Play Specialist/Leader | York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
| Posting date: | 23 December 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Not specified |
| Additional salary information: | £27,485 - £30,162 pro rata |
| Hours: | Part time |
| Closing date: | 22 January 2026 |
| Location: | York, YO31 8HE |
| Company: | York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 7668156/419-7668156-PS-FH |
Summary
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.
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
To find out more about what it is like to work for our Trust please visit the following link:
https://yorkhospitals.pagetiger.com/hdjgxd
Our benefits
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.
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: yhs-tr.recruitment@nhs.net.
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.
This advert closes on Tuesday 6 Jan 2026
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.