NHS Play Well Toolkit
The Play Well toolkit
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.
New interactive checklist ✅
NHS Operational Delivery Networks have worked with Starlight and SoHPS (Society of Health Play Specialists) to produce an interactive dashboard for easier monitoring, as adapted from the Play Well checklist.
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”.
To enquire about support for adopting and implementing the guidelines and standards, please click the below
