School Nursing

School Nursing, Looked After Children and Immunisation Service

School Nursing Service

School Nurses care for children and young people, aged 5 - 19, and their families, to ensure their health needs are supported within their school and community. They work closely with education staff and other agencies to support parents, carers and the children and young people, with physical and/or emotional health needs including: Anxiety, Emotional Wellbeing, Low Mood, Toileting, Day and Night Time Wetting, Exam Stress, Self Harm, Behaviour, Relationships, Healthy Eating and Sexual Health.

Contacting the School Nursing Service

If you would like to seek support for a child or young person's physical and/or emotional health, please call 01633 431 685 to be referred to the School Nursing Service.

Young people aged 11-19 can anonymously text 07312 263 262 to chat with a school nurse for confidential support & advice. See bit.ly/ChatHealthPrivacy for more information about the service

You can also follow the school nursing service on TwitterFacebook and Instagram for regular updates.

Each secondary school and their cluster primaries will have an identified school nurse and associated health team with a variety of skills, who will be accessible for support and advice as children progress through their education both within and outside term time.

The new School Nursing Framework is designed to ensure young people receive consistent expert support from a healthcare professional who is familiar with their health and wellbeing needs. The framework provides commitment to a seamless service for health and lifestyle support and advice to all families from birth, provided by midwifery services, through to health visiting and onto school nursing.

School nurses will provide and coordinate health intervention and public health programmes on a range of issues, including:

  • Physical health (education on obesity, smoking, alcohol and drug related harm)
  • Promotion of emotional wellbeing and supporting the mental health needs of school age children
  • Delivery of the national screening, surveillance and immunisation programmes in the school setting
  • Safeguarding
  • Early identification and assessment of pupils’ needs
  • Additional support and/or signposting to local or specialist services for children and young people who are identified as having additional needs

Before your child starts school your health visitor will meet with the school nursing team to transfer their care to the school nursing service. The school nursing team consists of a school nursing lead, specialist public health practitioners and school health staff nurses. They all have a role in preventing disease and promoting health and wellbeing, by:-

  • encouraging healthier lifestyles
  • offering immunisations
  • giving information, advice and support to children, young people and their families

Each member of the team has links with many other professionals who also work with children including community paediatricians, child and adolescent mental health teams, health visitors and speech and language therapists. The school health nursing service also forms part of the multi agency services for children, young people and families where there are child protection or safeguarding issues.

For more information about what the school nursing teams do please click here

The purpose of the school entry review is to assess the child’s health needs, promote health and wellbeing and to support and enable children to achieve their full potential.

A formal handover from the Health Visitor to the School Nurse will not be necessary for every child. For those where it is appropriate, locally agreed processes should be in place and all relevant documentation, hard copy & electronic, should be transferred to the School Nursing Service.

Each school has a named School Nurse who is usually based outside of school premises and can be contacted for advice and support. The School Nurse will support children and young people in school through the promotion of positive health education and health promoting information as well as targeted involvement as necessary.

During the year that a child enters full time education the School Nurse will provide all reception class pupil’s parents/carers with the information listed below. Local protocols should be in place to ensure similar appropriate information and signposting is provided to parents of children who are electively home educated.

• Information introducing the School Nursing Service

• Contact details for their child’s named School Nurse

• A questionnaire to be completed by the parent/carer regarding the child’s current health, including their immunisation status.

• Information on the hearing impairment screening programmes

• Information on the national vision screening programme

• Information on the Child Measurement Programme

If you would like to seek support for a child or young person's physical and/or emotional health, please call 01633 431 685 to be referred to the School Nursing Service.

Young people aged 11-19 can anonymously text 07312 263 262 to chat with a school nurse for confidential support & advice. See bit.ly/ChatHealthPrivacy for more information about the service

You can also follow the school nursing service on TwitterFacebook and Instagram for regular updates.


 

Looked After Children Service

The Looked After Children Service are a team of Specialist Nurses who work in close partnership with children, young people, their carers, Local Authorities and a multitude of health services providers to ensure that children and young people’s health needs are supported and met where possible whilst they remain in care.

 

Children are in care for a number of reasons, sometimes just for a short while, or in some cases, until they reach the age of 18 and beyond.

Children may be in care because their parents have made an agreement with the Local Authority or it may be due to a court ruling which says the child is unable to live with their own family and requires looking after in care.

Being in care could mean a child lives with their parents, extended family and friends, foster carers, in Residential Children’s homes or in secure accommodation.

What we provide

Initial health assessment: When you are in care you will require a health assessment. The Initial health assessment takes place soon after coming into care.

Review health assessment: this will be carried out 6 monthly if you are under 5 years and 12 monthly if you are over the age of 5 years.

Your Specialist Nurse will ensure that a high quality health assessment is offered to children looked after and can offer information and support around a range of issues such as; stopping smoking, healthy eating/healthy weight, relationships, safe sex, drugs and alcohol awareness.

We can refer you onto other services, with your consent for example;

  • Dietician
  • GP
  • Smoking Cessation
  • Sexual Health Clinics
  • School Nurse/Health Visiting Services
  • Community Dental Services
  • Audiology Service

If you live in care and away from home, you may want to speak confidentially to someone about your worries. The Looked after Children’s Health team can listen and help you to get further help and support.

We are friendly, approachable and non-judgmental, we will keep any information confidential (providing you are not at risk of harm to yourself or others). We would always tell you when we share information.

Blaenau Gwent

Ruth Jefferies - 07583982299

Caerphilly

Cerys Lock - 07946603415

Samantha Williams - 07792794575

Monmouthshire

Aly Turtle - 07854674550

Newport

Jane Brooks - 07766257753

Clare Ezard - 07896991906

Torfaen

Amy Watkins - 07966511117

Claire Gwillym - 07957152438

OOC (out of county)

Sally Donoghue - 07792794754

Children In Wales has created a booklet explaining all about the health assessment your child or young person will be invited to take part in. Please share this with the child/ young person you are caring for. 

The health assessment is a legal requirement for all children and young people in the care system and we encourage carers and young people to prioritise it and make every effort to take part.

While we try our best to see children and young people in an environment they feel comfortable in, this may be in their placement or a clinic setting or other venue such as school.

As Looked After Children’s Nurses and School Nurses our working hours are between 9-5 Monday -Friday and with such large numbers on our caseloads it is not possible for us to offer all appointments outside of school hours. While we make every effort to cause minimal disruption to the school day this will often mean taking a child or young person out of school for part of the school day as would be expected for any other health appointment.

If you have been offered 2 appointments and have failed to attend or if we have been unable to contact you to arrange a health assessment, we will notify your social worker and your child will be re -appointed when the next health assessment is due.

The health assessment is an opportunity for you and your child/ young person to talk about their health and to address any health issues including emotional wellbeing and for them to receive any information they need. We look forward to meeting with you and your child. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns or questions relating to the health assessment.

 

 


 

Immunisation Service

Why are nasal flu vaccinations important in children?

Flu is caused by viruses and spreads easily.

Anyone can get flu but children have the highest rate of infection. Flu can be serious for children and complications can include bronchitis, pneumonia and ear infections.

Some children may become unwell with flu that they need to go to hospital.

How does it work?

The flu vaccine is quick and painless and is given via nasal spray – so no needle's needed. For children aged 2-3 the flu vaccine is given at their GP surgery; for children who attend school (Reception - Year 11) the vaccine will be given by the School Nursing Service at the child's school.

Who can have the nasal flu vaccine?

All children from the age of two can have a free flu vaccine in 2023/24. This includes:

•             All children in primary school

•             All children in secondary school years 7 to 11

•             All children who are aged two or three on 31 August 2023

Also, children aged six months or over and who have any of the long-term health conditions that puts them at increased risk from flu.

How do I get my child vaccinated against nasal flu?

To get your child aged 2-3 vaccinated, contact your local GP surgery today.

If your child is in school (Reception - Year 11) please complete your child's E-Consent Form.

If your child is educated at home, contact your local GP surgery today.

The flu vaccine is quick and painless and is given via nasal spray at their GP surgery – so no needle's needed.

More information

For more information on flu, nasal flu and eligibility, visit the Public Health Wales Immunisation page.

HPV (human papillomavirus) a very common virus. More than 70% of people who haven’t had the HPV vaccine will contract the virus at some point in their life. HPV can lead to a range of cancers and some people may also develop genital warts. Getting the vaccine now protects you against future risks.

HPV is usually spread through intimate sexual contact and condoms don't provide complete protection from HPV.

The HPV vaccine is offered to:

  • boys and girls aged 12 to 13 (school year 8) in school during the summer term, and
  • those who may have missed their vaccination but are still eligible up to the age of 25 (That is, boys who were in school year 8 on or after 1 September 2019 and girls who became eligible for the vaccine on or after 1 September 2008.) 

The vaccine is available through specialist sexual-health services and HIV clinics to men who are 45 or younger and who are gay or bisexual, or other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). 

What do I need to do to get my child this vaccine?

If your child attends secondary school, they will be given a paper consent form to take home for a parent/guardian to sign and returned to school as soon as possible.

Children and young people who are home-schooled or not currently attending school can have the HPV vaccine at their GP surgery by making an appointment with the practice nurse.

Changes to the HPV vaccination programme from 1 September 2023

In previous years, the vaccine was given as two doses. Evidence now shows one dose provides young people with the same level of protection as the previous two doses. This change (from two doses) will happen in England and Wales from 1 September 2023.

The HPV vaccine is highly effective at protecting against cancers caused by HPV, including cervical cancer.

For more information about HPV including FAQs visit: HPV vaccine - Public Health Wales (nhs.wales)

MMR is a safe and effective combined vaccine that protects against three separate illnesses – measles, mumps and rubella (german measles) – in a single injection. The full course of MMR vaccination requires two doses.

Measles, Mumps and Rubella are serious diseases with life threatening complications such as convulsions (fits) and encephalitis (infection around the brain).  MMR vaccine is a safe and highly effective vaccine, it has been rigorously researched.  Worldwide over 5 million doses have been given in over 100 countries.

If your child is outstanding the MMR vaccine please contact your GP surgery.

For more information read Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) from NHS Direct.

The 3-in-1 teenage booster is  routinely given at secondary school (in school year nine) at the same time as the MenACWY vaccine.


Please ensure you have returned your child’s consent form when you receive the information pack.


For more information please read the Protection against tetanus, diphtheria and polio leaflet from NHS Direct.

 

Meningitis ACWY

The MenACWY vaccine protects against four different causes of meningitis and septicaemia – Meningococcal (Men) A, C, W and Y diseases.


The MenACWY vaccine is offered routinely to all young people around 13/14 years of age (school year nine).  


Please ensure you have returned your child’s consent form when you receive the information pack.

 

For more information about the vaccine read Aged 13-18 years? Or Under 25 and starting university?  from NHS Direct.


Starting University?

The MenACWY vaccine should also be given to all individuals under 25 years of age who are planning to attend university for the first time or those in their first academic year at university if they have not already received the vaccine. Ideally the vaccine should be administered at least two weeks prior to starting university.


Cases of meningitis and septicaemia (blood poisoning) caused by Men W bacteria are rising, due to a particularly deadly strain.


Older teenagers and first time university students are at high risk of infection because they tend to live in close contact in shared accommodation, such as university halls of residence.

For more information about the vaccine read Aged 13-18 years? Or Under 25 and starting university?  from NHS Direct.

For more information on the signs and symptoms of Meningitis go to the Meningitis Now website

 

Tell me more about...

Accidents are a leading cause of death and serious injury for children and young people, with many of these accidents being preventable.

The Child Accident Prevention Trust believe that: “Accident prevention is not about restricting children or wrapping them up in cotton wool, instead it is about creating safer environments, both in the home and elsewhere, to enable children to thrive and lead a healthy active life.”

Children need to explore, experiment and begin to take risks as they grow-up and learn about the world they live in. In time they begin to get better at judging risks but they can sometimes over-estimate their ability and as they gain more independence they begin to challenge things that adults tell them.

Check out the Child Accident Prevention Trust for top tips on keeping children safe.

The term Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) is used to describe a wide range of traumatic events that children can be exposed to while growing up but that are remembered throughout adulthood.
 
These include neglect and physical, verbal and sexual abuse along with harms that affect the environment in which the child lives such as exposure to domestic violence, family breakdown, and living in a home affected by substance abuse, mental illness or criminal behaviour.

Watch this short video on the Public Health Wales website to gain more information.

Alcohol is considered to be a drug because, when taken into the body, it changes how you feel, think or behave. A drug is any substance that, when taken into the body, does this. When the way a person feels, think and behaves has been changed by alcohol, the new way they feel is called being ‘intoxicated’ or ‘drunk.’

Visit the Gwent Drug and Alcohol Service for free, safe and confidential drug and alcohol services.

Training

Alergywise Org provided free training for schools www.allergywise.org.uk. Training takes approximately 45 minutes.

 

Care plans

On www.bsaci.org there are 4 different care plans available, one for each AAI and one if a child is only prescribed antihistamine.

 
Adrenaline

3 makes of adrenaline auto injector AAI

Epipen: www.epipen.co.uk

Emerade: www.emerade.com

Free trainer pens and leaflets can be ordered from the website for Epipen and Emerade.

 

Jext: www.jext.co.uk

Trainer pens for Jext should be given to patients when first prescribed. Otherwise there is a small cost.

Bedwetting

Any child over the age of five can be considered to have night time wetting issues if the occurrence rate is more than two episodes a week. Within ABUHB we have a school nurse led enuresis service for children over seven years old, that can be accessed through a GP referral should you require additional support.

 

Daytime Wetting

Daytime wetting can occur due to a number of reasons and therefore, it is important to seek help or advice to resolve the problem.
Causes can sometimes include:

  • constipation – when the bowel is over full, it can press on the bladder, causing it to leak urine into underwear
  • bladder infections
  • an overactive bladder
  • stress or anxiety

Your GP will be able to check whether your child has an infection or another cause for their wetting.

Constipation and/or soiling

Constipation and soiling can cause children and their family’s considerable stress, however it can be easily treated.

A child is considered to be constipated if they poo less than 3 times a week, however, every child is different and some need to go more frequently than others. Some children find passing the poo/stool painful and distressing and stools appear hard and pellet like.

Causes can sometimes include:

  • Poor diet or fluid intake
  • Medication
  • Illness
  • Avoidance or withholding a stool
  • Anxiety due to pain.

If your child has constipation it is important that they are seen by their GP.

Soiling is usually a symptom of constipation and requires treatment to remove the hardened poo in the bowel and to keep the bowel clear. It can also be simply be caused by inadequate wiping after using the toilet.

How can we help. School Nurses can:

  • Offer support and advice to school age children and young people who have daytime wetting or soiling
  • Offer advice to school staff  to manage a child’s continence difficulty in school
  • Refer children and young people to specialist continence clinics (in some areas) or to their GP if necessary.

Most people experience low moods, from time to time. Occasionally, these feelings may become more intense and may start to impact on their day-to-day lives. 

If you would like to seek support for a child or young person's physical and/or emotional health, please call 01633 431 685 to be referred to the School Nursing Service.

Young people aged 11-19 can annomously text 07312 263 262 to chat with a school nurse for confidential support & advice.

Improving the physical and emotional health and wellbeing of expectant mothers, infants, children and young people throughout Aneurin Bevan University Health Board Area.

(N.B: The Family and Therapies team at ABUHB is NOT responsible for the content on the webpage links that we refer to in our resource sections and linked information to external sites. All information was accurate and appropriate at the time the webpage was created.)

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