Play Specialist

The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust; Dudley; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 31,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Job summary

The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting a registered play specialist to join the Children’s Ward at Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley. The role is permanent, 18 hours per week, and involves providing play-based support to children and young people to normalise the hospital experience.

You will work with the Play Specialist Team across PAU and ward areas, covering a 7-day service with early and late shifts to help meet play needs and improve patient experience.

Qualifications

• Certificate in Hospital Play Specialism or Healthcare Play Specialist Certificate and current registration with Hospital Play Specialist Education Trust
• 5 GCSE’s A-C grade including English and Maths
• Making Every Contact Count (MECC) training or willingness to undertake

Responsibilities

• To work in collaboration with the Play Specialist Team to meet the normalising play needs of children & young people supporting services where children are seen through the facilitation of activities within ward, PAU and outpatient clinic areas across the Trust.
• This role is to cover a 7-day service with a variety of shifts, including earlies, and lates.
• The post holder will work across PAU and the Children's Ward.

Skills

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Liaise with professionals

Education

Certificate in Hospital Play Specialism or Healthcare Play Specialist Certificate

5 GCSEs A-C including English and Maths

MECC training or willingness to undertake

Job description

Main area Paediatrics Grade NHS AfC: Band 4 Contract Permanent Hours

• Part time
• Flexible working

18 hours per week (At The Dudley Group, we understand the benefits of offering a range of flexible working options from day one of employment to support both employees and the Trust. Offering flexible working opportunities is one of the ways that the Trust aims to attract and retain a diverse workforce. Further information on the options available can be found via the link in the job advert) Job ref 253-0926-8275642

Site Russells Hall Hospital Town Dudley Salary £28,392 - £31,157 pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 06/10/2026 23:59

Job overview

Are you a registered play specialist looking for a new, and exciting opportunity?

If so, come and join our amazing team on the Children’s Ward at Russells Hall Hospital Dudley. This is an exciting opportunity to work in collaboration with the Play Specialist Team to meet the normalising play needs of children & young people supporting services where children are seen through the facilitation of activities within ward and outpatient clinic areas across the Trust. This is a permanent post, for 18 hours per week.

You will use play to provide basic distraction from the hospital environment. Work flexibly within the play team to facilitate services to support play opportunities for children within the play.

This role is truly rewarding, and with your help we can make a positive difference to a child’s journey through the Paediatric Department.

The post holder will work across PAU and the Children's Ward. It is to cover a 7-day service with a variety of shifts, including earlies, and lates.

Main duties of the job

To work in collaboration with the Play Specialist Team to meet the normalising play needs of children & young people supporting services where children are seen through the facilitation of activities within ward, PAU and outpatient clinic areas across the Trust.

Working for our organisation

At the Dudley Group our patients and staff are at the heart of all that we do and that is to provide a world class service that aligns with our vision of “excellent health care, improved health for all”. We are seeking to recruit staff who share our vision and values of making Dudley Group an incredible workplace.

As part of the NHS People Promise, your wellbeing is our priority, and we are committed to ensuring our employees achieve a healthy work-life balance supported by our flexible working options and by making reasonable adjustments where possible. We believe no-one should have to sacrifice family, friends, or their personal interests for work. We are a modern employer able to attract and retain high quality staff through our commitment to the NHS People Promise.

As an employer, we foster an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued, supported, and empowered to contribute their best. We want to ensure that our workforce is representative of the population we serve. More information - inclusive practice people promise.

Dudley Group offer many opportunities for our staff to develop and grow within their roles through our Learning & OD Team. These include topics such as communication, wellbeing, team development, cultural competency, and values.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached job description for full details of the main duties and responsibilities that the post holder is required to undertake.

Person specification

Qualifications and Education

• Certificate in Hospital Play Specialism or Healthcare Play Specialist Certificate and current registration with Hospital Play Specialist Education Trust
• 5 GCSE’s A-C grade including English and Maths.
• Making Every Contact Count (MECC) training or willingness to undertake

Experience

• Previous relevant experience, especially in the care of children/young people aged 0-19 years.
• Awareness of the needs of the hospitalised child/young person and family.
• Experience of working with children/young people with learning disabilities including those with challenging behaviour.
• Experience of working with children/young people with mental health needs.

Knowledge and Training

• Knowledge of issues relating to consent and confidentiality.
• Knowledge and understanding of issues relating to safe guarding and cultural and diversity awareness.
• Good understanding of Health & Safety issues relating to children/young people and Play
• To be professional and non-judgemental.
• Basic IT skills or be prepared to undertake training identified by the Trust

Communication and Relationship Skills

• Ability to meet the play and recreation needs of individuals and groups of children/young people.
• Effective written, verbal and non-verbal communication skills.
• Able to liaise with professionals at all levels.
• Interested in child development.
• Enthusiastic in all aspects of professional and personal development.

Using AI for jobs applications:

Whilst we encourage the use of technology to help manage time and support innovation. However, it is your responsibility to ensure your application is personalised and clearly reflects your own skills and experiences. While AI can assist with drafting, it should only be used as a support tool. The content must be your own work and accurately represent your knowledge, abilities, and values. Over-reliance on AI-generated content may result in your application being rejected. A common issue arises when we receive multiple applications with identical or overly generic language.

The use of AI during assessments, including interviews, is not permitted unless it has been pre-approved as part of a reasonable adjustment. For digital interviews, you may be asked to provide a 360-degree view of your surroundings on camera and confirm that no additional devices are present. If we suspect AI is being used during an interview, we may pause the process to clarify or adjust our approach to questioning.

Caring for patients demands integrity, honesty, and accountability. We expect your application and participation to be authentic and a genuine reflection of your own experiences and values.

In line with UK Home Office rules, Band 2 clinical and non‑clinical roles, and Band 3 non‑clinical roles, are not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Non‑clinical roles at Agenda for Change Bands 7–9 that meet the required skill level (RQF 6) and salary threshold are eligible for sponsorship.

The Trust will also accept applications from candidates who can evidence their existing right to work in the UK or who hold an alternative eligible visa.

RECRUITMENT EQUALITY STATEMENT

We are committed to equal opportunities and want to ensure our workforce is representative of the population we serve. We welcome applications from all sections of the community and diverse groups. It is essential we understand our demographics, in order that we can monitor our performance as an equal opportunity employer, as well as continuing to embed a culture of inclusivity across the organisation, which supports the active participation and contribution of our diverse staff groups in the Trusts decision making processes . On application the shortlisting manager will not see this criterion and therefore it cannot be part of their decision making. Please ensure you complete your equal opportunities questions for us and help us to make sure everyone is welcome.

The Trust is committed to employing and supporting people with disabilities. It is the Trust’s policy to interview all candidates with a disability who meet the minimum ‘essential’ criteria as identified on the person specification. To ensure we know you have a disability, please inform us under the appropriate section on the application form. We welcome applications from the LGBTQ+ community and openly encourage people with different sexual orientation, gender identity and expression to apply to join our team. We promise to respect and encourage the use of all pronouns and will not purposefully mis-gender anyone.

We are governed by the public sector equality duties and by our values of Care, Respect and Responsibility to ensure we eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other behaviour that is unlawful, undermines our core values and/or falls short of our Behaviour Framework. We want all of our staff to ‘call out’ any behaviour from colleagues, patients or visitors that constitutes the above and appropriate action be taken.

We will, at every opportunity, advance equality and inclusivity for all staff, at all levels within the organisation, by removing or minimising disadvantage, encouraging participation and taking all relevant steps to meet the needs of anyone who shares a protected characteristic. We will also foster good relations between persons who share a protected characteristic by tackling prejudice and promoting understanding at every opportunity.

We have staff Networks in place to help support staff experience of diverse staff groups and inform us on the actions, interventions and support what we need to put in place to improve the working lives and daily experiences of all colleagues and all teams. Anyone can join the networks and we take pride in having Allies as part of every network within the organisation.

By submitting an application for a position with this organisation, you are declaring that the information given is true and complete, any deliberate omission, falsification or misrepresentation will be grounds for rejecting the application or subsequent dismissal, and where applicable, for positions that requires registration with a professional body, you authorise us to make the required employer checks on your professional registration status.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Please note, preference will be given to at risk employees.

Applicants MUST ensure that they provide details of their referees and their referee email addresses on their application form otherwise their application may not be considered.

By applying for this post you are agreeing to the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in your application to its preferred applicant management system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Record system.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Application numbers

Please be aware that we reserve the right to close this vacancy when we have received a sufficient number of applications.