Case Study: Peeple Celebration Day

The Challenge

Peeple is a wonderful charity whose core purpose is to narrow the gap in attainment by supporting parents, particularly in less affluent areas, in raising their babies and young children to reach their full potential. They train and support 1000 practitioners from around the world with their Peep Programme, they work directly with parents in their Nursery Provision and advocate government policy.

The charity had worked hard to support parents throughout the pandemic in trying times and they wanted everyone to get together for the first time in over 2 years. They wanted to celebrate what they have achieved and look to the future. The day needed to be positive, high energy and collaborative. 

However, it was a really diverse group. The age range of our team was between 17 years and 80, some apprentices who have little experience of working with others, some experienced trustees. We had teams from Scotland and Oxford meeting for the first time. Many of the group had never met each other before and there was some nervousness about the event.

The objectives of the workshop were to:

• Get people to get to know each other as humans
• Celebrate their achievements in a positive and playful way
• Hear colleagues’ dreams for Peeple

The Solution 

We designed a half day LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® workshop for over 40 Peeple staff and Trustees. Harnessing the power of play seemed so appropriate for Peeple as play is an important element of their work with young children, it brings joy and lots of laughter and it is a brilliant leveller when you have such a diverse group. It also was a brilliant way for everyone to share their thoughts without the fear of formally presenting. 

The feedback

“Following a 121 meeting it was clear that a Lego Serious Play session would be an ideal vehicle to use and that that your facilitation skills and expertise would add even more energy and positivity to our day.

So, we made a plan  and the staff team gathered together on 30 th September. You joined us with A LOT OF LEGO!

The age range of our team was between 17 years and 60+, some very young practitioners who have little experience of speaking in front of others (certainly not 40 others!!), some super experienced trustees with varied highly professional backgrounds and many of the group had never met each other before, virtually or otherwise, due to the different areas of our work.

This was a big day, that needed dynamism with gentleness – and that is just what you brought Janine.

You gave us the skills to use Lego to give thought to the work we do at Peeple and the dreams we have for the future. You supported us to share our ideas and hopes with the whole group and seeing some of our youngest staff rise to this challenge and flourish when doing so was a joy to witness.

The session was inspiring, thought provoking and hugely celebratory – it could not have gone any better and the team left the day buzzing with new connections and enthusiasm for taking their work forward.

​Liz Esroy – Training and Accreditation Manager – Peeple