Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Qualified and Registered senior Health Play Specialist to join our Play and Youth Team in the department of Child Health.
Are you passionate about making a difference in health care through play?
Do you thrive in a fast paced hospital setting using creativity to support patients and teams?
Can you lead Play based therapeutic interventions to support patients' emotional well-being, reduce anxiety, and enhance recovery?
Do you champion the power of play to support babies, children, and young people to feel safe, understood, and empowered?
This is an exciting and challenging role where you can apply your skills in providing therapeutic play, preparation, distraction therapy, and normalised play to Babies, children, and young people.
You will need the Health Play Specialist qualification and be a registered Health Play Specialist. You will need to have 2 years post-qualifying experience in working with young people (ages 0 - 18 years) in a Health care setting.
You will need an understanding and ability to work with addiction and complex needs.
The post holder must demonstrate experience of supporting junior staff and/or students and have leadership skills and teamwork techniques.
Main duties of the job
The post holder must be a registered and Qualified Health Play Specialist holding the foundation degree in Health Care Play Specialism or the Edexcel certificate or diploma as a Hospital Play Specialist.
To manage and be responsible for using theoretical knowledge and evidence-based practice to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate therapeutic play interventions in hospital which encompass the development and emotional needs of BCYP.
To participate in safeguarding children and young people within the Trust to ensure their safety and to adhere to the safeguarding policy.
Attend Multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meetings and contribute to treatment and care plans.
To plan and implement individual therapeutic play programmes to include preparation for procedures, distraction therapy, and post-procedural play.
To empathise with and provide and/or facilitate emotional support to parents and carers during times of stress or crisis, such as at a time of medical diagnosis or bereavement.
To work as a member of the multi-disciplinary team, contributing to patient treatment/care plans.
To provide play-based observations to influence and support the overall assessment of BCYP.
To contribute to the development of protocols, standards guidelines, and competencies for the department and devise standards for the Play and Youth service.
To be responsible for mentoring and clinically supervising Play Workers and Health Play Specialist students/Apprenticeships in your team.
About us
King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1.8 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year, and more than 15,000 staff based across South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King's to another level.
We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.
King's is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone's contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust's carbon emissions, waste, and pollution wherever possible.
Date posted: 17 April 2025
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 5
Salary: £35,964 to £43,780 a year per annum including HCA
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 213-CAX-7109302-A
Job locations: King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill, LONDON, SE5 9RS
Job responsibilities
To create a welcoming, caring, and safe play environment for the BCYP and their families.
To use play as a tool to communicate and build a rapport with children and young people attending the hospital.
To manage and be responsible for using theoretical knowledge and evidence-based practice to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate therapeutic play interventions in hospital which encompass the development and emotional needs of BCYP.
To take individual referrals for Babies, children/Young people and their family members experiencing difficulty in managing hospital admissions/procedures.
To participate in safeguarding children and young people within the Trust to ensure their safety and to adhere to the safeguarding policy.
To ensure that patient records and activity data are maintained contemporaneously in accordance with Professional and Trust standards.
Attend Multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meetings and contribute to treatment and care plans.
To plan and implement individual therapeutic play programmes to include preparation for procedures, distraction therapy, and post-procedural play.
To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions using reflective practice to achieve best outcomes.
To empathise with and provide and/or facilitate emotional support to parents and carers during times of stress or crisis, such as at a time of medical diagnosis or bereavement.
To establish effective communication, both verbal and written, with all members of the multi-disciplinary team.
To establish communication links with other agencies/hospitals involved with the BCYP.
To work as a member of the multi-disciplinary team, contributing to patient treatment/care plans.
To provide play-based observations to influence and support the overall assessment of BCYP.
To contribute and provide expert knowledge when involved in specific projects, audits, and plans sharing at a local level.
To contribute to the development of protocols, standards guidelines, and competencies for the department and devise standards for the Play and Youth service.
To be responsible for mentoring and clinically supervising Play Workers and Health Play Specialist students/Apprenticeships in your team.
To comply with the Society of Health Play Specialist (SoHPS) Code of Professional Conduct.
To actively participate in maintaining own professional development, identifying own educational and clinical training needs with Line Manager.
To maintain a continuing professional portfolio in line with SoHPS recommendations for re-registration, recording learning outcomes from practice and participation in internal and external development opportunities.
To ensure own mandatory training certificates are current. To be actively involved in relevant special interest groups.
To contribute to policy development demonstrating the ability to evaluate current research and apply to practice.
To contribute in the planning, evaluation, and audit of practice, care pathways, and protocols to ensure a consistent and high-quality service.
To be proactive in the delivery of the play service development plan as part of the overall business plan for the Play and Youth Services.
To attend staff meetings to share relevant information related to the Trust and the Play & Youth department.
To attend BCYP service user groups to ensure the safe, meaningful, and ethical participation of children and young people within the delivery of quality child health services.
To select, order, and monitor play resources to reflect the needs of the patient group; specialist resources for use in preparation and distraction will be ordered by the HPS.
To be responsible for maintaining the services play resources, in accordance with Trust health and safety and infection control standards.
To establish effective communication, both verbal and written, with all members of the multidisciplinary team in child health and in other departments of the hospital where children are treated.
To work closely with the Hospital School to minimise the interruption and disruption to children and young people's education so that academic progress and an interest in learning will continue, as far as medical circumstances permit.
To work with hospital and external charities in identifying fundraising opportunities for activities and resources.
To participate in the department's in-service training programmes.
To supervise and act as a mentor for Health Play Specialist students and HPS apprenticeships.
To create teaching sessions and participate in the training and education of other health care professionals to promote awareness of the therapeutic benefits of play in hospital, both internally and externally.
Person Specification
Holds the Health Play Specialist qualification Essential:
* Health Play Specialism foundation Degree/ Certificate in Hospital Play Specialism. Registered with the Society of Health Play Specialists. Documented evidence of Continuing Professional Development. Professional register.
* Demonstrable post-registration experience in a range of clinical settings with children/young, preferably 2 years of which is in a hospital setting.
* Experience of working with children, young people, and families in distressing and challenging situations.
* Experience, knowledge, and understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures and the ability to respond appropriately.
* Experience of mentoring and supervising Health Play Specialist students/Apprenticeships and supporting junior staff.
Desirable:
* Strong leadership and mentoring skills.
* Presentation skills.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
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.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants applying for entry clearance into the UK have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.
Employer details
Employer name: King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Address: King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill, LONDON, SE5 9RS
Employer's website: https://www.kch.nhs.uk/
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