SCHOOL NURSING SERVICE STAKEHOLDER SURVEY RESULTS

Stakeholder Survey 276 responses From across the county (41% covering entire county, rest covering various parts) Stakeholders covered a wide range of topics –79.6% involved in Child protection and safeguarding (biggest topic) –23.5% Trauma and injury (smallest topic) Some head teachers and governors completed this survey rather than the one aimed at them

Headteachers and Governors 135 responses 83.5% of responses from primary schools or primary academies Mostly completed by governors and head teachers some specialist staff

Quality of Service

ADVICE THAT SHOULD BE PROVIDED BY THE SERVICE

Stakeholders - Advice

Heads and Governors - Advice

SERVICES THAT SHOULD BE PROVIDED BY THE SERVICE

Stakeholders - Services

Heads and Governors - Services

COMMENTS ABOUT SERVICE

Praise “Our school nurse does a brilliant job, even though she has many various tasks to complete. How would data be collected from school about children if the nurse didn't visit us.” “The school nursing school provision at our school is essential- some students would not be able to attend without their support” “Support from a good school nurse has been excellent in several complicated cases in which I have been involved”

Gaps “This may be already happening, but I feel that every child should be seen at least once at secondary school age & possible more frequently at primary age.” “School nurses are clearly very committed and work extremely hard. However, over the last couple of years, I have noticed that their role is becoming more and more rigidly defined and they cannot pick up work where previously they would have done.” “there doesn't seem to be enough work with children and young people not in school, including those in alternative education and PRUs. “

Challenges “Contacting the school nurses through the phone isn't a problem, however they do not keep appointments as they are so overstretched. There is a high turnover of nurses so it is unclear who is helping us and when we can find them” “The service is patchy, and school nurses say they are already overcommitted” “Unclear what its full role is within health care provision. needs a higher profile”

Further Challenges “there seems to be examples of good practice in some schools and districts however the service is very different depending on where the school nurse works, how and where she is managed and which school they are linked to.” “there doesn't seem to be enough work with children and young people not in school, including those in alternative education and PRUs.” “we need some consistency so that children, young people, families and stakeholders understand what they can access from the SN service as a minimum”

Summary of comments Schools and stakeholders value school nurses They are worried about: –Lack of consistency –The increasing demands of safeguarding and the balancing of workload –An apparent reduction in availability of school nurses in the last year or so –The lack of visibility in schools They would like a clearer understanding of what they can expect from school nurses

Summary Staff are valued by stakeholders Stakeholders don’t think children or parents know who the school nurse is Stakeholders expect school nurses to provide advice and services on a wide range of areas Stakeholders are concerned about school nursing workload and the domination of safeguarding over other work