Happy Play Day from Sheffield Children’s

Play is a really important part of the care we provide here at Sheffield Children’s and every day of the year our Play team work together in creative and imaginative ways to provide therapeutic play for children and young people.

Play helps children and young people make sense of the world around them, helps to build resilience in challenging times, and best of all – it’s fun! Here at Sheffield Children’s we provide group sessions where children get creative with paints, colouring finger puppets, role-play opportunities and lots more, and we also provide one to one sessions with children and young people who are isolating or who might prefer quieter sensory experiences. Every day children and families use our play rooms, which are full of toys and books and all kinds of creative materials. Play also has a big role in helping us celebrate important times in the calendar year such as Eid, Christmas and lots more.

Kathryn Topham, Play Services Team Manager, said: “Our Play team is very special – they brighten people’s days and provide fun and distraction in what can sometimes be an unfamiliar world. We have lots of super talented team members who know so much about the power of play and it’s our pleasure to support the patients and families in the Trust.

“The theme for Play Day 2023 is ‘playing on a shoestring’ and our teams have been embracing this by providing lots of resourceful activities. Play does not need to be expensive and often comes from the children and their creative minds once you get started. At home, I recommend using lots of recycled goods to create models and play sets for your favourite toys.”

Play Specialists Kelly, Jane and Ashleigh and Outpatients Play Team Leader Donna are some of the members of the Play team who have been busy creating paper plate animals in Outpatients today.

Donna said: “The possibilities of a paper plate are endless! Today we’ve got children and young people making unicorns, seagulls, fish, snakes, llamas and foxes, and we’re really excited that we’ve installed our new play table in Outpatients today too. The table can be moved so that anyone who uses a wheelchair can easily slot into the table, and so that adults can lead sessions from the top of the table if they like. It’s been lovely to see so many children using the table today and we’re looking forward to lots more creative play in the future.”

Happy Play Day everyone – we hope that you can enjoy some fun today, wherever you are.