Work to improve children’s mental health, emotional well-being, learning capabilities and social relationships.
Apprentices learn to deliver therapeutic play sessions for children experiencing mental health difficulties, emotional distress, behavioural challenges, and trauma. The programme covers the Integrative Holistic Model of Play Therapy, child development and attachment theory, neurobiology, and safeguarding legislation. Apprentices gain skills in clinical assessment using tools such as the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, managing a therapeutic play space, and working with both individual children and groups. Practice is governed by the Professional Standards Authority Accredited Register managed by Play Therapy UK.
A typical week involves planning and delivering one-to-one or group play therapy sessions using media such as sand trays, clay, puppets, role play, therapeutic storytelling, and creative arts. Apprentices assess each child's presenting behaviour at the start of sessions and adapt their approach accordingly, following indirect or direct modalities as appropriate. They also manage consultation and consent processes with parents or carers, write clinical notes and outcome reports, attend clinical supervision, liaise with schools or social care professionals, and respond to safeguarding disclosures in line with legislation.
Completing this apprenticeship leads to registration as an accredited or certified play therapist on the PSA Register. Graduates typically work in primary schools, early years settings, CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), local authority children's services, or voluntary sector organisations. With experience, progression routes include senior therapeutic practitioner roles, clinical supervision of other therapists, and specialist work with particular presenting conditions such as trauma or attachment disorders. Independent private practice is also a common route for experienced practitioners.
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Graduates typically enter practice as an Accredited Play Therapist or Registered Play Therapist, working directly with children presenting with trauma, anxiety, attachment difficulties, bereavement, and behavioural challenges. Day-to-day responsibilities include conducting clinical assessments using tools such as the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, delivering individual and group play therapy sessions, maintaining clinical records, and liaising with parents, carers, and multi-agency professionals to support each child's welfare.
With several years of post-qualification practice, therapists commonly move into senior or lead clinical roles, taking on responsibility for caseload oversight, service development, or supervision of trainee therapists. Those drawn to specialist practice may deepen expertise in particular presenting conditions, such as trauma or neurodevelopmental difficulties. A parallel track leads into clinical supervision, training delivery, or research, including academic roles contributing to the evidence base for children's mental health interventions. Some practitioners establish independent private practices alongside employed roles.
Qualified practitioners are employed across primary schools, multi-academy trusts, early years centres, and Sure Start-type services. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) within NHS trusts, local authority children's services, and voluntary sector organisations working with vulnerable children all hire for this role. Private practice is a recognised route, particularly for those working with referrals from schools or GP surgeries. Demand spans both urban and rural settings across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Throughout the apprenticeship, learning takes place alongside paid employment in a relevant setting such as a school, early years centre, or children's mental health service. The apprentice builds knowledge, skills and behaviours across clinical practice, child development theory, safeguarding, and professional conduct. Before moving to final assessment, a readiness check (the gateway) confirms the apprentice and employer are satisfied that the required competence has been developed. Final assessment then confirms whether the apprentice can perform the role to the standard required. Assessment models for many Level 7 standards are currently being updated, so check the standard's gov.uk page for the current specification.
Keeping thorough records throughout the apprenticeship makes final assessment significantly more straightforward. That means documenting clinical sessions, supervision records, reflective practice, case work and any continuing professional development as they happen, not retrospectively. Apprentices should work closely with their employer and training provider to understand what evidence is expected, and revisit their progress regularly against the knowledge, skills and behaviour requirements. Given the clinical nature of this work, maintaining clear and accurate records is also a professional requirement, not just an assessment one.
Providers worth serious consideration will hold a strong achievement rate on FATP, ideally above 75%, given the clinical complexity of this standard and the 36-month duration. Look for providers with direct links to Play Therapy UK and whose programme maps explicitly to the PSA Accredited Register requirements, since completion needs to support a path to accreditation. Clinical supervision arrangements should be clearly described, not mentioned as an afterthought. Apprentice satisfaction scores matter here: therapeutic training is personal and relational, and low scores can signal poor pastoral or supervisory support. Check that the provider employs tutors with active or recent play therapy practice.
Be cautious of providers who cannot clearly explain how clinical supervision hours are structured alongside off-the-job training, since supervision is a professional requirement rather than optional support. A high volume of enrolled apprentices alongside a declining achievement rate warrants scrutiny at this level. Vague descriptions of the playroom or play space available for practical training, or no mention of the range of therapeutic media specified in the standard (sand trays, puppets, clay, creative arts materials), suggest limited practical infrastructure. Providers who cannot point to graduates working in accredited or registered roles should be pressed hard on outcomes.
Employers set their own entry requirements, but candidates typically hold a relevant degree or equivalent professional experience in education, social care, health, or a related field. Because the work involves direct therapeutic contact with children, employers will also require an enhanced DBS check. The apprentice must be in a suitable employed role where they can practise play therapy with children throughout the programme.
The typical duration is 36 months. The apprentice remains employed throughout, applying skills directly with children in their workplace. Learning is split between on-the-job practice and off-the-job training such as academic study and supervision. Assessment methods and time requirements are subject to revision under current Skills England reforms, so check the current funding rules and standard specification on the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) page for up-to-date figures.
Before reaching end-point assessment, the apprentice must pass through a gateway, demonstrating they have met the knowledge, skills, and behaviours set out in the standard and are ready to be assessed as competent. Assessment models for many standards are being updated, so the specific methods, such as portfolio, professional discussion, or observed practice, should be confirmed against the current specification on gov.uk. The apprentice must show they can practise safely and ethically as a play therapist.
The funding band for this standard is £20,000, which is the maximum government contribution toward training and assessment costs. Levy-paying employers draw this from their digital apprenticeship service account. Non-levy employers, typically SMEs, pay a 5% co-investment contribution, with the government covering the rest. Employers taking on an apprentice aged 16 to 18 pay nothing if they have fewer than 50 employees. Any costs above the funding band cap are met by the employer directly.
The apprentice conducts individual and group play therapy sessions with children experiencing mental health, emotional, or behavioural difficulties, using media such as sand trays, clay, puppets, role play, and therapeutic stories. They carry out clinical assessments using tools like the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, write session notes and outcome reports, liaise with parents, carers, and other professionals, attend regular clinical supervision, and work within safeguarding legislation and the PSA register requirements managed by Play Therapy UK.
Completers are eligible for accreditation or certification on the Professional Standards Authority accredited register managed by Play Therapy UK, opening roles such as accredited play therapist or certified play therapist. From there, practitioners can work across schools, CAMHS, voluntary organisations, and private practice, take on supervisory or consultancy responsibilities, or pursue further postgraduate study and continuing professional development in child psychotherapy or related therapeutic disciplines.
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Curated by Alex Lockey, FATP founder and editor. Last reviewed: .
Sources include the apprenticeship's official specification on apprenticeships.gov.uk, Skills England guidance, IfATE archive records, DWP funding bands, and provider data sourced directly from the public Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register (APAR). Standard reference: 635.
Some sections on this page were drafted with AI assistance from published source data and reviewed by a human editor before publication. See our editorial methodology for how we maintain this content. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.