Play Specialist/Leader | York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; York and North Yorkshire; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading health service provider is looking for a committed Play Specialist to join the Child Health team. The role involves delivering therapeutic play to children aged 0-18 and supporting families. Flexibility to work within a 365-day service is required. Candidates should be passionate about providing emotional support and ensuring a positive experience for patients. Comprehensive benefits and a supportive environment are offered.

Benefits

NHS Pension Scheme

27 days holiday rising to 33 days

Employee Assistance Programme

Learning and development opportunities

Discounts on various services

Qualifications

• Experience working with children and young people aged 0-18.
• Ability to provide emotional and physical support to families.
• Commitment to the values of the Trust and service development.

Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality therapeutic and developmental play.
• Advocate for families, ensuring their needs are met.
• Work closely with patients and families to alleviate stress.

Skills

Therapeutic play delivery

Emotional support

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Flexibility

Job description

Play Specialist – Child Health Team

We are recruiting a committed Play Specialist to join our Child Health team on Ward 17/18 and the Children’s Day Unit.

This Band 4 role involves delivering high-quality therapeutic and developmental play to children and young people aged 0–18, supporting children with SEND, preparing patients for procedures, delivering distraction techniques, and contributing to a safe, child-centred environment.

Working within a multidisciplinary team, the post holder will offer emotional support to families, assist with safeguarding activity, and help maintain high standards of care. Flexibility is required to work across a 365‑day service between 7am and 8pm. A commitment to the Trust’s values and ongoing service development is essential.

The main duties of the role will be to ensure the best care is provided to all patients within their care, not only for them but their families too, whilst maintaining a professional demeanour.

You will advocate for the family, ensuring their needs are met to the best possible standard they require. This will involve providing care and support emotionally through listening and understanding and physically by providing resources appropriate to their needs and abilities.

The role will include working closely with patients and families to ensure stress and anxiety is alleviated, this is done through preparing and distracting for procedures/interventions.

You will be calm, approachable and caring with the enthusiasm to go above and beyond to make a families stay as pleasant as possible.

Please refer to the person specification and job description for additional responsibilities beyond the main duties.

For more information, visit https://yorkhospitals.pagetiger.com/hdjgxd.

Our benefits

• Access to the NHS Pension Scheme, providing generous benefits upon retirement, as well as a lump sum and pension for dependants.
• 27 days holiday rising to 33 days (depending on NHS Trust service).
• A variety of different types of paid and unpaid leave covering emergency and planned leave.
• Confidential advice and support on personal, work, family and relationship issues, 24/7, from our Employee Assistance Programme.
• NHS Car Lease scheme and Cycle to Work scheme.
• An extensive range of learning and development opportunities.
• Discounts on restaurants, getaways, shopping, motoring, cinema and finance from a range of providers.

Working for the Trust

Across our organisation, people are guided by values that were co‑developed with staff: we are kind; we are open; and we pursue excellence.

Our values play into our ambition to develop a more diverse workforce, truly representative of our communities. We welcome applications from everyone, while working with our Staff Networks – including our Race Equality, LGBTQ+, Disability and Carers Networks – to increase the number of applications we receive from different backgrounds. If there is anything we can do to make our application process more accessible to you, please contact: [e-mail].

As part of seeking to become more inclusive, we will consider requests for flexible working from the start of your employment. It may not be suitable for every role, but we will try and be supportive where we can. We would encourage you to speak to the recruiting manager named within this advert to discuss any requirements you may have.

Armed Forces Friendly Employer – we are holders of the Gold Award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, supporting SaBRE – Supporting Britain’s Reservists and Employers.

This advert closes on Tuesday 6 Jan 2026.