What are the opening hours?

Wednesday 10am - 3:30pm Thursday 10am - 3:30pm Friday 9am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 12:30pm

Carly Budd Developmental Play Academy

Home
United Kingdom
Colchester
Carly Budd Developmental Play Academy

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Carly Budd Developmental Play Academy, Colchester.

🏆 Paediatric Neuro OT - Training professionals to deliver baby/toddler classes, programmes & inclusive services
🚼 Early development & play for 0–3s ♿️
Train with an award-winning OT at the Developmental Play Academy®

08/09/2026

But not necessarily here on socials!

Back to school season, and I’m seeing lovely children in school settings, alongside my regular OT home visits PLUS lots of marking for the new students who’ve joined me over the summer via my online training!

These are the things I’m doing that you don’t always see, supporting children and their occupations, whether it be equipment, adaptations or play-based interventions supporting skills, like this wonderful little girl I’ve supported with her new power chair and WAV so that she can access all the things she needs to and wants to.

You can do anything, but not everything, and right now my energy needs to go where it matters most. So if things feel a little quieter here for a while, that’s why, especially whilst I also navigate life with a new starter secondary school child, so two school runs, and other family commitments.

Please know I’m still here though, just working away behind the scenes. My website is always there if you need me (link in bio) and my guide to courses is pinned to my grid whenever you’re ready to explore.

Sending love to you all as we head into the new term 💗

With love,
Carly xx

www.carlybudd.co.uk

02/09/2026

Who is she?! 👋

So many new faces here lately, so do have a swipe through to get to know the real me… the credentials and the layers underneath 🌹 you should also know that if you catch me talking to a tree, talking really high pitched to a dog, or dancing in the woods, it’s completely normal. For me anyway. 😆

But in all seriousness, if you want to see movement, play and development through a true neurodevelopmental lens, not just a list of activities to fill a class… but with all the practical support to create a business, service or add to your current one … I might be exactly who you’ve been looking for.

Come and learn with me. I’d love to have you.

www.carlybudd.co.uk

31/08/2026

🌹TOMORROW🌹 On 1st September, The Buds’ Baby Business in a Box goes live.

Everything you need to build a beautiful baby business in one place: Baby Massage and Baby Yoga teacher training with Baby Massage & Yoga Teacher Training | Careers For New Mums, Developmental Play Advanced Practitioner programme 0-3 (including tummy time training) with Carly Budd | Paediatric OT | Developmental Play Academy founder as well as her Adapting baby massage and yoga workshop, plus full access to Hannah’s Business & Social Media Mentor for Birth & Baby Business Owners, with both of us in your corner the whole way.

Here is the bit to remember. When we open, our waitlist gets 47% off, but only for the first 24 hours! That is over £4,700 of training for £2,497, and that founding price is for the waitlist alone.

This is a genuinely amazing offer on this bundle, 24 hours only and for the waitlist only, and once it is gone, it is gone for good.

So if there is even a small part of you that has always wanted this, the one thing to do today is get your name on the list before it closes tonight!

Everything lands in your inbox the moment we go live, with your founding link ready.

Join the waitlist now. Comment Waitlist and we will send it through!

With love, Carly & Hannah xx

25/08/2026

Okay so… you saw it, right? 🌹🌹

We just went live to finally share what Hannah and I have been quietly building together, and honestly? We could not wait a second longer to let you in on it.

Because when two people who care this much about doing right by families and by babies decide to combine everything they know… something pretty special happens.

If you missed the live, don’t worry, the good stuff is still waiting for you here in the replay!

Here’s what to do next 👉 tap the link in our bio and pop your name on the waitlist. That’s it.

Founding waitlist pricing is only open for a short window before it rises, so this really is the moment to get yourself on the list rather than wishing you had later.

We can’t wait to show you properly.

With love,
Carly + Hannah 🌹

25/08/2026

Celebrating a brand new Tummy Time Practitioner… 🎉✨

Meet Siobhan, who runs Music sensory baby toddler class Firhouse Knocklyon Cherrywood in Ireland and has just completed her Tummy Time Practitioner training 🚼🎉

Here’s what she had to say…

“The tummy time course was excellent… informative, engaging and full of practical ideas that can easily be used with babies and their parents. I particularly enjoyed learning more about the importance of tummy time for development and how to make it a fun, positive experience for both babies and caregivers.”

Because tummy time is so much more than “time on the tummy”… It’s one of the very first movement experiences a baby has. It builds the strength, the postural control, the sensory foundations that everything else gets stacked on top of.

And when a practitioner can hold that knowledge and make it feel fun, playful, positive… that’s when families really lean in.

Siobhan is already bringing that to her Music 4 Tots sessions in Ireland, and we couldn’t be prouder to welcome her into the community.

Well done Siobhan! 🎉🎉🎉

www.carlybudd.co.uk

20/08/2026

Tummy time has so much more to it and I really do think about this a lot.

Most people see it as one thing, a position babies are supposed to tolerate for a few minutes a day. Something to get through, tick off, survive.
But that’s not what it actually is. It’s one of the richest opportunities for play, connection and development in those early months, if you know how to see it that way.

That shift is what I teach inside Tummy Time Practitioner™. Not just poses and props, but a completely different lens on what’s happening, and why it matters.

I have practitioners embedding this into existing sessions, parent and baby classes, or running it as a standalone programme entirely. OTs, physios, baby massage teachers, swim instructors, class leaders, charity groups, and more.

Because parents don’t need another leaflet telling them to try tummy time. They need someone who can help them see it differently.

Swipe through 🌱

www.carlybudd.co.uk/tummy-time-practitioner

14/08/2026

We’ve just got back from the most beautiful 10 days in the Cotswolds and Wales with the kids on a caravan tour 🌿🚐 BUT we had to cut it short because of the heat and honestly, my eco-anxiety is HIGH.

If you’ve been here a while, you’ll know I’m a massive nature lover. I live for the trees and I feel actual pain when I see nature being destroyed and habitats lost.

The Cotswolds and Wales were honestly beautiful, much greener than Essex at the moment where the grass is literally like dust, but you could see the impact of the lack of rain. The streams were really low and some of the waterfalls we had expected to be flowing just weren’t.

My kids have grown up with a love of nature and I recognise what a priceless gift that is. As an OT, I also know how massive the benefits of outdoor and nature play are for children’s development, but beyond all of that, being in nature gives children the chance to actually know it, love it and want to protect it.

That’s a big part of my mission, supporting children and nature together.

And then, as I was making this reel, the Government Emergency Alert came through about the wildfire risk across England and Wales 😩

I know I can’t change everything, but I can do what is within my control, so I’m going to do something.

I’m offering a huge 50% off my Play the Nature Way® Nature Play Practitioner training and I’ll donate 25% of the profits from these sales to the National Trust.

If you want to join me use code PROTECTNATURE 🌿

It might be one small thing but I really believe we all have to do what we can. So if you would like to join me in nurturing a love of nature whilst supporting children’s development, I’d love to hear from you! I have had 100% positive feedback about this course, with people of all back grounds taking it on, embedding into their services or creating brand new ones!

Now is the time!

👩🏼‍💻www.carlybudd.co.uk/play-the-nature-way

08/08/2026

I LOVE this kinda chic trend 👌

And actually, I think it’s kinda chic to really understand baby and toddler play…when you’re an Advanced Developmental Play Practitioner with me 🤩

Imagine a parent saying to you, “He is SO frustrated at the moment. He’s getting really cross & I don’t know what’s going on.”… & you’re able to watch him and start putting the pieces together.

You notice the way he’s shifting his weight, pushing through his arms, reaching, trying to move himself forwards & getting annoyed because his body isn’t quite doing what he wants it to do yet.

And you can say to his parent, “Actually, I think he might be getting really close to crawling. Look at what he’s doing here…”

It’s kinda chic to be able to see that.

To understand what those movements are telling you, explain it to the parent & then know how you can support that baby through the play they’re already doing at home.

And it’s kinda chic to know that when a baby is finding something tricky, you don’t just have to move on to something else. You can work out why it’s tricky & what you can change to help.

It’s kinda chic to know when to progress something, when to make it easier, when to adapt it & when to simply honour where that baby is right now.

Because I don’t just teach you a list of activities!! Yes, you’ll get hundreds of play ideas in my manuals, because of course I want you to have loads of inspiration & things you can draw on.

But the really important bit is that I teach you to SEE underneath the activity …to understand the WHY and the HOW.

Why this position, this movement? What is this baby working towards? What are they telling you? How can you support them without taking over?

And when you understand that, you don’t need to follow a script. You can meet a baby you’ve never met before, watch what they’re doing & think, I know what I’m seeing here.

That’s the feeling I want you to leave my training with… Not just a list of activities, but the confidence to observe, understand, problem solve & support the baby and family in front of you.

Because honestly… it’s kinda chic to know what to do with what you see as a Developmental Play Practitioner ✨

www.carlybudd.co.uk

07/08/2026

✨ Play, here, there and everywhere ✨

For a number of years, I’ve been proud to be an official Playday England Champion (you can even spot me featured on the official Playday org website) 🤩

This year’s theme feels especially close to my heart because, as a Paediatric Occupational Therapist, I know that play is not just something children do.

Play is how children learn.
Play is how children connect.
Play is how children explore movement, develop skills and discover the world around them.

But for some children, accessing play is not always straightforward.

That’s why I created my training programmes, to help practitioners understand child development through a neurological lens.

Understanding typical development gives us the foundations to:

💚 Support babies and children as they develop their movement, play and learning skills
💚 Confidently guide and empower parents to support their child’s development
💚 Recognise when a child’s developmental pathway may look different
💚 Create truly inclusive spaces where every child has opportunities to participate

Because inclusion comes from understanding.

When we understand how children develop, we can see the individual child in front of us, not just a milestone, an age or a checklist.

Because play really is for every child.

Including babies who:
💚 Need support to find comfortable ways to move and explore
💚 Have differences in their early movement development
💚 Are born early or have additional needs
💚 Need adults around them to understand how to adapt opportunities for play

Inclusion is not about changing the child.
It is about changing the environment.
Changing our approach.
Seeing the possibilities.

Play can happen here, there and everywhere:

🌿 Outdoors
🏡 At home
🧸 In early years settings
🤲 Through connection
👣 Through movement and exploration

Every child deserves the opportunity to experience the joy, freedom and developmental benefits of play.

That’s something I’ll always champion. 💚

Address

Colchester

Opening Hours

Wednesday	10am - 3:30pm
Thursday	10am - 3:30pm
Friday	9am - 5pm
Saturday	10am - 12:30pm

Website

http://www.carlybudd.co.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Carly Budd Developmental Play Academy posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Want your business to be the top-listed Gym/sports Facility in Colchester?

Carly Budd Developmental Play Academy

08/09/2026

02/09/2026

31/08/2026

25/08/2026

25/08/2026

20/08/2026

14/08/2026

08/08/2026

07/08/2026

Address

Opening Hours

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Listing takedown request