Health Play Specialist

Sherwood Forest Hospitals Nhs Foundation Trust; Mansfield; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Health Play Specialist to support children and young people through therapeutic play, with the aim of reducing anxiety and improving experience during healthcare. You will use playful, age-appropriate activities and work closely with families and a multi-disciplinary team.

The role requires registration with HPSET, a foundation degree or professional diploma in specialised play, and the ability to work within a 7-day rota.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of children's issues and needs.
• Ability to communicate with children and adolescents.
• Self-motivated and able to work in a multi-disciplinary team.
• Ability to work with families and design age-appropriate play activities.
• Understanding of health and safety issues.

Responsibilities

• Understand the role in detail via attached job description and person specification.
• Provide individualised support to children and families in hospital settings.
• Collaborate with the multidisciplinary team to reduce anxiety and promote wellbeing.

Skills

Knowledge of children’s issues

Communication with children

Self-motivation

Multi-disciplinary teamwork

Working with families

Designing age-appropriate play

Effective communication

Prompt/task efficiency

Health and safety awareness

Adolescents/special needs experience (

Education

Health Play Specialist foundation degree / Professional Diploma in Specialised Play for Sick Children and Young People

Registered with HPSET

Hospital experience (Desirable)

Job description

Job summary

Make a meaningful difference to the lives of children and young people through the power of play.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals are seeking a caring, enthusiastic, and creative Health Play Specialist to join our dedicated team and help make healthcare experiences more positive, reassuring, and child-centred.

As a Health Play Specialist, you will use therapeutic play, creative activities, and age-appropriate interventions to help children and young people understand and cope with illness, medical procedures, treatment, and hospital stays. You will play a vital role in reducing anxiety, promoting emotional wellbeing, supporting development, and helping children feel safe, confident, and involved in their healthcare journey.

Working closely with children, families, and the wider multidisciplinary team, you will provide individualised support that recognises each child's unique needs, abilities, and circumstances. You will use your communication skills, compassion, and creativity to build trusting relationships, prepare children for unfamiliar experiences, and help them manage the challenges associated with healthcare.

This role offers a rewarding opportunity to make a genuine difference every day, ensuring children and young people receive compassionate, high-quality care that places their wellbeing and individual needs at the heart of everything you do.

Main duties of the job

To understand the role in more detail, please refer to the attached job description and person specification.

About us

We are an award-winning NHS Foundation Trust working alongside health and social care colleagues across the county to provide acute and community healthcare services to more than 420,000 people across Mansfield, Ashfield, Newark and Sherwood, and parts of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.

Sherwood is nationally recognised as being an excellent place to work and deliver care. We are rightly proud of the 5,500 colleagues who work here.

We are proud that our Trust colleagues have voted us the best acute Trust to work for in the East Midlands for seven years running in the National NHS Staff Survey, while the Care Quality Commission has rated our Trust as 'outstanding' for care and our King's Mill Hospital as the only 'outstanding' NHS-run hospital in the East Midlands.

We know happy colleagues deliver better care. All our teams work in a supportive environment, which nurtures your wellbeing and provides opportunities for development and progression. We do not just care for our patients, we also care for you.

We have an open, inclusive and diverse culture and we would like you to be part of the team.

Details

Date posted: 20 October 2026

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 4

Salary: £28,392 to £31,157 a year per annum pro rata

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Part-time

Reference number: 214-W&C-8331986

Closing date: 03 November 2026

Job description

• To understand the role in more detail, please refer to the attached job description and person specification.

Person Specification

Knowledge Requirements

Essential

• Knowledge of children's issues/ children with special needs
• Ability to communicate with children and adolescents
• Self-motivated
• Ability to work as part of a multi disciplinary team
• Ability to work with families
• Ability to plan/ design age appropriate play/developmental activities for children and adolescents
• Ability to communicate well
• Ability to conduct tasks promptly and efficiently
• Understanding of health and safety issues

Desirable

• Experience of working with adolescents and children with special needs including those with challenging behaviour

Qualifications

Essential

• Health Play Specialist foundation degree / Professional Diploma in Specialised Play for Sick Children and Young People
• Registered with HPSET

Desirable

• Experience of working in the hospital setting

Further Training

Essential

• Safeguarding children awareness
• Commitment to support the Trust's Values

Experience

Essential

• Working within hospital setting
• Experience of supervising students
• Experience of audit of play/ distraction

Desirable

• Awareness of children's health related issues such as CAMHS, behavioural and developmental milestones

Contractual Requirements

Essential

• To work within a 7-day rota / Commitment to support the Trust's Values
• To adhere to uniform policy

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name: Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address: King's Mill Hospital, Mansfield Road, Sutton in Ashfield, NG17 4JL, United Kingdom

Employer's website: https://www.sfh-tr.nhs.uk/

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact: Matron for Children and Young People, Sarah Jenkins, [e-mail], 01623622515

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975.