Partnership aims to encourage more quality playful learning experiences in homes across UK for 2-5s.
The LEGO Group has partnered with digital early years social enterprise, EasyPeasy, focusing on innovations to support the home learning environment for families with children aged 2-5.
For the first stage of the partnership, the LEGO Group and EasyPeasy have worked together to create eight new videos to inspire families with new ideas of how to learn through play at home.
Some of the videos include activities that can be played using LEGO DUPLO bricks, and all the games can be adapted to play with things commonly found in the home. The games will be distributed via EasyPeasy’s app, where they will sit alongside a bank of more than 60 other learning games and activities.
All games on EasyPeasy are designed to help develop skills that are crucial in early years such as language and communication, social and emotional and cognitive skills such as cognitive self-regulation.
The partnership is initially being piloted with 500 families in areas of lower than average social mobility in London, Southampton, Luton, Bedford and Hastings.
For the second stage of the partnership, the LEGO Group will continue to support EasyPeasy’s development so that families using the app can benefit from additional new ways to learn through play.
This will include a further roll-out of the LEGO learning games to 10,000 families who will have access to EasyPeasy through projects funded by the Department for Education and others.
“We are delighted to have entered into a partnership with EasyPeasy, who share our long-standing commitment to help children learn and develop skills through play including critical thinking, creativity, confidence and communication skills,” said Olivia Lankester, global head of social impact at the LEGO Group. “Play has a magic quality of creating meaningful moments between caregiver and child.
“With early results showing that games and expert voice videos shared via the partnership are boosting caregiver’s confidence in playing with their young children we are excited to bring this experience to more families and explore how to create further social impact together.”
Jen Lexmond, founder and ceo of EasyPeasy, added: “Our mission is to help all parents give their children the best start in life, regardless of background.
“We’re delighted that LEGO shares these goals and wants to support us to reach families. We’re excited that LEGO will also explore ways of supporting our future development so that families can play and learn more with EasyPeasy.”
