Agenda item

Ms J Tonkin, Public Health Specialist – Child Health, was in attendance for this item.

1.         Ms Tonkin introduced the report and summarised the findings of the review.  Key points were:-

• there were currently 56 school nursing staff in Kent, of which 27 were qualified school nurses
• the school nurse service offer was not consistent across Kent, due in part to historic differences in commissioning arrangements  
• there was a link between the health visitor service and the school nursing  service in primary schools but no such link between primary and secondary schools
• Head Teachers were often not aware of the school nursing service and what it could offer
• Many parents and pupils were not aware of the school nursing service and what it could offer

Ms Peachey added that the report set out initial findings only and there was much discussion still to be had about how to tackle the issues arising. The most urgent need was to establish a long-term plan of how the commissioning of the service could be improved in the future.

2.         Ms Tonkin and Ms Peachey responded to comments and questions from Members and the following points were highlighted:-

a)         parents needed help to identify their school nurse. In the USA, parents tended to know their school nurse and be happy to take advice from them. There were so few school nurses that people did not know them, but once numbers increased, this awareness should improve. Ms Peachey explained that the number of school nurses in West Kent was being increased to bring it into line with East Kent.  The suggestion was that each cluster of schools could have a school nurse, but it was difficult to attract recruits to the school nursing service;

b)         school nursing was part of the preventative medicine agenda and had a vital role in identifying issues such as obesity, anorexia and domestic abuse; and

c)         some schools had funded their own school nurse post as they did not realise that a central school nursing resource was available.  Independently-employed school nurses were not part of the network via which they could access centrally-organised standard training and benefit from links with organisations such as the Kent Integrated Adolescent Support Service. The proportion ofpupil grant money currently directed towards employing a school nurse could be used for something else.

3.         The Cabinet Member, Mrs Whittle, added that she had visited special schools and witnessed that staff were sometimes expected to administer medication to children with life-limiting conditions.  It was important to be clear about what staff were expected to deliver and what should properly be the role of a school nurse.  Liability for administering medication should not be with staff, and the County Council should be proactive in influencing the change necessary to address this.

4.         Mrs A D Allen proposed and Mr G Lymer seconded that the wording of paragraph 4.8 of the report, which set out the future actions which the Committee was being asked to endorse, be amended to read ‘Work be undertaken with commissioners and Special School Head Teachers regarding the role of Community and Paediatric Nurses in the delivery of Public Health functions in Special Schools’.  This met with general support and was

Agreed without a vote

5.         RESOLVED that the findings of the review of school nursing in Kent and the short-term recommendations, namely:-

·        a School Nurse resource be immediately identified to support the health of young offenders;

·        work be undertaken with commissioners and special school Head Teachers regarding the role of Community and Paediatric Nurses in the delivery of Public Health functions in Special Schools; and

·        a new model for School Health, incorporating the School Nursing function and integrated with other children and young people’s services, which would be universal but also provide more targeted delivery, be developed and consulted upon with a view to full implementation in 2014-2015

be endorsed