Play Assistant

• Provide and maintain a safe, childfriendly, welcoming environment that promotes play, normality, and routine during hospital admission
• Create, plan, and implement individual and group play programmes, adapting activities to accommodate the childs medical needs, frequent interruptions, and any physical, environmental, or emotional limitations
• Ensure the playroom and bedside play spaces support the childs wellbeing, independence, and emotional security
• Assess each childs developmental, emotional, and therapeutic play needs, adapting programmes accordingly
• Observe, evaluate, and document play sessions, contributing written playbased observations to the childs overall assessment in line with Trust and professional standards
• Identify anxieties related to treatment, procedures, or safeguarding concerns and report promptly to Play Specialists or relevant professionals
• Provide emotional, practical, and therapeutic support for children and their families during periods of stress or uncertainty
• Play with and care for children when parents or carers are unable to be present
• Act as an advocate for the child and family, ensuring dignity, confidentiality, and sensitivity at all times
• Communicate effectively with children, young people, families, and staff using ageappropriate, accessible language
• Participate as an active member of the multidisciplinary healthcare team, sharing relevant information to support the childs care
• Work in partnership with staff, students, and volunteers, offering guidance and modelling good practice in play
• Support patientexperience activities
• Respect the values, cultural backgrounds, and religious beliefs of children and their families, ensuring inclusive and sensitive service delivery
• Uphold and promote the Rights of the Child, as outlined by UNICEF
• Recognise safeguarding concerns and respond appropriately following Trust procedures
• Monitor play resources, identifying when equipment requires replacement or repair, and inform senior staff or the Play Service Coordinator
• Ensure all toys, equipment, and play areas are cleaned, checked, and maintained in compliance with Trust Health & Safety standards
• Support safe movement of children, including assisting with buggies or wheelchairs, to enable participation in play
• Assess and receive public toy donations, ensuring suitability and safety for the hospital environment
• Gain experience and broaden knowledge of the hospitalised childs developmental, emotional, and therapeutic needs
• Reflect on personal practice through supervision and appraisal and maintain an uptodate professional portfolio
• Attend training and courses to maintain current knowledge and best practice in healthcare play
• Participate in audits and contribute to service improvement initiatives

• Professional childcare qualification level 3 or equivalent
• Post qualification experience within a childcare or healthcare setting

Experience of working with children with special needs or challenging behaviours