Best Practice

International Focus: LEGO play, worldwide

5 mins read Education Extra-curricular Play
Dr Gina Gómez de la Cuesta sets out how a LEGO play programme, developed using international evidence of what works, helps improve the speech, language and communication skills of children.
Building LEGO models at Brick Club gives children opportunities to overcome challenges and work together to solve problems. Picture: Ilusionistas
Building LEGO models at Brick Club gives children opportunities to overcome challenges and work together to solve problems. Picture: Ilusionistas

Until recently, the extended period of lockdowns has seen children spending less time in early education as well as interacting with others outside of the family. Fewer opportunities to relate to and interact with others means that an increasing number of children now need extra support for their communication or how to approach different social situations.

According to Ofsted, this has resulted in delays in younger children at school for language and vocabulary, in turn causing them to struggle with social interaction and self-confidence, such as not knowing how to take turns and finding it harder to develop strong friendships.

This phenomenon has impacted all children and is not exclusive to those with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND): many more children require specific speech and language support than are often identified by the SEND system in the UK. However, there are many fun and creative ways that adults who work with children and young people can encourage communication, social interaction and language learning.

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