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Starlight Children's Foundation

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Starlight Children's Foundation

Starlight is the national children’s charity that exists to champion the importance of play.
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Offical page for Starlight Children's Foundation in the UK.

06/10/2026

⏰ There's still time to secure your spot!

How can policy help put play at the heart of every child's healthcare experience?

This , we're supporting Society of Health Play Specialists' FREE webinar, From Policy to Play, bringing together experts in healthcare and therapeutic play to explore how we can build the workforce children need.

📅 Wednesday 7 October 2026
⏰ 12–1pm
💻 Online | FREE
🔗 https://ow.ly/ENTP50ZTvV0

⭐ Don't miss the conversation.

06/10/2026

Meet our Protector of Play 2026 – Alison Klufio!

As Matron for Integrated Paediatrics at the Royal London Hospital, Alison has spent her career championing children’s emotional wellbeing and making sure play is recognised as an essential part of healthcare. Barts Health NHS Trust

She has helped make trauma-informed procedural care training mandatory for staff, championed the expertise of Health Play Specialists and protected playrooms as safe spaces for children.

For Alison, play should be at the heart of every child’s hospital experience:

💬 “I want to see play at the forefront, as the foundation, and the backbone of every child and young person’s hospital stay.”

💚 Congratulations, Alison – our Protector of Play 2026.

Read Alison’s full story and discover more of our 2026 Health Play Award winners on the Starlight website – link in bio.

A massive thank you to Ryman for sponsoring these important awards.

05/10/2026

👑 The crown goes to Nicola Wright – our Mentor of the Year 2026!

For almost 20 years, Nicola has been helping children feel safer, more confident and more in control during healthcare at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust

Now, she’s also passing that experience on to the next generation. 💚

Her apprentice, Claire, nominated Nicola for the award, describing her as a “role model”, a mentor whose encouragement has helped Nicola grow in confidence, resilience and belief in herself.

For Nicola, it’s all about the small moments:

“I love this job – I love the little differences you can make that have a really big impact.”

✨ Congratulations, Nicola!

Read Nicola’s full story on the Starlight website:
https://ow.ly/eqxS50ZUtnF

A massive thank you to Ryman for sponsoring these important awards.

02/10/2026

🎉 Play in Healthcare Week is almost here!
Next week, we’ll be celebrating the incredible people who use play every day to transform children’s experiences of healthcare.

When Starlight was recently featured on ITV, Senior Health Play Specialist Lucy Dickinson, seen with Lisa Beaumont, Therapeutic and Specialised Play Manager, at Leeds Children's Hospital Leeds Children's Hospital showed what strong play provision can look like.
But unfortunately, not every child has access to this level of support.

That’s why Play in Healthcare Week is about celebrating brilliant practice and making the case for every child to have access to play as part of their healthcare.

And we can’t wait to introduce this year’s Starlight Health Play Awards winners next week. 🏆💫
📅 5–9 October

02/10/2026

👑 Before we meet this year’s Play in Healthcare Award winners, we’re looking back at our brilliant 2025 winners.

Last year’s winners showed just how much difference play can make – helping children feel safer, cope with treatment, build trust and have better healthcare experiences.

And next week, we’ll meet the people taking that work even further. 💚

Play in Healthcare Week returns 5–9 October, celebrating how play is improving outcomes and experiences for babies, children and young people in healthcare.

🎉 Want to join in? Get your FREE Play in Healthcare Week bunting and activity packs from our website https://www.starlight.org.uk/play-in-healthcare-week-2026

And keep your eyes peeled… 👀 We’ll be revealing four 2026 award winners and four runners-up throughout the week.

The crowns are coming back. 👑

01/10/2026

Calling all involved in Play in Healthcare!

A child’s experience of healthcare shouldn’t depend on whether their hospital has access to play. But right now, it can.

So what needs to change?

This , join -Society-of-Health-Play-Specialists for a FREE webinar bringing together experts in healthcare and therapeutic play to ask how we build the workforce children need.

⭐ From Policy to Play

✍️ Sign up now – don’t miss the conversation

📅 Wednesday 7 October 2026 ⏰ 12–1pm

💻 Online | FREE

🔗 https://ow.ly/ENTP50ZTvV0

25/09/2026

2 hospitals. 28 miles. One challenge. On foot. Voluntarily. 😳🥾

Someone at Core4 Solutions apparently looked at the distance between Scunthorpe and Grimsby and thought: “Yeah. Let’s walk that.” So today, that’s exactly what they’re doing.

The team are swapping construction sites for walking boots and taking on their Steel to Sea challenge – walking all 28 miles from Scunthorpe General Hospital to Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby.

Why those two hospitals? Core4 know them rather well, having recently worked on major window upgrades at both. And now they’re going the extra mile – all 28 of them. 😅

And why are they choosing to do this? To raise money for Starlight and help make sure more children don’t go through unnecessary trauma when facing scary treatments and can experience the power of play. 💛

Team Core4: We are cheering you on, and we salute you all, your walking boots and, in advance, your poor feet. 🫡🥾 GO GO GO!

24/09/2026

They came to play. And they raised more than £21,000 while they were at it. ⛳💛

Another incredible annual golf day from Raymond and the team – bringing people together for a brilliant day and raising an amazing amount for Starlight.

More than £21,000 means more opportunities to make play possible for children in healthcare – helping make frightening, painful treatments feel that little bit more bearable.

A huge round of applause for Raymond, Alliance and every person who played, donated and helped make the day such a success. 👏⛳

And Raymond isn’t stopping there. Next year he’s swapping the golf course for the Sahara, taking on a 100km trek with Starlight. 🥾🌵

From 18 holes to 100km of desert… that’s quite the next round. 😉

Thank you Raymond and everyone at Alliance for continuing to make play matter. 💛

Address

The Ark, 201 Talgarth Road
London
W68BJ

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.starlight.org.uk/

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