Job Description

Are you newly qualified SCPHN, looking to show your innovation and determination in promoting health and supporting school aged children?



Are you a hardworking, dedicated NMC registered school nurse with passion and drive who has great idea's for making a difference?



Would you like the chance to reshape and reinvigorate services to meet the needs of all families living in Medway?



Are you passionate about the care you give to children and young people?



If you answered yes, we've got the perfect role for you!



We are a multi skilled team comprising of school nurses, school staff nurses, emotional well being practitioners, learning disability nurses and support staff. Together we enhance the health and wellbeing of children in Medway; working closely with our children's therapy and health visiting colleagues as well as external agencies to provide children the best opportunity to learn and thrive.

Please note:

Only applicants who hold the NMC Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) qualification will be considered for this role.



You will initiate and undertake health needs assessments for children and families, including vulnerable children of various ages.



You will plan and deliver interventions and be responsible for managing your diary.



You will be the link school nurse for a number of primary and secondary schools. Facilitating secondary school drop in sessions to give children and young people an opportunity to access healthcare.



You will be a role model for other team members, helping to shape the future school nurses through sharing experiences and encouraging learning.



You will be responsible for developing health promotion activities to raise the profile of school nursing and key public health messages.



You will facilitate links between children's services and other agencies to promote health and wellbeing; ensuring the voice of the child is heard.



You will encourage and motivate children, young people and their families to engage in public health messages and change behaviour.



You will have knowledge of the key drivers and other relevant legislation/guidance for school nursing services; including legislation and guidance in the safeguarding of children and adults.



If you have an area of interest that can benefit the health and wellbeing of children and young people, we will encourage you to share your knowledge, develop the service and support you in meeting your goal.



So what else?



This is your chance to join a progressive and innovative service in a social enterprise that is patient and staff focused - you'll even have the opportunity to become an MCH shareholder.



We encourage staff to get involved in exploring new ways of working and service development.



We'll provide well established, in-service training, one to one supervision, and appraisals with regular support.



You'll be able to develop your skills in a friendly and supportive team.



So what are you waiting for? We can't wait to hear from you, and look forward to receiving your application.



The small print



We will offer you the choice of two pension schemes; the NHS Pension scheme and the scottish widows group pension scheme.



MCH encourages all staff to be double COVID vaccinated to protect themselves, their colleagues, their family and their patients



Would you like to work flexibly? In the NHS, we are reminded every day of how important work life balance is. As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us, for our patients and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement



At this time, MCH cannot fund or support any further nurses who require the OSCE training. Please do not apply if you require this training.



Communication and relationship skills



Initiate and undertake agreed health assessments on children and families, including vulnerable children of various ages



Facilitate and promote links between the children's services and other agencies to promote health and wellbeing; ensuring the voice of the child is heard



Encourage and motivate children, young people and their families to engage in public health messages and change behaviours



Communicate highly complex difficult messages to parents or schools.



Receive, translate and communicate highly complex information in a suitable format to the target audience, overcoming barriers to understanding



Act as a link school nurse for an identified number of schools



Knowledge, training and experience



A registered nurse with the specialist community public health nursing qualification in school nursing



Experience of working in a range of community settings including family homes, clinics and schools



Mentorship qualification and experience of supporting pre and post qualification students



Knowledge of the key drivers and other relevant legislation/guidance for school nursing services; including legislation and guidance in the safeguarding of children and adults



Experience of employing evidence based practice and multi-disciplinary team working



Experience of delivering presentations to children, young people and families as well as other professionals eg teaching staff



Analytical and judgement skills



Make clinical decisions involving a range of facts or situations including risk assessments; clinical need and disclosures



Assess and identify the needs of individual children referred to the service, plan care and make appropriate referrals/signpost



Complete holistic assessments considering the Think Family approach



Assist in local audits, risk management and the review and development of local policies and guidelines



Be actively involved in the collection and analysis of information for school health profiling



Assess and evaluate the performance of team members, providing appropriate feedback, and participate in the appraisal process



Provide targeted health interventions to children and young people with identified health needs



Exercise leadership, judgment, and management to ensure excellent clinical practice, maintaining high standards of care



Planning and organisational skills



Manage and organise a defined caseload independently, addressing the health needs of children according to evidence based practice



Provide targeted health interventions to children and young people with identified health needs



Ensure the most effective use of human and physical resources within the team by appropriate delegation of work and use/application of resources.



Contribute to meeting the learning and development needs of pre and post registration student nurses and new members of staff, which provides a positive culture to enhance learning and service improvement.



Maintain accurate and contemporaneous health records in accordance with NMC and MCH standards



To understand and work towards ensuring that services are delivered in accordance with the service specification



Write and submit reports in a timely manner



Facilitate regular meetings with link schools



Manage own workload, reporting issues to the Lead School Nurse or Clinical Lead for PHN Schools, when difficulties arise, offering solutions where possible



Physical skills



Ability to travel to a range of community settings including home, clinic and schools in Medway and occasionally outside of Medway.



Ability to carry equipment such as scales and Leicester measures



Ability to use computer keyboards including laptops



Responsibility for patient / client care



Manage and organise a caseload, addressing the health needs of children according to evidence based practice and service provision



Provide targeted health interventions to children and young people with identified need following holistic assessment



Act as a link school nurse for an identified number of schools



Contribute to the identification/assessment and support of vulnerable children, including those within the Safeguarding arena and represent the service at key partnership meetings inclusive of safeguarding meeting



Participate in nurse-led clinics



Facilitate/deliver training sessions where identified health needs require training for non-medical school staff



Participate in targeted health promoting activities



Advise on public health issues and infection control within the school community



Identify vulnerability that may impact on the child or young person's health, education, school attendance



Help children and young people to develop a knowledge of self-care, autonomy and decision making, including how to access health services



Promote the safeguarding of children through multi-disciplinary team working and work within the Medway Safeguarding Children's Partnership policies/procedures and guidance for the protection of children. Be aware of emerging issues such as sexual exploitation, gang violence and extremism



Maintain caseload responsibility for children with a safeguarding plan and delegate appropriately to other members of the school nurse team



Ensure that confidentiality and the rights of consent relating to young people are followed



Report relevant clinical information/clinical issues to the Professional Lead and Clinical Team Leader



Observe and maintain strict confidentiality with regards to any patient/family/staff/records and information in line with information governance



Responsibility for policy and service development implementation



Participate in clinical supervision as per organisation policy



Actively participate in and support the development of evidence based practice and clinical audit in collaboration with lead professionals and managers



To participate in service or practice initiatives to improve client care standards and outcomes



Contributing to the development of proposals, by participating in working groups or providing feedback as required



Responsibilities for financial and physical resources



The School Nurse post does not carry any financial responsibility in relation to budget control



Responsibilities for human resources (HR)



Responsible for day-to-day supervision and line management of skill mix staff members within the team



Development of skill mix staff



Plan and co-ordinate team cover during sickness, annual leave and absence to meet the needs of the service



Assist in the recruitment and induction of new staff members. ? Provide mentorship for pre-registration students



Provide clinical supervision, mentorship and community experience to pre- and postregistration nursing/ midwifery and school nurse students.



Maintaining own professional development and requirement to take part in appraisal



Responsibilities for information resources



Complete electronic records, in accordance with local and national guidance, ensuring that records are contemporaneous and accurate



Maintain accurate and comprehensive nursing administrative and statistical records, regularly providing management with returns and statistics as requested



Responsibilities for research and development (R&D)



Undertake appropriate surveys and audit to influence local and national policies ensuring researched-based practice



Gather research evidence required to ensure advances in nursing and high quality team performance



Assist in the delivery of an agreed audit and development programme that links into the health care governance framework



Freedom to act



Guided by established policies and guidelines



Professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of own work



Works independently as an autonomous practitioner