Level 3 Advanced Diploma in
Toddler Developmental Play
ages 1-3 years
Created by Carly Budd, multi-award winning Paediatric Occupational Therapist, this accredited Advanced Diploma takes you deeper into toddler development, movement and play from 1 to 3 years.
The Advanced Diploma in Toddler Developmental Play 1 to 3 Years builds on the Advanced Practitioner in Infant Developmental Play 0 to 1 Years pathway, extending your understanding of development and developmental play beyond infancy and into the toddler years. You must complete the 0-1 years pathway to progress into th 1-3 pathway.
Going beyond simply providing toddler play activities, the training explores the development underneath the play, helping you understand how movement, sensory experiences, relationships, environments and everyday opportunities for play connect with a toddler’s developing physical, cognitive, emotional and sensory skills.
You’ll delve deeper into the complexities of toddler development, exploring how these early foundations come together during a period of rapid growth and change, and how the experiences and opportunities we offer in these early years can have a lifelong impact.
Carly’s clinical knowledge and experience have been brought together into practical, evidence informed training that helps you understand the why, what, when and how of using and adapting developmental play for the individual child.
Alongside the theory, you will have access to hundreds of developmentally appropriate play ideas and practical approaches for children aged 1 to 3 years, helping you bring your learning into your existing work with toddlers and families.
Whether you work within play based practice, early years, health, therapy or family support, the Diploma brings together advanced knowledge with practical application, including consideration of children with different developmental journeys and additional needs.
Already completed your 0 to 1 Years pathway? You can progress into the Toddler Developmental Play Diploma and extend your training across the full birth to three developmental journey by contacting Carly directly.
“Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.”
O. Fred Donaldson
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Why should you train with me?
The Developmental Play Gym Approach™ empowers practitioners to support children holistically, using everyday objects and simple activities to promote physical, sensory, and cognitive development. By making this approach accessible to all families, we ensure that children can benefit from play that builds strength and coordination while preparing them for more advanced motor skills and learning. This approach focuses on guiding children through a natural progression of movement, starting from being cradled in a parent’s arms, moving to the floor, and then progressing to more complex forms of play. The aim is to build essential core muscles before advancing to skills such as fine motor development, visual perception, and cognitive functions.
Investing in this training supports you, your practice, and your community. This one of a kind opportunity will not only enhance your knowledge of the Power of Play for children beyond the 1st year and throughout life, but will transform it. In turn you can share this with the children and families you support, and make a difference to children's lives.
More children than ever need play - research shows that less children are engaging in unstructured play than their parents or grandparents era. Yet play forms the blueprint for a child's life long learning and outcomes, their understanding of the world, and their place within it, helping them to master skills that transfer well into adulthood - their brains being quite literally sculpted by play and the playful experiences they are exposed to.
Play gives opportunities for movement, building functional skills, stimulating the senses, and for creating pathways in the brain for higher cognitive functions, supporting the foundations for emotional health and wellbeing.
By completing your studies with me, you will view all play activities with a new lens - the lens of a Developmental Play Practitioner - understanding the depths of love and play for building brains and providing developmentally appropriate and beneficial play spaces for toddlers and their parents/caregivers. Create 1-1s and Group Spaces that provide toddlers with opportunities to experience the power of play, and parents to feel empowered to take play home with them by offering them high quality play experiences that grow and adapt with their child, and their needs.
This course has been designed to fit into an array of different professionals 'tool kits', so that it may be infused within their clinical practice as a therapist new to paediatrics or independent practice, or to add to their Early Years Settings or programmes.
Completing this Level 3 Diploma will qualify you as a Toddler Developmental Play Practitioner for children aged 1-3 years of age; meaning that you can also create your own bespoke OT approved Play Business for parents and toddlers to share with your community, and to spread the power of play for childhood and beyond.
Who is this Practitioners course for?
So, if you are passionate about supporting babies, parents, and families, and ready to grow in their career or start something new, this is for you!
Whether you’re a health or social care professional, early years or primary teacher, baby class teacher, or a parent dreaming of your own play-based business, I’ll guide you with everything you need to build a flexible career supporting families in your community, while working around your own responsibilities and dreams.
My training focus on connection, opportunities for movement, and natural play, not performance or busy work. They are developmentally appropriate, inclusive of all babies, and never overwhelming. Instead, they empower parents, nurture confidence, and create space for play that naturally flows into everyday family life. Parents are their baby’s environment, and that is where development truly flourishes.
My courses are evidence-based and experience-led, going beyond milestones to explore the developmental stages in between. They teach you to work with each child at their current stage, recognising that some babies, including those with additional needs or complex journeys, may be at different stages or need to revisit earlier ones.
With accredited training, a global community of like-minded practitioners, and ongoing CPD opportunities, you’ll be fully supported to grow in knowledge, skills, and confidence.
HOW TO STUDY
This course is completed online, in your own time, with a full 12 months to complete your training.
The Toddler Developmental Play Diploma is available as part of the full 0–3 Developmental Play pathway, building on the foundations and complexities of development explored within the 0–1 training. This allows you to progress your knowledge through the developmental journey, delving deeper into the increasingly complex physical, sensory, cognitive, emotional and social development of the toddler years.
You will study four in-depth modules, as outlined above, with end-of-module assessments completed through multiple-choice exams. You will also complete a written assignment exploring group facilitation and your role as a professional practitioner.
To receive your qualification, you will complete a case study with at least one child aged 1–3 years. This includes a reflection on your session, your teaching plan (including considerations of risk), and feedback from the child’s parent or caregiver.
You will need to obtain appropriate insurance to work with parents and children, including public liability and professional indemnity insurance.
INVESTMENT
The Level 3 Diploma in Toddler Developmental Play 1–3 Years, worth 15 CPD points, is available as part of the Advanced Practitioner in Developmental Play 0–3 Years pathway, with enrolment available at any time.
This is Carly’s most comprehensive developmental play training pathway, taking you from the foundations of infant development through to the increasing complexities of the toddler years. If you know you would like to develop your practice across the full 0–3 years, you will make the greatest saving by enrolling onto the complete 0–3 pathway from the outset.
The full 0–3 pathway includes Tummy Time Practitioner Training with the PLUS+ package for babies with additional needs, the Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Infant Developmental Play 0–1 Years, and the Level 3 Diploma in Toddler Developmental Play 1–3 Years.
On completion of the full pathway, you will have achieved two accredited Level 3 Diplomas, worth a total of 30 CPD points, alongside your Tummy Time Practitioner training.
Please visit the 0–1 pathway and Tummy Time Practitioner pages to explore the earlier stages of the pathway and everything included.
Carly Budd Developmental Play Academy is not a franchise, rather an online training academy offering high quality courses created and delivered by a highly specialised and registered health professional. You have freedom and creativity to deliver your classes and sessions without the costs or constraints of a franchise, but with the benefits of offering OT approved services, ongoing support from a global community of practitioners as well as Carly herself. There are also opportunities for ongoing CPD when you join this supportive global community.
Please NB: You have 12 months to complete this training from date of enrolment.
