School Nursing

School Nursing team

The School Nursing team consists of Specialist Community Public Health Nurses (SCPHN), School Staff Nurses and Community Nursery Nurses. The team offers services throughout the year, including school holidays.

What is a School Nurse?

School nurses are registered nurses who have professional experience in supporting the health needs of all school aged children. They continue the work of the Health Visitor in promoting good health and prevention of illness in the school aged population. This is in line with the Department of Health ‘Healthy Child Programme’ The School Nursing team also work closely with a number of other community and voluntary sectors. These services include GP surgeries, Paediatricians, Schools, Early Help teams and other Sutton Health and Care partners.

The School Nursing team works with parents, carers, children and young people providing advice and support on the following:

  • Children with additional needs and complex health needs
  • Sleep
  • Behaviour
  • Child development
  • Healthy lifestyles
  • Eating concerns
  • Toileting
  • Alcohol, drugs and smoking
  • Emotional and mental health issues
  • Sexual health and relationships


School Nursing team offer:

  • Confidential drop in offered in high schools
  • PSHE health education in schools
  • Enuresis (bedwetting) clinics
  • National Child Measurement Programme
  • Supporting health needs in school- health care plan where required
  • Home visits
  • Safeguarding
  • Referral to other specialists

This can be part of direct work with individual children and families or as group talks within the
classroom in both primary schools and high schools.

Who do we work with?

We often work with other agencies in the best interests of families, including, education staff, GPs,
health visitors, speech therapists, hospital staff, therapists and both children and adult social
services.


We may share confidential information with these agencies with your consent. We will only share
information without permission when we have a duty of care due to serious concerns about the
welfare or safety of a child or young person. 

When to expect to see your school nurse team

Your school nurse will contact you at the following stages:

  • When your child starts in reception – we will ask you to fill in a health questionnaire about your child’s health. We will also ask for your consent to see your child in school to be weighed and measured. If you identify that your child has some health needs, we will contact you to discuss further and possibly arrange to meet with you.
  • Year 6 – we will offer you the opportunity to have your child weighed and measured again.

In addition: A member of the School Nursing team may meet with you at the school’s parent/teacher afternoons and evenings.

Contact us

By phone on 020 8770 5409
By email at hcpadmin@sutton.gov.uk
Ask at your school’s office

The School Nursing team are available Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays) 9am–5pm and we can visit you at school, home, within a community setting or at a children’s centre.


Young Person Instagram @suttonschoolnursing

Young people can access the drop-in at high school without an appointment; just ask in the school
office for the day of the week and available times.

Health advice

  • The school nursing team can offer advice to children and young people, their families and school staff on a wide range of physical, emotional and sexual health topics. We can also signpost you to other services that may help.
  • The school nurse team may offer a health assessment to children and young people if there are concerns about their health and well-being.

National child measurement programme

  • The School Nursing team run this national programme for all children in Reception and Year 6. Trained staff from the School Nursing team will weigh and measure children at their school with parent/carer consent and offer support if required.

Health care plans

  • Schools are required to keep health care plans for all pupils with medical needs. The School Nursing team can support the schools in developing these for children and young people with complex needs and/or emergency medication in school, offering centralised training to school staff on common medical conditions.

PSHE/health education

  • We support the schools in delivering Personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) programmes. This may include school assemblies, classroom sessions, information stalls and school coffee mornings.

Adolescent mental health

The Sutton School Nursing team has created a short video to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people. The video gives a brief overview of what stress is and how it affects us, followed by some strategies to help support your mental health.

Sutton School nursing offers regular confidential drop in clinics in Sutton Secondary schools providing support and guidance on both physical health and emotional well-being. Visit them on Instagram.com/suttonschoolnursing/

If you would like to see a member of the team, they can be contacted:

By phone on 020 8770 5409

By email at hcpadmin@sutton.gov.uk

You can ask at your school’s office

The team is available Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays) between 9am–5pm. A school nurse can visit you at school, home, within a community setting or at a children’s centre.

There is also a confidential phone line 020 8770 4409 (9am-4pm Monday- Friday) for young people to use, or you can email schoolnursing@sutton.gov.uk.

Enuresis (bedwetting) clinics

  • The school nurse team offer nurse led enuresis (bedwetting) clinics for children with night time bedwetting, based in local children centres. Children and young people can be referred from aged 5 who attend a Sutton school, have a Sutton GP or Sutton postal address
  • Parents/carers can self refer or be referred by a health or educational professional with parental consent

School nurse drop in

  • School Nurses provide a safe, confidential and accessible environment in high schools for young people, so that they can access information on health issues. The school nurse team currently offer a drop in service to each high school once a week
  • Young people can self-refer or be encouraged to self-refer by teaching staff. Teaching staff can also refer with parental consent using referral form. Parent are also able to refer young people directly

Immunisations

Medical Needs Awareness Training for schools

  • The school nurse team offers awareness training videos to teaching and support staff in management of medical conditions in school on health conditions such as Asthma and Anaphylaxis, Epilepsy and Diabetes. 
  • To obtain a link to this please email the Healthy child program admin team: hcpadmin@sutton.gov.uk

Helpful links

NHS choices /111:

Dental health:

Immunisations:

Sleep:

Emotional wellbeing:

Self Harm:

Growth:

Bedwetting:

Parenting:

Support for children with special educational needs (SEN):

Online safety: