Starlight Stories
Celebrating Keshia: championing health play for every child
Through her insight, compassion, and creativity, Keshia has shown that play is not an optional extra but an essential part of care especially for children with complex needs or severe disabilities.
When Keshia joined Life Force, an NHS community palliative care team supporting families across Haringey, Camden and Islington in north London, through the Starlight programme, she saw an opportunity to widen access to therapeutic health play.
Helping children play for the first time
During the programme, Keshia supported children facing a wide range of needs — from short-term medical procedures to long-term, life-limiting conditions. She used play to help children prepare for hospital appointments and cope with medical interventions, supported families managing ongoing health issues, such as severe eczema or constipation, and helped bereaved siblings create lasting memories of their loved ones.
Her dedication transformed experiences for children and families. In some cases, enabling a child to communicate with others for the first time. To meet their needs Keshia learned British Sign Language (BSL) and Makaton (through Starlight) introducing the communication tools to some of her non-verbal patients.
“I was often entering homes where the focus was understandably on the child’s medical needs. But I could see how play could be woven into their lives. Play needs to be available for every child. It’s about meeting them where they are and finding ways for them to imagine, explore and enjoy the world.” - Keshia
Exploring different approaches to play
Among the many children Keshia supported, one little girl made a profound impression.
Born without eyes, she faced barriers not only in accessing play but also in how others perceived her future. Her parents were struggling to support her needs and felt unsure about what lay ahead.
Keshia recognised that this child’s play experience needed to be rooted in her other senses. She explored the little girl’s love of food and music to help her explore and connect.
The impact was transformative. With Keshia’s support, the child’s family discovered new ways to nurture her development. She began to flourish, and she has now started attending a mainstream nursery - something her parents had never imagined.
“She is an amazing little girl. She’s the same as any other child - she likes to have fun and enjoy life. It’s been a privilege to be part of her journey.” - Keshia
She also recalls a five-year-old boy who is visually impaired, hearing impaired, non-verbal and English was not his family's first language so she introduced hand on hand signing. "We had lots of fun and I enjoyed watching him develop through play," recalls Keshia. "If anyone listened in on our sessions, they wouldn't know what to think as the boy would laugh, babble and smile — things he wasn't doing before play was introduced. He had become a completely different child."
A culture that empowers
Keshia credits Starlight’s support as central to her ability to innovate and adapt and help such a wide range of children — giving her the confidence to pioneer new approaches.
“Starlight has been consistent in what it stands for and how it operates. I’ve worked with various Starlight team members and everyone’s singing from the same song sheet - it’s cohesive. That isn’t the case everywhere so it’s been a really positive experience.” - Keshia (pictured with Natalie Aris, Head of Professional Training & Development at Starlight)
“It’s been truly wonderful working with Keshia whose work has had a profound impact on children and their families. Through her determination she has shown that therapeutic health play can be made accessible to every child. Her creativity has inspired families to see new possibilities for their children and has left a lasting impact.
“We are immensely proud of Keshia’s achievements and the difference she has made to so many. She has brought light and connection into lives and has proved that with the right support, play can reach every child - and every child deserves it.”
Nitisha Majithia, Starlight’s Health Play Specialist Programme Manager
Leeds Beckett University is conducting an independent evaluation of Starlight’s three-year funded healthcare play specialist project. It will explore the delivery and impact of the programme across three partnerships: Keshia’s role at Life Force; two community HPS roles based in Wales through Aneurin Bevan University Health Board; and with Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, in north London.
- Keshia has now joined a London hospital play team as a senior health play specialist. She still works with Starlight as one of our End of Life Training course leaders.