Bradford School Nurse Service is a skilled workforce that is part of Bradford District Care Trust (BDCFT) Public Health Nursing Children's Service and works with schools across the Bradford and Airedale District.
Contact us on 01274 221203
The School Nurse Service aims to provide health advice and a range of services to support children and young people by providing a link between school, home, community and health services. Our role is to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young
people, relating to physical health needs and social and emotional mental wellbeing, offering more targeted support to those most vulnerable through a number of different pathways. We work alongside some of our partner agencies within BDCFT, such as The School
Immunisation Team, Speech and Language Therapy Team, Oral Health Team and Mental Health Support Team (Trailblazer) to provide care. We also work with a range of different people such as education staff, GPs, Paediatricians and other health, social and mental
health professionals.
Where needed and in agreement with a child or young person and their parents or carers (depending on their age), we can make an action plan of care which may include school, signposting to information or completing a referral.
Here is our
referral form and
guidance.
Please note, we may not be able to offer assessment or support if another health or specialist service is working with a child or young person- however, we welcome any queries via our advice line on 01274 221203.
Further information about the team
Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (SCPHN) School Nurses, along with health visitors, are trained specialist community public health nurses (SCPHN) who are qualified nurses or midwives that have done further training about public health
at an advanced level.
They lead the team to ensure that services are delivered efficiently and effectively. They work with school-aged children and young people and their families to improve health and wellbeing outcomes and reduce inequalities and vulnerabilities.
School nurses lead on delivering the Healthy Child Programme: 5-19 and are essential in ensuring every child has the best start in life.
Their role is to identify health needs health, determine risk and protective factors and identify early intervention to prevent issues escalating. This work is alongside key government priorities such as reducing child health inequalities, promoting and supporting
emotional wellbeing and mental health and encouraging healthy weight.
Student Specialist Community Public Health Nurses are registered nurses or midwifes who undertake SCPHN programmes. They are sponsored by BDCFT to train and develop to become a SCPHN.They have projects to complete as part of training, which
may involve professional or service user involvement.
Staff Nurses are qualified nurses, some of whom hold additional specialist nursing qualifications. Staff nurses work alongside the school nurses and wider skill mix team to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes for children and families
in the community. They contribute to the universal service offer and integrated working through assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation. They provide excellent professional, skilled and effective person-centred, evidence-based nursing care.
Nursery Nurses have experience in education and/or the health environment with related skills and qualifications. They work in partnership with the nurses to deliver the Healthy Child Programme and facilitate a smooth transition of children
who are commencing school or in the early stages of primary school. They also deliver some health promotion activities within the community. If further support is needed for a child or family they can signpost to a nurse within the team or can sometimes refer
to other agencies for specialist help.
Family Support Workers are new into the service and following a successful trial with some schools, we have employed more for the new academic year, to form part of the wider relational and multi-disciplinary team. Their role is strengthen
relationships between young people, parents/ carers, health services and schools by supporting them to navigate health systems and achieve optimum health, development and wellbeing.
The Screening Team are professionals with childcare and/or education experience, skills and qualifications. They complete the National Childhood Measurement Programme (NCMP) screening by checking height, weight and hearing for children in
Reception (age 4-5) and height and weight for children in Year 6 (age 10-11). They can signpost you to the nurses and school nurses within the team if some health advice or support is required.
Location
The School Nurse Team moved from four locality-based teams to a district-wide team in 2021. We will keep you updated on any developments via Bradford Schools Online,
Living Well Schools website or from our commissioners in Public Health.
NCMP and Hearing screening
The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) is a nationally mandated public health programme delivered by the Screening Team. The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) measures the height and weight of children in Reception class (aged 4 to 5)
and year 6 (aged 10 to 11), to assess overweight and obesity levels in children within primary schools. It provides the data for the child excess weight indicators in the Public Health Outcomes Framework. It is estimated that overweight and obesity-related
conditions across the UK are costing the NHS £6.1 billion each year.
Children in reception year will also have a hearing test conducted at school. The test is delivered by the Screening Team. Dependant on the result we may retest or refer to specialist service as necessary.
Schools will be contacted by our team and asked to distribute opt-out consent letters to parents and dates will be arranged to complete the screening in school. You can contact the team with any further queries on 01274 221203
Health Promotion
We are currently offering the following health promotion sessions to all schools:
- Year 5 Puberty
- Reception and Year 1 Hand Hygiene
We are currently trialling a Year 11 transition to adult healthcare services health promotion session, which is likely to be offered to all schools in the new academic year. We are also in liaison with some schools regarding the planning and trialling of
other health promotion sessions. Please contact us on 01274 221203 to book a session or share ideas for future offers.
Dropin Clinics
These are currently offered to all high schools for monthly sessions. Please contact the team to arrange these if your school need to arrange these. We also offer parent dropin clinics within community hubs across the district on a monthly basis and may
contact you for help to promote these to parents and carers via posters periodically.
Chat Health
is a new service currently in the planning stages with anticipation to go live in the new academic term. It is a confidential texting service that will be available to all young people in the Bradford and Airedale district. This will be offered by the team
Monday to Friday all year round (excluding bank holidays). Further details will shortly follow regarding this.
School Events
We are keen to be a part of school events, such as parents evenings and transition days! Your school may also have other events planned where you think it ould be useful to have a member of the team present. Please contact the team to discuss this further.
Note that reasonable notice will be required for us to attend any events.
Please visit our
website and encourage your pupils as well as parents/ carers and colleagues to follow us on
Facebook and
Instagram!
