Job summary
Make a meaningful difference to the lives of children and young people through the power of play.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals are seeking a caring, enthusiastic, and creative Health Play Specialist to join our dedicated team and help make healthcare experiences more positive, reassuring, and child-centred.

As a Health Play Specialist, you will use therapeutic play, creative activities, and age-appropriate interventions to help children and young people understand and cope with illness, medical procedures, treatment, and hospital stays. You will play a vital role in reducing anxiety, promoting emotional wellbeing, supporting development, and helping children feel safe, confident, and involved in their healthcare journey.

Working closely with children, families, and the wider multidisciplinary team, you will provide individualised support that recognises each child's unique needs, abilities, and circumstances. You will use your communication skills, compassion, and creativity to build trusting relationships, prepare children for unfamiliar experiences, and help them manage the challenges associated with healthcare.

This role offers a rewarding opportunity to make a genuine difference every day, ensuring children and young people receive compassionate, high-quality care that places their wellbeing and individual needs at the heart of everything you do.

Main duties of the job
To understand the role in more detail, please refer to the attached job description and person specification.

About us
We are an award-winning NHS Foundation Trust working alongside health and social care colleagues across the county to provide acute and community healthcare services to more than 420,000 people across Mansfield, Ashfield, Newark and Sherwood, and parts of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.

Sherwood is nationally recognised as being an excellent place to work and deliver care. We are rightly proud of the 5,500 colleagues who work here.

We are proud that our Trust colleagues have voted us the best acute Trust to work for in the East Midlands for seven years running in the National NHS Staff Survey, while the Care Quality Commission has rated our Trust as 'outstanding' for care and our King's Mill Hospital as the only 'outstanding' NHS-run hospital in the East Midlands.

We know happy colleagues deliver better care. All our teams work in a supportive environment, which nurtures your wellbeing and provides opportunities for development and progression. We do not just care for our patients, we also care for you.

We have an open, inclusive and diverse culture and we would like you to be part of the team.

Details
Date posted: 20 October 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 4
Salary: £28,392 to £31,157 a year per annum pro rata
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Part-time
Reference number: 214-W&C-8331986
Closing date: 03 November 2026

Job description

• To understand the role in more detail, please refer to the attached job description and person specification.

Person Specification
Knowledge Requirements
Essential

• Knowledge of children's issues/ children with special needs
• Ability to communicate with children and adolescents
• Self-motivated
• Ability to work as part of a multi disciplinary team
• Ability to work with families
• Ability to plan/ design age appropriate play/developmental activities for children and adolescents
• Ability to communicate well
• Ability to conduct tasks promptly and efficiently
• Understanding of health and safety issues

Desirable

• Experience of working with adolescents and children with special needs including those with challenging behaviour

Qualifications
Essential

• Health Play Specialist foundation degree / Professional Diploma in Specialised Play for Sick Children and Young People
• Registered with HPSET

Desirable

• Experience of working in the hospital setting

Further Training
Essential

• Safeguarding children awareness
• Commitment to support the Trust's Values

Experience
Essential

• Working within hospital setting
• Experience of supervising students
• Experience of audit of play/ distraction

Desirable

• Awareness of children's health related issues such as CAMHS, behavioural and developmental milestones

Contractual Requirements
Essential

• To work within a 7-day rota / Commitment to support the Trust's Values
• To adhere to uniform policy

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.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details
Employer name: Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Address: King's Mill Hospital, Mansfield Road, Sutton in Ashfield, NG17 4JL, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.sfh-tr.nhs.uk/

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Matron for Children and Young People, Sarah Jenkins, sarah.jenkins38@nhs.net, 01623622515

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975.