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children

Why support for children matters more than ever

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Play in healthcare: why support for children matters more than ever
Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive

As we mark Play in Healthcare Week (5–9 October 2026), the recent Guardian report highlighting the chronic shortage of health play professionals across English hospitals is an important reminder of just how much pressure hospital play teams are under. An analysis from the charity Starlight shows that there are around 820 health play professionals supporting almost 17 million child hospital admissions in England – highlighting just how stretched many hospital play teams are.

At Spread a Smile, we see and recognise these pressures every day. We know how much children and families rely on play teams to help make hospital feel less frightening, more familiar and more manageable. When those teams are stretched, the need for our support is greater than ever.

This is why the work we do at Spread a Smile is so important. We work hard to build strong relationships with play teams and healthcare professionals across our 39 NHS hospital partners, understanding what they need and finding ways in which our support can help them in their day-to-day jobs.

Our role is not to replace health play professionals – their expertise is vital. Instead, we help create the moments of joy, distraction, connection and creativity that can help children get to a place where play teams and clinical staff can do their jobs most effectively. When a child is anxious, frightened or overwhelmed, sometimes the first step is simply helping them to relax, smile and engage.

Through visits from our entertainers, musicians, artists, magicians and therapy dogs, alongside creative activities and family support initiatives, we bring opportunities for children to play, connect and simply be themselves during some of the most difficult days of their lives.

We see first-hand how much this matters. A bedside visit from a magician can give a child something positive to focus on. Music can encourage a teenager to express themselves. An art activity can provide an outlet during a difficult period of treatment. A therapy dog can offer comfort and connection when a child is feeling isolated or even encourage them to get out of bed for much-needed physio.

These moments might seem small, but they can make a significant difference to how a child experiences hospital. They can also make an enormous difference to the whole family. Seeing their child smile, relax and become more accepting of treatment can help parents and siblings cope with what can be an incredibly difficult and frightening experience.

The Guardian report is an important reminder that play and emotional wellbeing cannot be treated as an optional extra in children’s healthcare. Health play teams do extraordinary work, often under significant pressure, and they need the resources and recognition to do that work properly.

At Spread a Smile, we believe emotional wellbeing should be an integral part of every child’s experience of healthcare. Children in hospital need more than excellent clinical care. They need to feel safe, understood and able to be themselves. They need opportunities for play, creativity, connection and joy – and their families need support too.

That is why our work matters, and why, as pressure on hospital play services continues, our support is more important than ever.

To mark Play in Healthcare Week, we are delivering a record number of visits – 29 visits across 18 hospitals, with additional activities designed to encourage play, creativity and connection. This includes a special event at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, bringing together our North West entertainers, as part of our growing presence in the region.

 

Sources

  • NHS England & Starlight Play Well Toolkit (published June 2025). [england.nhs.uk]
  • Guardian report on health play staffing shortages (17 September 2026), based on Starlight FOI analysis

John Radcliffe expansion

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Spread a Smile is delighted to be expanding delivery of our services across children’s wards at Oxford Children’s Hospital (John Radcliffe site), part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Spread a Smile has been supporting seriously ill children and young people receiving treatment at the hospital since 2024, making monthly in-person entertainer visits alongside providing a range of virtual services. Thanks to the support from Oxford Hospitals Charity, the number of visits is being doubled. The funding from Oxford Hospitals Charity will help ensure that Spread a Smile reaches every patient that could benefit from their services across, children’s in-patients and out-patients.

Kelly Osborne, whose 12-year-old son Jenson spent three months in hospital following gastro surgery, praised the support, saying: “It’s amazing seeing him so happy. Jenson is a long-term patient, so for him having these sessions is really important – they make his week!

“It’s good to have someone non-medical who isn’t doing a procedure, just having fun with him. After the sessions have taken place he tells everyone about them. He just loves them.

“I’m so appreciative for this extra support from the charities, it really makes such a difference to families like ours. It’s amazing.”

Sarah Vaccari from Oxford Hospitals Charity said: “It was wonderful to see Jenson’s delight at the Disney songs and bubble play, so skillfully provided by Laura and Kerry from the Spread a Smile Team!

“Our charity team is thrilled that thanks to our kind supporters and the talents of Spread a Smile, we have been able to fund these extra sessions to bring more joy into the Oxford Children’s Hospital. Fun and laughter in hospital is so important and has such a positive impact on our young patients and their families. It’s just wonderful to see.”

Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive said: “Spread a Smile is committed to supporting as many seriously ill children, young people and their families as possible across the country. Through our entertainer visits, family outings and events and art initiatives, it is our mission to make sure that all of the families we support have a chance to smile, laugh and have fun. We are extremely grateful to our friends from the Oxford Hospitals Charity for helping to take us one step closer to achieving our aims of delivering regular in-person entertainer visits to all 28 specialist children’s hospitals in the UK by 2035.”

Jo Pinney, Health Play Specialist Team Manager at John Radcliffe Hospital added: “We are so grateful to Spread a Smile for the energy, kindness and creativity they bring to our wards. These sessions offer children a chance to simply be children again, and that impact is felt by their families and staff alike.”

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Summer Party 2025: What an amazing day

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On Thursday 24 July, Spread a Smile once again hosted our wonderful Summer Party, this year sponsored by our friends from BC Partners and held at Coram’s Fields in London.

It was an incredible day, filled with fun, joy and laughter and we welcomed 751 children, young people and family members supported by Spread a Smile, along and colleagues from our NHS hospital partners for a day full of exciting activities, performances and treats. To ensure that our VIP guests felt as comfortable and as special as possible, the day consisted of a morning and an afternoon party, enabling us to share the fun with even more of the families we support.

“I just wanted to say a huge thank you for all the effort and hard work that obviously went in to arranging the Summer Party today. We had an absolutely wonderful time and are incredibly grateful to have been able to join you. There were such fantastic activities to get stuck into. Thank you for all that you do and for finding such brilliant ways to spread a smile!” Tasha and Darcey

The Spread a Smile team once again went all out to put on our best party yet, with over 150 brilliant volunteers giving up their time to help run a range of different stalls and activities including arts and crafts, face painting, glitter tattoos, a sensory area, mini golf, animal petting with Anna’s Animals, and a pop-up arcade. Our friends at the LEGO Group brought plenty of LEGO for the children to make their own creations, and Hasbro also brought their team and an interactive games and Play-Doh station. Guests also enjoyed making their own gorgeous flower crowns with Freddie’s Flowers, and there were plenty of delicious treats on the go from our friends from Pan-n-Ice, Mildreds, Lola’s Cupcakes and the Wandering Pizza Company.

As always, Spread a Smile’s incredible team of entertainers filled the day with music, singing, dancing, bubbles, magic, poetry and so much more. Our therapy dogs Harry and Thomas, along with owners Tara and Olivia, were also there to join in the fun, meeting lots of new and familiar friends, including Mickey and Minne Mouse, Stitch, Spiderman, Elsa, Mummy Pig and the new baby Evie.

“Thank you for hosting the most incredible Summer Party. We’ve left with our hearts full and bubba has the biggest smile on her face. She was so excited to share her day with her grandparents when we got home. I haven’t seen her this excited in a while. You guys are real life superheroes!” Mum, Kheelna

We are extremely proud to be able to deliver such special days out for seriously ill children and their families to enjoy. The Summer Party is always full of so much happiness and joy, and a wonderful opportunity for our guests to relax and unwind and enjoy seeing their children have a fantastic and stress-free day out.

“Thank you, Spread a Smile for a wonderful morning. You are all truly incredible! We feel so lucky to be supported by you and for the smiles you are forever giving Polly.” Mum, Lauren

We are extremely grateful to all our wonderful volunteers for giving up their time to make the day possible. A special thanks to our friends from BC Partners for sponsoring the event and Children with Cancer UK for their ongoing support. Also, to the brilliant companies and supporters who donated supplies, gifts, food and drink to help us provide the best experience possible: Child’s Farm, Coconut Lane, Derwent Art, Goppus, Hasbro, Keel Toys, Kidjo, Putt Party, Super Sparrow, Swizzels and YETI.

“I just wanted to say thank you for having us as volunteers at today’s party, I thought both went amazingly and not even the rain could have dampened the vibes and how much the families were enjoying themselves, it was truly such a joy to have been able to soak it all up. You guys make such positive impact and every family I spoke to were hugely complimentary about the work spread a smile do.”

Thank you as always to the Spread a Smile team and all our amazing families for joining us and making our Summer Party 2025 a triumph – we can’t wait for the next one.

To help ensure we can continue to spread smiles to seriously ill children and young people, please donate here. Thank you.

 

 

Watch our Spread a Smile Summer Party 2025 film here…

Our 2025 Winter Party

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On Saturday 18 January we kicked off 2025 in style with an amazing Winter Party at St Mary’s Marylebone London.

It was an incredible day which saw us welcome nearly 500 of the children and young people we support including their families.

Held over two floors, this very special family event was packed full of different stalls and activities for our VIP guests to enjoy, run by the Spread a Smile team and over 70 brilliant volunteers.  There was something for everyone including gingerbread biscuit decorating, nail art, face painting, glitter tattoos, friendship bracelet making, arts and crafts, LEGO, plant pot decorating and more.

“We had the BEST time at the Winter Party – thank you so much Spread a Smile! Jacob and Kaitlin had so much fun and the staff and all the volunteers were so nice. Marina as always did the most amazing face painting and Jacob couldn’t wait to see Tasha and Nick again. We had a fantastic day and met some new lovely families there and the children loved the goodies they came home with. They were spoilt with things to make and do. Thank you all so much.” Lucy, Mum to Jacob and Kaitlin

We were joined by All About Anna’s Animals who brought along some gorgeous animals to hold and learn more about including a snake, tortoise and tarantula. Guests also enjoyed fun on our bumper cars, making flower crowns with our friends from Freddie’s Flowers, slime with Slime Planet, a Formula 1 driving experience from 4-Events, a Silent Disco thanks to the Silent Disco Company and a cool 360 video booth from Choclato.

Our brilliant team of Spread a Smile entertainers joined us to fill the day with music, singing, dancing, bubbles, magic, poetry and much more. Guests also enjoyed the world premiere of the first ever Spread a Smile pantomime. (Oh yes they did!)  Elsa from Frozen welcomed children to the stage for a dance and a sing-a-long and our Therapy Dogs Thomas and Smartie loved meeting guests.

To keep everyone going, we put on food and treats galore, including Sushi rolls from SushiDog, delicious pizzas from Wandering Pizza Company, sweet treats from Funshine Candy Floss and yummy cupcakes and treats from our friends at Lola’s Cupcake and Mildreds. We also made sure parents and carers were given a special self-care moment with hand massages, aromatherapy plus hairdressing by Elle and Karen Clancy.

We are extremely proud to deliver days such as this for the families we support and it was lovely to see so many of them relaxing and meeting the team and other families. We were also delighted to welcome some of our Trustees to share in the magic of this very special day.

Thank you to our friends from Constellia and Children with Cancer UK for generously supported this event. Also, to our wonderful volunteers for giving up their time to make the day possible and those who donated supplies, food and drink. Shout out to C. Hoare & Co, Hain Daniels, Hasbro, Lola’s Cupcakes, LMAC Group, Mildreds, Peel Hunt, Redstor, Sidekick Management, the LEGO Group and XTX Markets.

Thank you to all of our friends, families and colleagues for joining us and making our Winter Party 2025 one to remember. Watch this space for details of our Summer Party.

To help ensure we can continue to spread smiles to seriously ill children and young people, please donate here. Thank you.

If you would like to find out about attending our family events in the future, please register for our services and sign up to receive our Family Newsletter here.

Smile with us for World Smile Day 2024

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For us, every day is a Smile Day with our entertainers doing all they can to spread smiles and laughter to seriously ill children and young people in hospital.

This year, World Smile Day takes place on Friday 4 October and we’d love it if you will join us to help spread even more smiles far and wide.

By donating just £30, you’ll help fund a bedside visit by one of our amazing entertainers to a seriously ill child in hospital.

Or why not be inspired by one of our other support ideas below…

  • Buy a Christmas gift from our Amazon wish lists – Help us send out over 12,000 Christmas gifts through our hospital deliveries and festive Smile Hampers for unwell children and their siblings. Buy your gift from our Amazon Wish lists for babies and toddlers, sensory items, and teenagers.
  • Smile and fundraise with friends – get together with friends for coffee or lunch, share some smiles and collect a few ££ from everyone to support our work. Find motivation by watching our new ‘About us’ film here.
  • Get your company smiling – by donating as a company, offering gifts in kind for our Christmas Smile Hampers, or bringing colleagues together for your own fundraising ‘Smile Day’ on a day that suits you. Whatever you do will make a huge difference to the families we support.
  • Be social and share your smile – We love seeing pictures of you and your little ones doing something that makes you smile. Share yours on your social media and tag us to make us smile! Find us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn and X.

We hope you’ll join us for World Smile Day to celebrate Spread a Smile and everything that we stand for.

Please do reach out to the team for any support or help with your ideas – we’d love to hear from you.

Visit to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children

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Spread a Smile has been supporting the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children for a few years through virtual sessions and treat drops, and it’s always very special when we visit the hospital in person.

Last month, a team of Spread a Smile entertainers along with our Director of Services Laura Walter and Marina our Head of Art, made the trip to Bristol. They visited and provided bespoke entertainment to many children and young people across six wards and ended the day at the hospital’s Activity Centre with the Centre’s Play Assistant Daisy saying:

“Spread a Smile instantly engaged the children in the Activity Centre through song, sparkles, bubbles and magic! They came in with infectious energy and got down on the children’s level straight away. The parents and myself were just as engaged as the children!”

Laura from Spread a Smile added, “It’s important for us to reach as many children and young people across our hospital partners as possible – visiting in person where we can to provide much needed distraction, entertainment and joy during some of the most difficult times. It was wonderful to be able to spend so much time, not only with the children and young people across the wards, but also with the brilliant Play Team at the hospital who already do so much for the children under their care. We are looking forward to making a return visit soon.”

Bristol Royal Hospital for Children is one of 32 NHS hospitals and five hospices supported by Spread a Smile, receiving support for seriously ill children and young people under their care through in-person and virtual entertainer visits and group sessions, seasonal activities, treat drops and more.

To find out more about Spread a Smile’s work, click here.

Constellia new partnership

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We are delighted to announce a new partnership with Constellia, a leading procurement specialist for the public and private sector in the UK.

As a procurement partner to the NHS and the wider public sector, Constellia understands the enormous pressures the NHS faces daily when it comes to time and resources to deliver lifesaving work. By choosing Spread a Smile as its nominated charity of the year for 2024, Constellia hopes it can in some small way help Spread a Smile to bring precious moments of joy to seriously ill children, teenagers and their families.

The partnership will include volunteering opportunities, financial contributions and providing us with a platform to showcase our work to Constellia’s dynamic marketplace of suppliers and clients.

To kick off the partnership, Constellia’s team joined forces with Spread a Smile and their social value partners at whatimpact.com for a heartwarming day of packing “Smile Hampers.” These hampers, filled with handpicked gifts and treats, are intended for the homes of some of the incredible children and young people supported by Spread a Smile, as well as their siblings. This collaborative effort was part of Spread a Smile’s annual campaign, which this year saw 1,450 boxes sent out to the families we support. The campaign achieved remarkable success, with the joint efforts of 530 volunteers from all over the UK.

Rob Levene, CEO of Constellia, commented, “At Constellia, we are passionate about making a positive social impact, and Spread a Smile’s incredible work aligns perfectly with our values. We are honoured to support them as our nominated charity of the year and look forward to contributing to their mission of bringing smiles to children and teenagers facing challenging times.”

Lucy Jackson, CEO of Spread a Smile, commented, “We are thrilled to have Constellia as a charity partner. Their commitment to helping children and young people facing illness is heartwarming, and their support will enable us to continue bringing happiness and laughter to those who need it most.”

A huge thank you to Constellia for their support.

Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice partnership

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Spread a Smile today announces its newest supported charity, Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service, based in Maidenhead, Alexander Devine offers vital care to babies, children, young people and their families with life limiting and life-threatening conditions across Berkshire and into surrounding counties.

Spread a Smile will provide additional opportunities to the children and their families, with in person visits throughout the year at family events, treat drops and bespoke art sessions.

Spread a Smile’s mission is to bring joy and laughter to as many seriously ill children as possible in NHS hospitals, clinical settings, hospices and homes across the UK.  Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service joins 3 other hospices, and 31 major and speciality NHS hospitals already supported by Spread a Smile, taking the charity one step closer to its aim, to spread smiles across the whole of the UK.

The Spread a Smile team of talented entertainers, including musicians, artists, magicians and therapy dogs, will spend quality time with patients at family events where the Spread a Smile family will invite them to join in one-to-one sessions and group activities, with the aim of spreading smiles and happiness to children undergoing treatment for serious illness, alongside their families.

Children and young people at Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service will also be able to sign up for seasonal Spread a Smile activities such as Christmas eventsenjoy entertainer visits scheduled throughout the year, all giving children and their families the opportunity to join in with fun and exciting experiences.

Gemma Wood, Play Specialist at Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service said “Spread a Smile has lived up to their name with the support they have given to us. Laura, their Director of Services reached out to us earlier in the year to offer their skills and experience to us. Spread a Smile helped to provide entertainment for our siblings day. This enabled our cared for children and their siblings to experience fun and joy together, helping the families make precious memories together.

“Marina, their Head of Art has provided some amazing artwork in our dining room which is in view when you enter our hospice. This has brought a smile to our families and staff faces as it lights up the entire area. Thank you Spread a Smile.” 

Laura Walter, Spread a Smile Director of Services added, “We are delighted to be working with Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service and their wonderful team to help bring a little joy and laughter to the children and families. It’s a very special place and we are proud to be able to share the Spread a Smile magic and reach even more children and young people in the hospice setting.”

A huge thank you to everyone who makes our work possible. Please click here for more on the different NHS hospital and hospice partners that we support.

Children with Cancer UK partnership

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Spread a Smile is delighted to announce an exciting new partnership with the charity Children with Cancer UK, to help improve the wellbeing of seriously ill and hospitalised children and their siblings and family members through entertainment and events.

Children with Cancer UK will be helping fund Spread a Smile’s in-person and virtual entertainer visits to seriously ill children and young people with cancer in NHS Hospitals. They will also be supporting our summer and winter parties and an annual event for families who have lost a child.

Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive said of the partnership, “We are extremely grateful to Children with Cancer UK for supporting our vital work bringing joy and happiness to seriously ill children across the country.

“The Spread a Smile team of talented entertainers, including musicians, artists, magicians, singers and therapy dogs, currently supports 31 NHS hospitals and three hospice partners. Thanks to our partnership, we’ll be able to reach even more vulnerable patients and their families during some of the most difficult times of their lives.

“We are very much looking forward to working closely with the Children with Cancer UK team.”

Jo Elvin, CEO of Children with Cancer UK said: “’We are delighted to be partnering with Spread a Smile. The support they provide to children, parents and siblings whilst they are going through the unimaginable is incredibly inspiring.

“To bring smiles to the families, even on their darkest days, and support their wellbeing is a core value of Children with Cancer UK and we look forward to working together to bring more happiness to those in need.“

The partnership will launch officially on 1 November and will see Children with Cancer UK funding in-person entertainer visits to a number of Spread a Smile partner hospitals as well as virtual entertainer and art visits to children who are in hospital and at home.

Children with Cancer UK will be able to support Spread a Smile in their growth with the aim to increase their number of partners to 38 by the end of the 2023/24, then to 50 by the end of 2024/25. Currently around 50% of the children and young people Spread a Smile support are oncology patients.

Families supported by Children with Cancer UK will be included in Spread a Smile’s Christmas ‘Smile Hamper’ initiative, which sees seriously ill children and their siblings receive personalised gift boxes, delivered to them at home or in hospital and will be invited to meet Father Christmas in Spread a Smile’s virtual Santa’s Grotto. Families will also be invited to Spread a Smile’s annual Winter Party, on 13 January 2024 in Central London and beyond that, Spread a Smile very much looks forward to welcoming children supported by Children with Cancer to other family events including theatre trips and tea parties.

Spread a Smile partners with Kingston Hospital

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Spread a Smile today announces its latest hospital partner, Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, based in South West London, which provides a full range of diagnostic services and treatment services. Their Paediatrics departments care for around 5,000 children and young people every year, including 2,000 inpatients. These patients, along with their families are invited to join the Spread a Smile family and benefit from their services.

Spread a Smile’s mission is to bring joy and laughter to as many seriously ill children as possible in NHS hospitals, clinical settings, hospices and homes across the UK. Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust joins 27 other major and speciality NHS hospitals and three hospice partners already supported by Spread a Smile, taking the charity one step closer to its aim.

The Spread a Smile team of talented entertainers, including musicians, artists, magicians and therapy dogs, will spend quality time with patients in hospital through one-to-one visits and group sessions. Patients and their families will also be able to access virtual online events and activity sessions via iPads, including art clubs, balloon modelling, music lessons and more, enabling the charity to see and support as many people as possible. All with the aim of spreading hundreds of smiles and a lot of happiness to children undergoing treatment for serious illness and their families.

Children at Kingston Hospital will be able to join special themed virtual activity days celebrating seasonal occasions such as Christmas, with a virtual Santa’s grotto, benefit from regular treat drops and entertainer visits scheduled throughout the year, all giving seriously ill children and their families the opportunity to join in with fun and exciting experiences that they may otherwise not have access to.

Julie Morris, Play Specialist, Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said, “We are so excited to be working with Spread a Smile at Kingston Hospital. They are such an amazing charity and we are so happy to have them visit us on a monthly basis. The first visit, which took place in September, was truly magical and all the children and parents were so happy, and had so much fun! We had LEGO building activities, stories and a beautiful music session which was so calming and the children enjoyed requesting songs and singing along. 

“The children and parents will benefit from the monthly visits, as it  will really cheer them up and help them have a happy, positive experience in hospital, even in the toughest of times. Being in hospital for long periods of time can be so difficult for everyone, so the visits will make a huge difference to long term patients. Thank you so much Spread a Smile, you really do spread happiness!”

Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive added, “Spread a Smile’s aim is to bring joy and happiness into the lives of as many seriously ill children, young people and their families across the country as possible. We are delighted to be working in partnership with the brilliant team at Kingston Hospital to deliver entertainment, laughter and bring the Spread a Smile magic to patients, families and staff alike.”

To find out more about our working supporting hospitals and hospices across the country, please read on here.

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