Cardiff & Vale University Health Board School Nursing Service
Disabled Access: Yes
Website: http://cavuhb.nhs.wales/our-services/children-young-people-family-health-services/cyp-early-intervention-prevention-services/school-nursing/
Summary
School Nurses are qualified, experienced Specialist Community Public Health Nurses. Every school-aged child has a named School Nurse and associated health team with a variety of skills.
School Nursing teams are based in the community and may be the first point of contact when families or young people need advice and support about physical and/or emotional health issues. Their role is to provide health information, promote healthy lifestyles and to help manage existing health concerns, helping children and young people reach their full potential.
The Cardiff and Vale School Nursing Service aims to maximise children and young people’s resilience, empowering them to make informed choices through a service that is needs led, responsive, visible, accessible and confidential. The service is proactive in providing early intervention and advice when it is needed and is trusted and valued by children and young people.
School nurses are available to provide support to all school-aged children and young people, including those who are home-schooled or educated outside of a formal school environment. School nurses can meet with children and young people in school or in the community — wherever they feel most comfortable.
School nurses will provide and coordinate health intervention and public health programmes on a range of issues, including:
- Physical health (education on obesity, smoking, alcohol and drug-related harm)
- Promotion of emotional wellbeing and supporting the mental health needs of school age children
- Delivery of the national screening, surveillance and immunisation programmes in the school setting
They deliver School Entry Health Review (SEHR) for reception-aged children that include height weight, vision and hearing screening. They also gather data that contributes to the Welsh Government Childhood measurement programme.
School Nursing Teams provide seasonal influenza and HPV vaccinations.
Influenza: All children of primary school age are eligible and should have an influenza vaccination every year. The School nursing service has been offering the vaccination for some years now as part of the national flu programme. The vaccine is recommended to help protect children against flu. Flu can be unpleasant and can sometimes cause serious complications. Vaccinating your child will also help protect vulnerable families and friends as it helps prevent flu from spreading.
HPV: The HPV vaccine is offered to boys and girls who are aged 12 to 13 years (school year 8) and those individuals who may have missed their vaccination but still remain eligible up to the age of 25 (that is, boys who were in school year 8 on or after 1 September 2019 and girls who attained eligibility on or after 1 September 2008). The HPV vaccination helps protect young people from being infected by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). This virus increases the risk of developing some cancers later in life, such as cervical cancer, some mouth and throat cancers, and some cancers of the anus and genital areas. The HPV vaccine does not protect against other sexually transmitted diseases.
Please see the website for contact details of the school nursing service in your area.
The School Nursing Service is delivered in line with the Welsh Government Framework for School Nursing in Wales. Please follow this link to read the Welsh Government Framework for School Nursing in Wales, on the Welsh Government website.
Is this service available in Welsh?: The Health Board welcomes correspondence and telephone calls in Welsh or English. The website can also be translated into Welsh by clicking 'Cymraeg' on the desired webpage.
Last Updated: 04 March 2024 12:41 by NHS 111 Wales