Each of our School Nursing teams is made up of qualified school nurses, staff nurses, family health workers and health care support workers who work together as part of 0-19 Family Health services across the Wakefield district.

School nurses are registered nurses who have successfully completed specialist training in the health of children and young people. They  provide health advice and a range of services to support children, young people and families of school age. The team has knowledge and skills in many areas including nutrition, healthy lifestyles and mental health. We deliver sessions in schools or work directly with a child or young person.

What services do school nurses provide?

We can provide a range of support, for example where children or young people have anxiety or concerns around their own health, or if concerns are raised in assessment and referral to other services.  We work with a range of different people like the school, GP, or other health and social care professionals.

Where needed and in agreement with a child or young person and their parents or carers (depending on their age), we can make a plan of care which may include school, signposting to information for you or completing a referral.

In the high schools across Wakefield there are also Healthy Young People (HYP) clinics. These are run on a weekly basis. The children and young people can access the clinics themselves by ‘dropping in’ or referral can be made by schools/parents/carers.

The type of support our school nursing teams offer includes:

• Providing you with health advice and support.
• Encouraging and enabling you to adopt a healthy lifestyle to protect you against disease.
• Assessing the mental health needs of children and young people and providing advice and referring to specialist services as required.
• Promoting your confidence, self-esteem and mental health well-being.
• Providing information on a range of health related issues such as diet and healthy eating,   bullying, stopping smoking, sexual health and contraception, special needs and emotional or behavioural problems.
• Protecting you from preventable diseases by immunisations.
• Providing support for young carers.
• Working with families and schools to deliver the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP).
• Safeguarding children.
• Assessing your individual needs, offering health advice and making referrals to other services if necessary.
• Training and support to school staff so that they can help children and young people who may need medication during the school day such as Asthma inhalers and Epipens.
• Planning, developing and delivering public health programmes relevant to the needs of children and families within Wakefield.

When do we contact you?

The school nursing service has contact with children, young people and families at different stages. This may be a routine assessment of health needs or to provide additional support when needed.

The team also provides health information in schools to class groups or individuals and the school nursing immunisation team works in schools as part of the national immunisation programme. Health promotion classes that a delivered routinely in infant and junior schools  are Hand Hygiene, Dental Health, Sun Safety, Healthy Lifestyles and Growing up/Body Changes.

How can you access the service?

We have contact at various set times with children, young people and families and are currently working towards more routine health needs assessments being completed electronically. You can see your school nurse at your school, but if required we will see children and young people at their homes or other community settings.

You will be sent more information about this when it is needed, including consent arrangements. In addition, we may have contact when other needs arise.

If you would like to talk to the team including the immunisation team, please contact us.

We are available between 9.00am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday not including bank holidays. If you need help outside these hours, you should contact the local service that usually provides out-of-hours support like your pharmacy, or for more urgent queries, 111.

To contact the Wakefield team please ring 01924 310130.