Job Description

BAND 5



SPECIAL SCHOOL NURSE



Special Schools Team



We are seeking an enthusiastic and highly motivated Nurse to join the Islington Special Schools Nursing Team.This role is ideal for someone who is able to work sensitively with children and young people with autism, learning disabilities and complex medical conditions and advocate for their needs. We work collaboratively with families, teachers, social care and health colleagues to support students to achieve their potential at home, at school and in their communities.



The post holder will work across Islington special schools as required. This includes Richard Cloudesley School, Samuel Rhodes School and the Bridge Academy.



You will work under the supervision of a Clinical Lead Nurse and a Band 6 Nurse and will be working as part of a friendly multidisciplinary team in a supportive environment.



This is a busy and diverse role in fast paced settings, no two days are the same. Clinical responsibilities will vary and you will support children and young people with a variety of special needs to obtain optimum health and gain access to a wide education curriculum. Working closely with the clinical lead nurse, special school nurse and other healthcare assistants, your primary role will be assisting delivery of personalised support and care for children and young people attending school. Exact role responsibilities will vary depending on skills and competencies. You will also have a key role in the training of teaching staff, parents and other professionals around the management of children and young people with special needs.



Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.

Clinical Responsibility as Band 5 Nurse:

To support children and young people with a variety of special needs to obtain optimum health and gain access to a wide education curriculum.



To assist the Clinical lead Nurse in assessing the health needs of children entering or leaving Special Schools in consultation with Health Visitors, School Nurse colleagues and other health professionals as appropriate.



To participate and contribute to agreed health surveillance programmes in special schools including annual health reviews, assessing overall developmental progress and health needs.



To assist the wider nursing team in covering support in times of short staffing to children and young people with complex learning and physical needs.



To ensure written statement of nursing need and care plans are produced in collaboration with the Clinical Lead Nurse.



To work in partnership with other agencies to identify children in need and children on the Child Protection Register, liaising with school staff and Social Workers.



To assist the Clinical lead Nurse in monitoring the vulnerable children with child protection issues, attending Child Protection Case Conferences as required, reviews, and core group meetings, providing written reports where needed.



To complete relevant continence assessments as required.



To provide training and support to HCA's, parents, carers and school staff on a variety of topics around management of children with special needs.



To undertake screening procedures such as, growth, to include percentile calculations. To identify and refer any concerns arising from the screening



To assist in the co-ordination of immunisation sessions within the school setting