From One LEGO Brick to an Education Movement: EduSpots’ 10 Year Journey
EduSpots began with one simple idea: communities creating the futures they want to see, through education.
Six student Ambassadors raised money brick by brick to build a LEGO library to support an active community-led learning space in Abofour, Ghana.
This small act of global teamwork helped local teachers and the Addae family further catalyse their long-term aim of creating the first “Spot” - a community learning space filled with books, creative activities, and digital tools.
One of the first leaders - ”Catalysts” - Gloria Addae, started an EduLit club where children developed literacy skills through play, including drama, games, dancing, storytelling, and riddles.
This play ethos spread across the network, with joy, humour, energisers and gamification suffused into all of EduSpots’ activities. Today, these reach 10,000 learners annually across 50 learning Spots, led by over 400 local change makers.
Every £1 funded one LEGO brick which catalysed something bigger than all of us.
OUR NETWORK TODAY 50 (SPOTS) LEARNING SPACES ACROSS GHANA
What does play look like in EduSpots?
EduKidz Clubs
Young learners take part in fun, play-based clubs where they build literacy, numeracy, confidence, and social skills through games, storytelling, songs, drama, and creative activities.
Family & Community Play
Each year, local teams host International Day of Play events, bringing families together to create simple, joyful play activities using local materials, traditions, and imagination.
Gender Equity Clubs
Older students explore ideas around gender, identity, and equality through drama, discussion, role play, and creative projects - helping young people challenge stereotypes and imagine positive change together.
Training Academies
EduSpots training programmes are full of energy and interaction! Changemakers learn through teamwork, games, dance, energisers, creativity, and lots of laughter alongside leadership development.
A Playful Working Culture
At EduSpots, we believe meaningful work and joy can go together. Across our programmes and teams, we encourage humour, celebration, creativity, and playful collaboration every day.
Your 6-Step Play for Play Quest!
2
Build Your Team
Gather friends, students, colleagues, or family and create fun team names and roles!
Discover EduSpots & Play
Watch our launch video and explore how play helps children and adults learn, grow, and lead.
4
1
Choose Your Challenge
Keep reading for some playful ideas - or invent your own! Think games, sport, dancing, creativity, or teamwork.
Plan & Share
Get organised, spread the word, and make sure everyone knows how to join in, using our tools to help you.
6
3
Play & Fundraise
Take on your challenge, have fun, and help support play-based learning and youth leadership through asking for donations to EduSpots.
Celebrate!
Share your journey and learnings about play with EduSpots via a simple survey, receive certificates and awards, and celebrate our collective impact!
Two Challenge Periods: World Cup Fever: June to August Autumn Challenge: September to November
5
5 Playful Fundraising Possibilities
Play Through Sport
• Launch a World Cup-inspired six-a-side tournament and charge teams to enter!
• Host a teachers vs students volleyball, netball, or dodgeball match.
• Penalty Shoot-Out: can you beat the headteacher?
• Organise a colour run, fun run, or obstacle course challenge.
Play Through Music
• Organise a music “play-off” with bands, singers, DJs, or choirs.
• Try a Playathon - how long can you keep the music going?
• Launch a Lip Sync Battle or Karaoke Challenge.
• Set up student busking spots around the school at break or lunchtime.
Play Through Drama & Dance
• Write and perform your own play and sell tickets to the audience.
• Run a drama workshop or improv session for younger students.
• Organise a dance-off or your own version of Strictly Come Dancing!
• Host a Silent Disco packed with music and dancing.
Play Through Games
• Organise a board games café or Twister competition.
• Host a quiz night using Kahoot or other online games.
• Create your own miniOlympics with fun team challenges.
• Launch a treasure hunt or escape-room-style adventure.
Play Through Creativity
• Organise a talent show and charge for tickets or entries.
• Create a playful building challenge, like cardboard towers or marble runs.
• Host a LEGO creation competition.
• Launch a play-themed bake-off or cake decorating challenge.
The Change Your Fundraising Could Make Possible
Every game played, challenge completed, and donation raised helps expand access to joyful, community-led learning.
What Your Fundraising Could Make Possible
£1,000
£2,000
could place a tablet into the hands of a future coder or digital creator.
could support a local Catalyst in attending a play-based leadership training academy.
could equip a Spot with a laptop, WiFi, and projector kit for active learning sessions.
could help transform a classroom into a vibrant community learning and resource hub.
could enable EduSpots to develop a new set of educational animations, based on local stories.
could support the creation of one new “Spot” - a community-led learning space where children and young people can learn, lead, play, and thrive together.
Double Your Impact with The Big Give
Donations made through the Big Give Campaign between 1st–8th December 2026 will be doubled, meaning your support can go twice as far.
If donating outside the campaign week, supporters can still give through our Raisely page or via bank transfer.
ONE BIG GOAL
Together, we are aiming to raise £200,000 over the next year to welcome more community-led Spots whilst improving our core approach.
https://eduspots.raiselysite.com/
Celebrations & Awards
In EduSpots we love celebrating innovation and engagement, which is a key part of our approach to working with local volunteers across 50 Spot communities!
Awards will be given across 4 areas:
(most funds raised for EduSpots)
(most joy created through play!)
Meet some of the Judges!
In EduSpots, playful and positive feedback is central to our culture. All entries in the Play for Play challenge will receive reflections from our judges!
Adu Boahen Carlos
Adu was one of the first learners whose passion for education and love of Sudoku puzzles led to EduSpots being created over a decade ago. Having established a strong Spot team in Akumadan, famous for its ‘EduFun’ events and previous Spot of the Year, Adu is now the Learning Spot Officer in Elmina, where fishing, football and board games often come together in equal priority!
Muhsinatu Wunnam Mohammed
Muhsinatu Wunnam Mohammed is a Spark (learner) from Kumbungu Spot, known for their strong commitment to practical science and drama! She was elected as the first Student Committee Chair in 2025, representing the network at the Adolescents Summit in Ivory Coast, In 2026, she is developing a new nationwide approach to student leadership, ensuring that youth voice is truly at the heart of EduSpots’ ongoing development.
Cat Davison
Cat is the Founder & CEO of EduSpots, with 11 years of experience in leading a growing network of educational changemakers through playful education approaches. Cat is a huge sports fan herself, with a decade of sports coaching and teaching experience, feeling most at home on the hockey pitch. She was recognised as a $1 million Global Teacher Prize finalist and is a 2025 UNESCO Youth for Peace Young Leader.
Emeritus Professor Gloria Agyemang
Emeritus Professor Gloria Agyemang is the Chair of EduSpots’ Global Board of Trustees, a group of committed champions behind EduSpots’ evolving work. She was the first black woman to lead a business school in the UK, taking on the role of Executive Dean of the School of Business and Management at Royal Holloway, and loves playing games and reading with her grandchildren, alongside mentoring future leaders.
EduSpots doesn’t just provide resources; they ignited a culture of learning, collaboration and leadership that changed my life.
(Abdul-Raheem, learner now Catalyst, Sakasaka Spot - captured right)
Email: Jennifer Mensah,
jmensah@eduspots.org
www.eduspots.org
