Play Specialist/Leader

Transformationunitgm; York and North Yorkshire; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 31,000; Part time

Job summary

A prominent healthcare provider in York is seeking a reliable Play Specialist to deliver therapeutic play to children aged 0-18. This part-time role involves supporting emotional and physical needs of young patients while ensuring a child-centered environment. Candidates should have a relevant foundation degree and experience in childcare. The position requires flexibility to work across a 365-day service. Generous benefits include NHS Pension, holiday entitlement, and various support programs.

Benefits

NHS Pension Scheme

27 days holiday rising to 33 days

Employee Assistance Programme

Qualifications

• Foundation Degree in health, childcare, or education is required.
• 2 years' experience in childcare or related role is preferred.
• Knowledge of protocols and procedures applicable to care settings.

Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality therapeutic play to children aged 0-18.
• Support emotional and physical needs of children and families.
• Prepare children for procedures through distraction and care.

Skills

Strong awareness of developmental needs

Knowledge of child development

Ability to provide emotional support

Team collaboration

Education

Foundation Degree in childcare/education/health

Foundation Degree in Healthcare Play Specialism

Job description

Main area Play specialist Grade Band 4 Contract Permanent Hours Part time - 34 hours per week (30-34 hours per week) Job ref 419-7668156-PS-FH

Employer York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site York Hospital Town York Salary £27,485 - £30,162 pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 06/01/2026 23:59

Play Specialist/Leader

Band 4

Please note that contact with applicants will usually be by email, and so please check all of your mail folders regularly (unfortunately some providers filter our messages into junk mail folders).

Our Values

• We are KIND
• We are OPEN
• We pursue EXCELLENCE

We are looking for applications from people who share our values to help make us a valued and trusted partner within our care system, that delivers safe effective care to our local population.

Job overview

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.

Main duties of the job

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

Working for our organisation

To find out more about what it is like to work for our Trust please visit the following link:

We offer a range of benefits to support our staff including:

• 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

For further information on the fantastic range of benefits we offer please visit the Trust's dedicated Staff Benefits pages.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

A full description of the role is available in the attachment: job description.

Please note that if a high number of applications are received this advert may close early. You are advised to submit your application at the earliest opportunity.

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, which is helping actively promote SaBRE - Supporting Britain’s Reservists and Employers. This means that we have made a statement of intent to support all Defence personnel, including with applications for employment.

Person specification

Education

• Foundation Degree in childcare/education/health
• Evidence of continued professional development
• Up to date: Child Protection First Aid Food Safety Inclusion training/awareness safeguarding
• Foundation Degree in Healthcare Play Specialism

Experience

• 2 years’ experience of previous employed role within childcare
• Planning and implementing activities
• Experience with children with additional health needs and behaviours
• Awareness of protocols and procedures, i:e risk assessments, cleaning policies
• Work experience of the children’s learning journey
• Work within an hospital setting
• Experience with young adults

Skills

• Have a strong awareness of developmental needs and requirements
• Knowledge of the EYFS, SEND and Ofsted Statutory requirements
• Knowledge of child development
• Able to meet the care needs of the child and their parent/carers
• Able to work independently, within a team, in partnership with parents and other professionals.

Please note that some of our substantive vacancies may be available on a smaller number of hours than advertised. If you would be interested in applying on this basis, we would encourage you to contact the appointing manager to enquire further.

DBS Checks

Please be aware that all new employees starting work with us will be charged for the cost of their DBS check if it is required for the role. The cost will be deducted from your salary either in one payment or over a six month period once you start employment. By applying you are agreeing to this undertaking. If you are successful you will be asked to confirm if you wish to pay in one amount or in instalments. The charges are currently £27.38 for a standard check and £55.38 for an enhanced check. The level of check will be determined by the post you are applying for.

Please note that Volunteers and Bank only staff will not be charged.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) offers a confidential checking service for transgender applicants in accordance with the Gender Recognition Act 2004. This is known as the sensitive applications route, and is available for all levels of DBS check - basic, standard and enhanced.

The sensitive applications route gives transgender applicants the choice not to have any gender or name information disclosed on their DBS certificate that could reveal their previous identity. To contact the sensitive applications team, please telephone [phone] or email [e-mail] .

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Please note, the selection processes at York & Scarborough Teaching Hospitals are in place to ensure we recruit candidates with the right skills and values. We remain vigilant against candidates who misuse these tools to generate an application that doesn’t accurately reflect their skills. You will be required to acknowledge that you are aware of this before submitting your application.

Agile and Flexible Working

We are committed to helping all staff balance their work with other commitments and have recently launched our new Agile and Flexible Working policy to support this, entitling all staff to request flexible working from day one – for all posts. We encourage you to speak to the recruiting manager named in this advert to discuss any requirements you may have.

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

All our employees have access to a free, confidential counselling and wellbeing support service. Our EAP is available 24/7, 365 days a year.

Relocation Package

The Trust offers a generous relocation package of up to 30% of salary (capped at £18k) to support with relocation expenses for hard to fill positions where relocation would be an expectation to undertake the role fully. If you would like to discuss relocation further, please speak to the recruiting manager at interview.

A bit more about us and the surrounding area

York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is situated in a fantastic part of the country that is home to two national parks, a beautiful coastline, and the city of York - consistently voted one of the best places to live in the UK. We provide a comprehensive range of acute hospital and specialist healthcare services for approximately 800,000 people living in and around York, North Yorkshire, North East Yorkshire and Ryedale - an area covering 3,400 square miles.

Our annual turnover is approaching £0.5bn. We manage eight hospital sites and have a workforce of around 10,000 staff working across our hospitals and in the community.

Sponsorship

Please note: Under current Home Office Immigration Rules we are unable to offer sponsorship for roles with a salary of less than £25,000 pa as they do not meet the UK Visas & Immigration criteria. Currently, this rules out sponsorship for Band 2, and some Band 3 roles. In addition to this, there are a number of other roles not eligible for sponsorship, therefore applicants requiring it may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa .

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.