Health Play Specialist Apprenticeship

Program Overview

This two-year Health Play Specialist program combines theoretical knowledge with practical experience through Work-Based Learning. Students explore play and recreation in healthcare, child development, and healthcare leadership. Assessment includes academic assignments and occupational standards assessments, and graduates can pursue careers in hospitals, child development centers, and other healthcare settings.

Program Outline

Outline:

Year One

• Developing Reflective Practice: This module focuses on the developmental journey of a Health Play Specialist, drawing upon practice experiences through Work-Based Learning.
• Evidence-Based Practice in Healthcare: This module teaches skills in investigating therapeutic play and recreation in healthcare, including the appropriateness of different activities and resources.
• Play and Recreation for Healthcare: This module provides a theoretical perspective on play and recreation, exploring its historical development in hospitals and its valuable role in healthcare settings.
• The Developing Child: This module focuses on the stages of child development, including cognitive development, psycho-social and emotional theories, mental health, and the interaction between the environment and a child's development.

Year Two

• Healthcare Leadership and Management: This module explores leadership in the Health Play Specialist role, covering management theory and models, organizational structures and culture, leadership styles, change management, effective communication, information management, decision making, and problem solving.
It also explores emotional wellbeing, emotional intelligence, and providing emotional and psychosocial support.
• The Child in Society: This module examines key themes such as socialization, social influences on children, the construction of childhood, and its changes over time and across cultures.
It also investigates government interventions to address societal issues affecting children, including poverty, deprivation, and educational support.
• The Health of Children and Young People: This module covers basic concepts of anatomy, physiology, and common interventions used in the management of various childhood and adolescent conditions.
It also emphasizes health promotion and adopting healthy lifestyles.
• The Reflective Healthcare Practitioner: This module draws upon practice experiences through Work-Based Learning, extending opportunities for engagement with the "macro" impact of the professional role.

Assessment:

Students are assessed through a combination of academic assignments and occupational standards assessments. Coursework assignments include presentations, essays, exams, case studies, practical assessments, and reflective accounts. Apprentices also undergo an end-point assessment within three months of completing the course.

Teaching:

The program is delivered through a combination of directed learning, collaborative learning, and guided learning. Students also utilize the University's online learning platform, Solent Online Learning (SOL).

Careers:

Many health play specialists work in hospitals, but others are employed in child development centers, hospices, or within community pediatric teams. With experience, individuals can progress to team leader or team manager roles. They can also train in other healthcare professions, such as nursing or occupational therapy.

Other:

• The program is funded by businesses with an annual payroll above £3 million.
• Non-levy paying employers and businesses that need to supplement their digital levy account will need to co-invest 5% of the cost of the training, with the government paying the remaining 95%.
• Small businesses (<50 employees) will receive 100% of the funding if the apprentice is 16-18 years old or is between 19-24 and has a local authority education, health, and care plan (EHC plan).
• Apprentices pay nothing towards their course fees, which are covered by their employer.
• Students are required to pay a one-off indexation fee to the Healthcare Play Specialist Education Trust (HPSET).
• One uniform is provided, but additional uniforms can be purchased for around £30.