Certified Learn To Play Educator
The Green Stream recognises competence to use Learn to Play Therapy in an early education setting. This Certification is only open to kindergarten or preschool educators who are trained at a tertiary level.
Green Stream Certification involves the following 3 Steps:
Step 1
Teachers complete The Learn To Play Approach for Early Educators 2-day training, including the Pretend Play Checklist for Teachers
Step 2
Completion of three 90 minute Q&A follow-up sessions (included with The Learn To Play Approach for Early Educators):
- Q and A 1 – Assessment
- Q and A 2 – Self -Regulation and play
- Q and A 3 – Social Competence and play.
 Step 3
10 hours of 1:1 supervision, which could include group supervision.
Supervisions sessions may cover understanding and observing play ability, building playful relationships/interactions with children to support their learning, what this could look like in a busy group setting.
Required Manuals and Books
Pretend Play Checklist for Teachers
Included in the cost of The Learn To Play Approach for Early Educators workshop.
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The Pretend Play Developmental Checklist for Teachers (PPC-T) is a non-standardised criterion-referenced assessment of a child’s ability to play. It provides a framework for teachers to observe the pretend play of children. It is an assessment that will assist teachers to understand what pretend play looks like, what the stages of development are, how to understand a child’s play, and how to report on a child’s developing pretend play ability.
To score the PPC-T, an Assessment Scoring Form is used to record the child’s spontaneous play abilities, emerging play abilities, and also to record if play skills were not observed.
Learning Through Play in the Primary School: The Why and the How for Teachers and School Leaders
By Louise Paatsch, Siobhan Casey, Amity Green, Karen Stagnitti
Included in the cost of The Learn To Play Approach for Early Educators workshop.
Drawing on research to inform practice, this book is written for teachers and school leaders looking for guidance on how to successfully implement a play-based curriculum in the early years of primary school. The book is divided into two sections, the first drawing on the latest research to outline the importance of play in a child’s development and emotional engagement in learning. The second section provides practical support and examples for how to embed play in a school curriculum to enhance young children’s learning. The practical section covers setting up an environment for guided play, demonstrating how to assess learning from play-based activities and how to report on outcomes, supported by checklists, vignettes, and case studies.
Success to become a Certified Learn To Play Educator
Green Stream provides a deeper knowledge of pretend play, how to observe play and the connections between play and wider aspects of child development and learning within a kindergarten or preschool setting. Participants are deemed certified if they attend all 4 training sessions and 10 hours of supervision.
Success in Green Stream provides certification to be a Certified Learn To Play Educator.
For Educators who are interested in progressing to Blue Stream, they can complete half a day online self-study training in the Pretend Play Enjoyment Developmental Checklist and progress to Step 2 of the Blue Stream.
For Orange Stream they can complete the half day online self-study training in the Pretend Play Enjoyment Developmental Checklist and Part 2 training with a 90% pass rate, and then progress to Step 2 in the Orange Stream.
Additional and optional resources for primary school teachers who undertake the Green Stream are:
Play in Schools for Teachers and Therapists workshop
Play and Storytelling: Building Literacy in the Early Years