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Job summary

Main area
Paediatric Play Centre
Grade
Band 3
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
259-7478464RLH-B
Employer
Barts Health NHS Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Royal London Hospital
Town
London
Salary
£30,546 - £32,207 Per annum inc
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
24/11/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Barts Health NHS Trust logo

Play Worker

Band 3

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain’s leading healthcare providers.

The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.

Barts Health supports the Pregnancy Loss Pledge and commits to supporting their staff through the distress of miscarriage.

We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting manager.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and motivated individual. We are looking for a Play Worker to join our team of Health Play Specialists and Play Workers at The Royal London Children’s Hospital. We work across both in and out patients departments and provide support to children and young people accessing our services. 
We are looking for a Play Worker who is committed to the delivery of compassionate high quality, child centered care and has the training and skills to implement specialised play input to support the young people and their families throughout their time in hospital. 
We are looking for someone who has a good understanding with relevant experience of child development in varying ages and abilities, who is creative and keen to promote normalising and sensory play in the hospital setting. Our ideal candidate is able to work on their own initiative, a team player and a keen interest in working with children/young people and their families in hospital. We have a well-established programme of quality improvement and fully encourage CPD. We value team members who are resourceful, loyal, committed and can be an active part of our vision for continuing to drive play forward.
Essential qualifications needed to apply for this post include 5 GCSEs Grade C and above (to include Maths & English) and NNEB or NVQ level 3 in childcare or equivalent. 

Main duties of the job

Working alongside your Play Department and wider multi-disciplinary team you will:

Maintain a safe, child-focused environment where play occurs naturally. 
Provide play for normalisation for children attending hospital as in or out patients.

Use your knowledge of child development and through to adulthood when selecting recreational / play activities. To plan and implement developmental play programmes for patients. Be able to identify children who need extra support and hand this over to a Play Specialist.

Working for our organisation

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain’s leading healthcare providers.  

The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.  

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.  

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.

*PLEASE NOTE – WE ARE UNABLE TO PROVIDE SPONSORSHIP FOR THIS ROLE*  

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click on the link to check your eligibility before applying for this post - Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

 

Please note: When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High Cost Area Supplement) is not included for non-medical roles. This ensures fairness and consistency within our organisation, as some of our sites fall under inner HCAS, while others are classified as outer HCAS. 

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • 5 GCSEs Grade C and above to include Maths & English
  • NNEB or NVQ level 3 in childcare or equivalent
Desirable criteria
  • Awareness of Childrens Safeguarding

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Previous experience of working with Children/young people in a play, Education or hospital setting.
  • Experience of working as a team member.
  • Experience /knowledge of different cultures and ethnic groups.
  • General knowledge/experience Child Protection.
  • Experience working with adolescents, babies and children with special needs & their families.
  • Theoretical knowledge of child development.
  • Knowledge of the value of play for sick children.
  • Ability to reflect and critically appraise own performance.
  • Basic knowledge of confidentiality.
Desirable criteria
  • Cultural awareness training.

Skills

Essential criteria
  • Good interpersonal and supportive skills.
  • To be creative and provide a wide Selection of art & craft activities for all ages.
  • Health, safety and risk awareness.
  • Play & organisation skills.
  • Ability to understand and adhere to professional boundaries of the role, referring on to line manager where necessary.
  • Ability to work with individuals and groups of children/young people.
  • Effective verbal and written communicational skills.
  • Good level of IT skills.
Desirable criteria
  • Documentation Skills.
  • Good level of IT skills

Communication

Essential criteria
  • Communicates in a manner that is consistent with relevant legislation, policies and procedures.
  • Communicates with people in a form and manner that:
  • Is consistent with their level of understanding, culture, background and preferred ways of communicating.
  • Is appropriate to the purpose of the communication and the context in which it is taking place
  • Encourages the effective participation of all involved
  • Recognises and reflects on barriers to effective communication and modifies communication in response
  • Is proactive in seeking out different styles and methods of communicating to assist longer term needs and aims

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Green@Barts HealthNHS Pastoral Care Quality AwardApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyLondon Living Wage is a voluntary commitment made by employers, who can become accredited with the Living Wage FoundationPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveInvestors in People: GoldImproving working livesMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Pregnancy Loss PledgeDisability confident employerStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Happy to Talk Flexible Working

Applicant requirements

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.

Application numbers

We reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once a sufficient number of applications has been received.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Catrina Edwards
Job title
Play Team Lead
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
02035941375
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