Carly Budd Developmental Play Academy

28/11/2025

Oh dear… Deleted the last version of this post as a couple of people said it sounded like I was talking about something else entirely 😆🤣🥴 Not what I was going for at all. Let’s try that again!!

🌳No Black Friday sale from me this year, just green rooted intentions.

This week the kids and I planted acorns, and it reminded me how much I value slow, steady, intentional growth. The kind that actually lasts. Learning is the same.

I’m a mum and an Occupational Therapist who qualified in 2008, registered with the HCPC and RCOT, and now back in clinical practice. Everything I teach is grounded in real world experience and evidence. My training is designed to give you depth, clarity and practical tools you can use straight away.

The Advanced Practitioner in Developmental Play 0 to 3 Years Bundle already saves you money because it brings all my core 0 to 3 courses together in one place and discounts those investing in the full programme. It covers everything from early mini milestones and tummy time foundations to more complex toddler play, with practical frameworks, hundreds of activity ideas, adaptations for additional needs and accredited diplomas that genuinely support your work.

My students include perinatal workers, early years practitioners, family support workers, former primary teachers, baby massage instructors and allied health professionals who want to feel confident supporting little ones well.

And if early foundations are your passion, the Tummy Time Practitioner training can be taken on its own or as part of the full 0 to 3 Bundle.

I did do a cheeky offer in the summer, and as I said at the time, that was the only one planned for this year. The value is already built in.

My doors are always open for anyone who wants trusted, evidence based training that is steady, rooted and built to last.

www.carlybudd.co.uk

28/11/2025

👀

✨ Guess the OT! ✨
Another week to learn more about our team and guess who’s who!

This little one has been a tummy time fan since the 80s, with a love for Care Bears, My Little Pony, imaginative play, and the occasional living room dance performance she always loved getting creative 💖💃

She grew up to bring a playful twist to the team, with a love of nature, music, and a passion for neuro OT and play-based therapy.

Who do you think this GLOT is? 😉

26/11/2025

Tummy time is about so much more than just physical development, although building strength in the neck, shoulders and core is hugely important.

It is the first time babies get a completely new view of their world. They lift their heads, track movement, notice light and shadow, explore depth and distance, and begin to make sense of the space around them. These early experiences lay the foundations for visual perception, coordination and future learning.

In my article back in 2023 (link in my insta bio) I explored how even small moments of tummy time, woven naturally into everyday routines, can provide babies with rich physical, sensory and cognitive experiences. For practitioners, understanding how to make the most of these moments is the key to supporting development confidently in any setting.

If you want to take this further and explore tummy time as part of a varied play diet to share as a qualified practitioner, take a look at my Tummy Time Practitioner training. This course will give you evidence-based, practical and theoretical knowledge about this important position for play. You will be amazed at the confidence you gain and the level of support you can offer parents when you train with me, a qualified children’s Occupational Therapist.

Or, if you want to dive even deeper and support development across the board from 0-3 years, my Advanced Practitioner in Developmental Play 0-3 years Training is fully accredited and provides the skills, tools and guidance to become a full Advanced Practitioner, applying these principles to every baby in your care.

20/11/2025

Sometimes I think I need to show up with something shiny or perfectly crafted…
but really, I’m just here to share what matters to me.

And what matters is this: helping children feel confident in their little bodies, so they can do the things they need and want to do, through play, movement and connection.

That’s the heart of my work as an OT.
Play that builds strong bodies.
Play that supports development.
Play that brings parents closer to their children.
Play that helps families feel hopeful again.
Environments that enable children to play.

So here I am, just being me sharing a few quiet moments in nature.
Because if I’m not on the floor with little ones, supporting their development through play…
Or with my own children, soaking up the joy of these fleeting years (despite the sibling battles!)…
You’ll find me outside, grounding myself, breathing deeply, and remembering why I do what I do.

This is me.
This is my work.
And this is what I care about. xx

19/11/2025

13/11/2025

12/11/2025

11/11/2025

Tummy time does not need to be a struggle!

Cheek down counts! 💛 When babies start on their tummy this way, they are mapping their little bodies, learning where they are in space and how to start pushing up against gravity.

This is the foundation for rolling, crawling, sitting and everything that comes next. Research shows tummy time really supports motor development and learning.

My approach is all about building up with your baby. We start close, finding comfort and connection, then make it playful, meaningful and fun.

I have yet to meet a baby or family who do not feel more confident once they try this ✨

👉🏼 Practitioners I have trained are bringing tummy time into hundreds of families’ lives every year, through workshops, programmes or stand alone courses.

Because this is never “just” about tummy time. It is about connection, confidence and growing together 💛

✨ Learn more about my Tummy Time Practitioner training and bring this science backed magic into your practice!

www.carlybudd.co.uk

06/11/2025

Movement matters. Not just for today, but for building bodies your baby can rely on. Every push, reach and roll strengthens arms, hands, core and balance - the foundation for everything they will do today and everyday after.

Tummy time is one position in a what I call a Play Diet and it isn’t only about developing neck strength. On their tummies, babies build shoulder and hand strength, sitting balance, visual coordination, hip dissociation, and confidence in movement and their bodies.

When you are confident in your body, you are confident to explore the world. When you feel that confidence and have experienced playful, connected moments with your caregivers, you carry curiosity, belonging, and joy into everything you do.

www.carlybudd.co.uk

05/11/2025

So grateful for my wonderful practitioners xx

And that's the last Tummy Time Tribe workshops of the year done! I've just looked back, and I have delivered this incredible workshop to 127 families in 2025 alone - wow! 😍

That's 127 more local families empowered in tummy time play to support their little one's development 💛

I want to just give a little shout out to the amazing Paediatric Occupational Therapist who created this course to enable those of us working on the ground with families to ripple her knowledge and passion for play out into our own communities. Her developmental play training has also allowed me to support the families of little ones with additional needs to access the same classes and opportunities as their peers, to work 1-2-1 alongside families who are unable to access groups, and to allow every single one of my classes to be rooted in the deepest of knowledge and OT Approved ✨️

The next workshops are in the diary for February and I have just made them live on the website for any early birds hoping to nab a spot!

Enjoy, little tummy timers! xx

04/11/2025

Tummy Time Is Safe and Beneficial From Birth 💖

When I first started supporting families as an Occupational Therapist, I noticed how many parents were told “wait until your baby’s stronger” before starting tummy time.

But here’s the truth: tummy time is what helps make your baby stronger, especially as part of a varied play diet.

We don’t just plonk babies on the floor and let them get on with it. My ✨Tummy Time Practitioner Training✨ debunks common tummy time myths and focuses on floor-based positions for play. We explore the impact of these small, intentional movements on developing bodies and brains and show practitioners how to empower parents to continue this at home, with parents as scaffolds in those early stages.

My approach moves gently with each baby’s ability and nervous system. Nothing is forced. Every movement is graded and responsive, helping babies build strength, regulation and confidence.

As always, my work supports babies with additional needs and complex medical conditions. Developmental delays and complex medical needs are my clinical specialism I work clinically three days a week, bringing that real-world expertise directly into my training.

Or, if you’d like to go deeper and save money, you can enrol on my Advanced Practitioner in Developmental Play 0–3 Programme, which contains all of my trainings, including tummy time and so much more.

✨ Safe from birth
✨ Myth-busting and evidence based
✨ Heart led and inclusive

When we start early and start safely, we set the foundation for lifelong movement, play, connection and confidence.

I have many perinatal and postnatal Practitoner’s training with me at the moment, particularly from the third sector, as well as my usual group of OTs, physios, Baby and parent wellbeing activity providers… people totally new to the field as well!!

🚼 Find out more www.carlybudd.co.uk