Play Worker | Barts Health NHS Trust

Barts Health NHS Trust; City Of London; On-site; GBP 10,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A major healthcare trust in London is seeking a committed play worker to support children at The Royal London Children’s Hospital. The role focuses on maintaining a safe, child-centered play environment and implementing developmental play programs. Ideal candidates will possess essential qualifications in childcare and demonstrate strong teamwork and initiative. The position offers a chance to contribute to the well-being of young patients and their families.

Qualifications

• Essential qualifications: 5 GCSEs including Maths & English and NVQ level 3 in childcare.
• Ability to implement developmental play programs and identify children needing extra support.
• Experience working within a health or child-related environment.

Responsibilities

• Maintain a safe, child-focused play environment.
• Provide normalising play for children attending hospital.
• Plan and implement play activities based on child development.

Skills

Child development knowledge

Teamwork skills

Resourcefulness

Ability to work on initiative

Education

5 GCSEs Grade C and above (including Maths & English)

NNEB or NVQ level 3 in childcare or equivalent

Job description

Overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and motivated individual. We are looking for a play worker to join our team of Health Play Specialists and Play Workers at The Royal London Children’s Hospital. We work across both in and out patients departments and provide support to children and young people accessing our services. We are looking for a play worker who is committed to the delivery of compassionate high quality care and has the skills to implement specialised play input to support the young people and their families throughout their time in hospital. We are looking for someone who is able to work on their own initiative, a team player and a keen interest in working with children/young people and their families in hospital. We value team members who are resourceful, loyal, committed and can be an active part of our vision for continuing to drive play forward.

Responsibilities

• Maintain a safe, child-focused environment where play occurs naturally.
• Provide play for normalisation for children attending hospital as in or out patients.
• Use knowledge of child development and through to adulthood when selecting recreational / play activities. To plan and implement developmental play programmes for patients. Be able to identify children who need extra support and hand this over to a Play Specialist.

Qualifications

• Essential qualifications: 5 GCSEs Grade C and above (to include Maths & English) and NNEB or NVQ level 3 in childcare or equivalent.

About the role and team

Working alongside your Play Department and wider multi-disciplinary team you will:

• Maintain a safe, child-focused environment where play occurs naturally.
• Provide play for normalisation for children attending hospital as in or out patients.

About Barts Health

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain’s leading healthcare providers.

The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.

Our Vision and WeCare values

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together. We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.

Documents

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.

This advert closes on Monday 13 Oct 2025