Things are on the turn. At the time of writing this, the snowdrops are out, one of the first signs that winter is drawing to an end. By the time this goes to press we will be seeing daffodils, and the days will be longer. We will be entering spring, the season of hope, new beginnings, and transformations, symbolising the resurgence of life, our energy tends to rise and helps us feel optimistic.
So, is there hope and optimism for the health and wellbeing of school-aged children and for school nurses who support them?
I shared in the last edition that Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) has taken public health nursing under her wing. So, school nurses are firmly back in the nursing family. Public health nursing will also feature strongly in the imminent CNO Strategy, which has a focus on tackling health inequalities and commitment to developing the specialist public health workforce which includes school nursing. Hopefully, by the time this is in press the strategy will be published.
We have seen the NHS England Workforce plan make a commitment to increasing training places albeit over a 10-year period. However, more needs to be done and sooner to address the recruitment and retention within school nursing. The NHS England National Babies, Children and Young People's (BCYP) Retention Workstream has been surveying practitioners' voice across all areas of nursing, including school nursing. The results will help inform the actions of this workstream.
SAPHNA launched its inaugural survey to help paint a picture of what school nursing looks like across the UK and British Crown Dependencies. There is no national level data that tells us how effectively and to what extent the Healthy Child Programme 5–19 is being delivered. Likewise, we do not have a picture of what capacity in services look like, nor how the workforce is feeling. Importantly, it will also provide an opportunity to shout out about what is working well. We are keen to gather this information from a practitioner intelligence perspective and use it to help SAPHNA advocate for school-aged children and young people and the school nursing profession. We anticipate publishing the report in April 2024. Hopefully, if you are reading this article, you have completed the survey. If you have not and you would like to contribute, please contact: info@saphna.co
In December, SAPHNA in collaboration with The Queen's Nursing Institute and the College of Medicine held a roundtable event which launched the campaign for ‘a school nurse in every school.’ The response was humbling, we had 30 individuals representing a range of organisation across the health, social care, and education systems. All made pledges about how they will contribute to the campaign. There is much work to be done. We need to amplify the work that school nurses are doing, gather data and share case studies about the difference that the profession makes, and with proper investment, how this can be strengthened. The full report will be published and will include next steps.
SAPHNA continues to work in coalitions, our voice is louder when we work with those organisations that shared similar aims, all working together to improve outcomes for children and young people and reduce health inequalities.
A Parliamentary event in January saw the launch of ‘The Health of the Next Generation – Good Food for Children’ report and SAPHNA was proud to be a part of this (SAPHNA, 2024). A key action of this was the call for free school meals for all children. There is good evidence that improving nutrition for all children has significant impact on all aspects of their lives.
‘The press and media are always keen to hear about stories from the frontline … SAPHNA collates case studies that help us bring school nursing to life. So, please share the good work that you are doing.’
‘The present regulatory framework protects the title of registered nurse and specialist community public health nurse, the latter are registered on part 3 of the NMC register. This may change as an outcome of the review.’
We were proud to contribute to intelligence for the ‘Integrated Care Systems and the health needs of babies, children and young people’ (National Children's Bureau, 2024), which scoped what integrated care systems are doing to ensure that children and young people are a priority. The report made recommendations that will strengthen work to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people integrated care systems and the health needs of babies, children and young people.
Another change on the horizon that has the potential to impact school nursing is the review of professional regulation. This seems to have gone under many nurses' radars. The review will apply to all health professionals and the review of regulations of doctors by the British Medical Association is underway. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is preparing for consultation in late 2024 or 2025. The review recognises that regulatory legislation has not kept pace with the changes in society, and in nursing and midwifery practice. You will know that regulation exists to protect the public. The present regulatory framework protects the title of registered nurse and specialist community public health nurse, the latter are registered on part 3 of the NMC register. This may change as an outcome of the review. We are keen that school nurses are prepared for the consultation and can have a say, putting their views forward. Please watch out for a webinar, hosted by the Royal College of Nursing in collaboration with SAPHNA, the iHV, the Royal College of Midwifery and Unite that will take place on April 23. SAPHNA will advertise and provide joining instructions nearer the time.
So, how can frontline school nurses and those in higher education who are training our future school nurses help? SAPHNA takes every opportunity to advocate for children and young people and to amplify the role that school nursing play in improving health outcomes and reducing inequalities. We are frequently approached for comment by the press and media to give comments. When we do this, we share articles via our website, social media and shout out. The press and media are always keen to hear about stories from the frontline, what school nurses are seeing in practice and what school nurses are doing to respond to the issues. SAPHNA collates case studies that help us bring school nursing to life. So, please share the good work that you are doing: https://saphna.co/library/case-studies/
FURTHER INFORMATION
SAPHNA
https://saphna.co/
Email: info@saphna.co