Workshops
& Self-Paced Courses
We are passionate about providing pathways for therapists, teachers and parents to grow their understanding and skill of Learn To Play Therapy. We offer the following range of training and development courses.
We offer a range of payment options. Learn more here.
We also offer discounts for multiple registrations. Further details on the individual workshop pages.
Online Workshops
Learn To Play Therapy - Part 1
Online
This 2-Day Online Workshop provides an introduction to Learn To Play Therapy which is a child-centred approach to working with children. The Part 1 workshop covers: understanding and recognising play ability and skills for play assessment, and how to meet the child in play and start Learn To Play Therapy with a child and their parent/carer. It would be valuable to therapists, social workers, psychologists, specialist school teachers and early intervention workers who work with families with children under 8 years who have concerns about their child’s abilities.
The Pretend Play Enjoyment Developmental Checklist (PPE-DC) starter package is included in the cost of this workshop and will be posted out to registrants before the workshop.
Learn To Play Therapy - Part 2
Online
This Online Workshop is suitable for those who have completed Learn To Play Therapy – Part 1 (2 Day Workshop).
This 3-Day Online Workshop explains and provides examples on the therapeutic use of self in Learn to Play Therapy to engage children, provide a sense of safety in sessions, and co-regulate with a child. Techniques are consolidated, with further techniques introduced and applied to cases where children’s needs are more complex. Time is allowed for participants to consolidate their understanding by working through more complex case studies, video analysis and discussion. This workshop would be valuable to therapists, social workers, psychologists, specialist school teachers and early intervention workers who work with families and their children under 8 years of age who have concerns about their child’s abilities.
The Imagine Create Belong social program for neurodivergent adolescents -
Part 1: Foundation
Online
This workshop is valuable for those working with tweens / teens who are neurodivergent and/or would like to develop socially.
Professionals who attend this workshops include social workers, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, psychologists, teachers, members of school wellbeing teams, youth mental health nurses and play therapists.
This workshop involves immersion into many of the activities within the ICB program manual ‘Storying Beyond Social Difficulties’ to enable you to then facilitate tweens/teens through the program confidently.
A copy of the “Storying Beyond Social Difficulties with Neuro-Diverse Adolescents: The “Imagine, Create, Belong” Social Development Programme Manual is included in the cost of the workshop and will be posted to each participant prior to the workshop.
Parent Learn To Play:
Train the Trainer
Online
This workshop is suitable for those who have completed Learn To Play Therapy – Part 1 (2 Day Workshop). This practical workshop would be valuable for professionals, including therapists, social workers, early intervention workers and psychologists who work with families who have children aged 12 months to 5 years who have a developmental delay.
The Parent Learn To Play: Facilitator Manual and Parent Handbook is included in the cost of the workshop and will be posted out to all registrants prior to the workshop.
* Updates are currently being made to this workshop, and The Facilitators Manual for Parent Learn To Play. The updated workshop and manual will be available in early 2026.
The Learn To Play Approach for Early Educators
Online
The Learn To Play Approach for Early Educators training is designed to support pre-school and kindergarten educators in developing a deeper understanding of pretend play, how it develops, and why pretend play is important for literacy, narrative understanding, social competence, and self-regulation.
The Pretend Play Checklist for Teachers (PPC-T) Manual and Pack of Assessment Scoring Forms, as well as the recently released book 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 are included in the cost of the workshop and will be posted to all registrants prior to the workshop. Group registration discounts are available.
Play in Schools for Teachers and Therapists
Online
This one day workshop is a very practical and hands on workshop with examples linking play abilities to the Australian curriculum. This workshop would be valuable to professionals who work in schools and are interested in play, language and literacy.
The Pretend Play Checklist for Teachers (PPC-T) Manual and Pack of Assessment Scoring Forms, as well as the recently released book Learning Through Play in the Primary School: The Why and the How for Teachers and School Leaders are included in the cost of the workshop and will be posted to all registrants prior to the workshop.
Short Online Lunchtime Workshops
Children’s digital media environment: How do we support parents to navigate the space?
Online & Recorded
This 3 hour workshop overviews research on children’s digital media environment (previously referred to as ‘screen time’). The change in terminology has come from digital media environments being ubiquitous and mobile. The workshop focusses on children under 8 years of age.
This workshop will be delivered live, and will also be recorded and available to view/purchase after the live workshop has been delivered.
Face-to-Face Workshops
Learn To Play Therapy - Part 1
Face-to-Face
This 2-Day Face-to-Face Workshop provides an introduction to Learn To Play Therapy which is a child-centred approach to working with children. The Part 1 workshop covers: understanding and recognising play ability and skills for play assessment, and how to meet the child in play and start Learn To Play Therapy with a child and their parent/carer. It would be valuable to therapists, social workers, psychologists, specialist school teachers and early intervention workers who work with families with children under 8 years who have concerns about their child’s abilities.
The Pretend Play Enjoyment Developmental Checklist (PPE-DC) starter package is included in the cost of this workshop and will be posted out to registrants before the workshop.
Learn To Play Therapy - Part 2
Face-to-Face
This Face-to-Face Workshop is suitable for those who have completed Learn To Play Therapy – Part 1 (2 Day Workshop).
This 3-Day Face-to-Face Workshop explains and provides examples on the therapeutic use of self in Learn To Play Therapy to engage children, provide a sense of safety in sessions, and co-regulate with a child. Techniques are consolidated, with further techniques introduced and applied to cases where children’s needs are more complex. Time is allowed for participants to consolidate their understanding by working through more complex case studies, video analysis and discussion. This workshop would be valuable to therapists, social workers, psychologists, specialist school teachers and early intervention workers who work with families and their children under 8 years of age who have concerns about their child’s abilities.
Self-Paced Online Courses
The Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment 2
The Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment-2 (ChIPPA-2) is designed for children from 3 years to 7 years 11 months who have difficulty playing or don’t know how to play. It is a norm referenced standardised assessment of the quality of a child’s ability to self-initiate their play. The child’s ability to sequence play actions, use symbols in play and self-initiate play are assessed across two sets of play materials – conventional imaginative play materials (for conventional-imaginative pretend play) and unstructured objects (for symbolic play).
The course is structured as both self-paced online modules and online supervision sessions.
The Indigenous Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment
The Indigenous Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment (I-ChIPPA) is a culturally responsive version of the Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment-2 for Australian Aboriginal children aged 4 to 7 years 11 months. The I-ChIPPA can be used when there is a concern about a child’s play ability and can be administered with pairs of children or with single children. For pairs of children, the I-ChIPPA also includes the Play Partner Scale, developed by Alma Dender. There are no norm scores in the I-ChIPPA as comparing one child to another is not culturally responsive in many communities. The child’s ability to sequence play actions, use symbols in play, play with a partner and self-initiate play are assessed across two sets of play materials – conventional imaginative play materials (for conventional-imaginative pretend play) and unstructured objects (for symbolic play).
The course is structured as both self-paced online modules and online supervision sessions.
