Every comprehensive school and its partner primary schools have a named School Health Nurse. Our aim is to ensure that school aged children receive up to date information and advice to enable them to make informed lifestyle choices now and in the future and to be someone they can approach for support and advice whenever they need it.
Although we work closely with all the staff in school we are the school aged child’s nurse. We will discuss any problems and concerns about your physical, emotional or sexual health. Most of the time it will be confidential and we won’t need to discuss it with anybody else, but, if we do we will tell you first.
Our role is to keep healthy school aged children in good health for the future and ensure that children & young people with ongoing health needs are being supported.
We want to ensure all children achieve to the best of their ability during their school years and grow up to be as healthy and possible.
Our work in school includes weighing and measuring children in primary schools and giving vaccinations at certain ages in the comprehensive schools. We work closely with the teachers in all our schools and help to provide and organise lessons on things that can affect children’s health like smoking, alcohol, substance abuse, healthy eating, and sex and relationships education.
We are based in the community and work during school holidays as well so children & young people and their family and carers can contact us for information, advice and support throughout the year. We don’t work school hours either so you can contact us at our office after school has finished up to 5 o’clock on Monday to Friday.
As a lot of our time is spent in our schools you may need to leave a message on our office phone if you phone during school hours but we check our messages daily and one of us will contact you as soon as your message is picked up.