement, sensory processing, and play, and understand their impact on brains, nervous systems, motor skills, and lifelong outcomes.
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You already work with children and want to embed this knowledge into your current role or create a new service, gaining deeper understanding of how movement, play, and interaction influence development.
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You are new to the field and want a strong foundation in child development and play, with evidence-based knowledge and practical guidance from an experienced OT.
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You value supporting the stage, not the age, and want confidence guiding babies and children with additional needs, complex diagnoses, or developmental differences - empowering parents and caregivers with sensitivity and skill.
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You are committed to professional growth and maintaining high standards in childcare, parent–baby wellbeing, or therapy services.
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You are looking for high-quality, accredited training, a global community of like-minded practitioners, and ongoing networking and CPD opportunities.
Working with
Carly Budd
Carly, a multi-award winning Paediatric Occupational Therapist and registered Health Professional, is passionate about elevating your expertise in the realm of early child development, movement, and play for health promotion. Her meticulously crafted courses are a gateway to enhancing your knowledge and practical skills, laying a robust foundation for comprehending the essential components of child development for building brains and nurturing nervous systems with lifelong benefit.
With a focus on everything from mini milestones to optimal play positions, tummy time and varied play diets, and the significance of playful interactions, Carly's bespoke training draws from her extensive experience working both in the NHS and independently as an OT specialising in Paediatric Neurology, utilising play as a tool to support the crucial development of sensory processing, cognitive, physical, and emotional skills. Carly's courses are designed to take your learning on a whole new level and use and infuse this in your services supporting babies and young children.
By investing in Carly's bespoke training, you will deepen your knowledge and enhance your techniques to create enriching play and movement based spaces for babies and young children. Additionally, you'll be equipped to offer valuable guidance to parents, fostering an environment that promotes the holistic development and future outcomes of the little ones that you reach.
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