NHS Play Well Toolkit
The Play Well Toolkit has been co-produced by Starlight and NHS England as part of our shared mission to transform children’s health and care for the better.
Starlight and NHS England launched the toolkit in June 2025
...in collaboration with the Society of Health Play Specialists (SOHPS) and a taskforce of more than 60 health professionals and young people.
The Play Well Toolkit has three components:
- Guidelines for commissioning and designing health play services
- Recommended standards for health play services
- Quality checklist for health play services
Download the Play Well Toolkit
In the toolkit’s foreword, Starlight and NHS England say:
These documents will support system leaders and clinical staff to embed health play services as a core part of healthcare for all children, and help make the NHS as welcoming, gentle, and child-friendly as possible.
Delivering play as a core part of healthcare
Following these guidelines, adopting the recommended standards and using the quality checklist to drive improvement “is the way to make this ambition a reality: setting out how these services should be delivered as a core part of children’s healthcare”.
📧 For more information and to enquire about support for adopting and implementing the new guidelines and standards for health play services, please email [email protected]