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Health Play Services Hub
Welcome to our Health Play Services Hub!
The place for Health Play teams to get support, find resources, and hear the latest news from the world of play.
Box services
Our boxes are designed to use the power of play to help children and young people through scary treatments, long term conditions, and more.
Whether it’s providing an important distraction, or helping a child understand their treatment, our boxes help seriously ill children be themselves and feel less alone.
Our box services are going out in the next quarter of the year as follows:
January - Distraction Box Re-fills, Prep Box
February - Sensory, Baby, Distraction Box re-fills, Play Essentials
March - Distraction Box Re-fills, Prep Box, Play Well
Box applications close on the 14th of each month. For example, if you would like a Prep Box in March, you need to apply before the 14th of February.
Our baby boxes contain tools and resources to support the development through play of ages 0-3.
We've developed this selection of activities and interactive toys to support play professionals to build relationships with children and their families through play.
These boxes are due to be sent out in August, October and December 2023, and February 2024.
From stress balls to push poppers, groan tubes to maracas, our Sensory Boxes are designed to encourage children with additional needs to relax with fun, interactive toys, and games to support their individual needs.
This service is due to be sent out in August, November and December 2023, and February 2024.
Our Distraction Boxes are designed to provide healthcare professionals with a toolkit of resources to help distract and reassure children during procedures and in other stressful situations, including toys, games and puzzles, to help children feel less anxious before, during and after tests and treatments.
All the goodies inside help capture children’s attention, bring smiles to their faces, and help them believe they can cope. When you’re young and in a healthcare setting, that matters more than ever. Please note we’re currently only providing Distraction Box Refills.
Refills are due to be sent out in August, September, October and November 2023, and January, February and March 2024.
Our Play Well Box is focused on supporting young people aged 10+ and full of cosy, calming and restorative things that aim to help young people relax and engage, including puzzles, games and other activities.
This service is due to be sent out in December 2023 and March 2024.
Our Story Box is designed to encourage children aged 3+ to engage with immersive storytelling, in their own way. We have included different ways of engaging with the stories, including:
- An audio tool which brings stories to life for children
- Arts and crafts activities linked to the stories included in the box
- Activities which support children to become enthralled in the story, including dress up play.
We have a special edition September space story box currently being developed! Make sure and apply to maximise your chances of receiving a box full of space fun!
Play professionals frequently tell us that the bulk of their work can be centred around supporting children before, during, and after stressful procedures where children need some further understanding on what will be happening to them.
This box is due to be sent out in August, September and November 2023, and January and March 2024.
This box has been designed to provide the ‘must have’ resources on wards and in healthcare settings, including:
- Ways to enable children to personalise their bed space, e.g. fairy lights
- Reward charts
- Arts and crafts
This service will equip play professionals with the tools needed to make life in hospital more playful.
This service is due to be sent out in August, September and November 2023, and February 2024.
Meet our Health Play Team
Meet Keshia, Ellie, Lucy, and Lowri!
We’re working with partners in paediatric palliative care and hospitals to fund four health play professionals. They’re working in healthcare settings across the UK to help improve the play provision for children, boosting children’s mental health and mitigating the trauma of their journey.
Hear about their important work in our blog posts from Keisha and Ellie.
Resources for Health Play Professionals
Are you working with a child or young person who deserves a celebration or award? Use our free print off PDF certificates to show off their achievements with pride!
Use our free downloadable reward charts to keep track of whatever you like!
Play has a vital role in providing these children with that little bit of normality; whether it be for a day or months on end. As play staff, we are there to try make the hospital experience a positive one.
Other ways we help
There's more to Starlight than boxes (although we think they're pretty great!), we offer a variety of tools and equipment to meet the play needs of children of all ages in hospital, including our Sensory Voyager and RockinR Gaming Cart.
