Special Schools Nurse

Job Title: Special Schools Nurse

We are seeking two enthusiastic and highly motivated Special Schools Nurses to join the Islington Special Schools Nursing Team.

About the Role

The successful candidates will be based at two Islington special schools: Bridge Academy and Richard Cloudesley. Bridge Academy is an outstanding school for children with significant learning needs, while Richard Cloudesley Secondary school is an outstanding school for children with physical disabilities and additional sensory needs.

The Special Schools Nurses will work closely with the Clinical Lead Special School Nurse, Band 5 School Nurse, and Healthcare Assistants to deliver personalized support and care for students attending school. They 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.

Key Responsibilities

• Assess the health needs of children and young people entering special schools in consultation with health visitors, school nurse colleagues, and other health professionals as appropriate.
• Participate and contribute to agreed health surveillance programmes in special schools, including annual health reviews, assessing overall developmental progress and health needs.
• Assist the wider special school nursing team in covering support in times of short staffing to children and young people with complex learning and physical needs.
• Maintain up-to-date accurate health records for all school children and young people and ensure recommendations regarding referrals, treatment, and/or review are carried out.
• Produce written statements of nursing need and care plans as required.
• Work in partnership with other agencies to identify children and young people in need and children and young people on child protection plans, liaising with school staff and social workers.
• Monitor the vulnerable children and young people with child protection issues, attend child protection case conferences, reviews, and core group meetings, and provide written reports.
• Be responsible for report writing and effective record keeping, facilitating best practice.
• Prepare and attend meetings for child protection supervision with safeguarding advisors.
• Liaise with the Disabled Children's Team concerning the care and support for pupils and their parents, carers, and families.
• Monitor the health and wellbeing of Looked After Children on the school caseload and liaise with Looked After Children nurses assisting with annual reviews when needed.
• Arrange appointments with pupils, parents/carers for school medicals, dietician, and professionals meetings.
• Complete relevant continence assessments and support pupils, parents, carers, families, and school staff with toilet training and continence.
• Be involved in training and competency assessing health care assistants in procedures relevant to their role, such as medication administration, administering enteral feeds, height and weight measurements, and updating these annually.
• Provide training and support to parents, carers, and school staff on a variety of topics around the management of children and young people with special needs and be involved with assessing and recording school staff competencies.
• Undertake height and weight monitoring to identify and refer any concerns arising from growth screening.
• Co-ordinate the planning and implementation of immunisation sessions within the school setting in consultation with the immunisation team.
• Act in an advisory capacity to trained school first aiders in the event of a more serious injury to a child, broken bone, severe asthma attack, seizure management, etc.
• Attend relevant team and service meetings.
• Ensure all nursing equipment is clean, safe to use, and in good repair and that annual maintenance and calibration is carried out and recorded, and records are kept and available for inspection.
• Complete risk assessments of environment and safety under the guidance of senior team members following Whittington Health NHS Trust policies.

Leadership and Staff Management Responsibility

• Review and reflect own practice, workload, and performance through effective use of regular professional and operational supervision and appraisal.
• Be involved in the implementation of the induction, training, and development programmes for Band 5 nurses and health care assistants.
• Provide clinical supervision, delegate work to, and support Band 5 and health care assistants in order for them to achieve personal and organisational goals and ensure effective delivery of services in the special schools in Islington.
• Be familiar with current Whittington Health NHS Trust policies and procedures and participate in the development of new policies as required.
• Assist the Team Leader and Clinical Lead Special School Nurse as required in the recruitment and selection of new staff within the Special School Nursing Team.
• Lead and/or participate in professional development/training as identified by clinicians, Whittington Health NHS Trust, or national directives.
• Establish effective communication networks with primary health care colleagues and acute sector colleagues to promote collaborative working.
• Regularly consult with and inform the Team Leader and Clinical Lead Special School Nurse of any issues/concerns relating to workload or responsibilities.
• Adhere to the Trust's Policies and Procedures, including Moving and Handling Legislation, Infection Control, Clinical Supervision, and Child Protection, referring any concerns to the Team Leader and Clinical Lead Special School Nurse.
• Ensure optimum use is made of working time.

Financial Responsibility

• Ensure financial transactions are carried out in accordance with Whittington Health NHS Trust's instructions.
• Maintain stock control for schools, supervising the ordering by the health care assistant, ensuring appropriate checks and records maintained and highlighting any issues to the Team Leader and Clinical Lead Special School Nurse.

Service Development and Improvement

• Implement the policies and procedures that have been determined by IANDS.
• Highlight service provision problems to the Team Leader in order to identify unmet needs and gaps in service provision.
• Undertake surveys or audits as directed by the Team Leader or Clinical Lead Special School Nurse.
• Ensure that work areas are well maintained and comply with Health and Safety Guidelines, ensuring the safe use of equipment, cleaning, and storage of materials.
• Contribute to clinical audit and encourage research-based practice/clinical audits and/or innovations in own specialist area, following agreed policy and protocol, to provide an evidence base for future developments within the service.

Responsibility for Dealing with Difficult Situations

• Regularly work with children and young people with complex emotional, social, and behavioural difficulties.
• Deal sensitively with pupils and their parents, carers, and families who may be distressed.
• Regularly manage emotional circumstances with pupils, parents, carers, and families to promote achievement of goals with close guidance and support.
• Support with pupils and their parents, carers, and families with a variety of emotional conditions, depression, anxiety, aggression, frustration, apathy, and cognitive/learning/behavioural disabilities and mental illness.
• Identify and report concerns regarding Child Protection issues.
• Be able to complete required workload within time frames and deadlines set by the Team Lead & Clinical Lead for Special Schools and recognise and report work overload.

Revalidation and Registration

• Act within the Professional Bodies Code of Practice.
• Maintain their own work profile to ensure revalidation standards are met and assist junior registered staff in achieving revalidation.
• Contribute and participate in the development of colleagues' professional practice across the Trust through leading on projects and supporting training.
• Take an active role in own Lifelong Learning needs.
• Review and reflect own practice, workload, and performance through effective use of regular professional and operational supervision and appraisal.

Infection Control

All staff have a responsibility to prevent and control infections within the Whittington. This includes ensuring personal and team compliance with all relevant policies, especially hand hygiene, the trust dress code, and MRSA screening policies.

Safeguarding

To comply with the Trust's Safeguarding Children and Adults policies, procedures, and protocols. All individual members of staff (paid or unpaid) have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. This will require you to:

• Ensure you are familiar with and comply with the London Child Protection Procedures and protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people.
• Ensure you are familiar and comply with the Croydon Multi Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan London Procedures.
• Ensure you are familiar and comply with local protocols and systems for information sharing.
• Know the appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines.
• Participate in required training and supervision.
• Comply with required professional boundaries and codes of conduct.

Whittington Health is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

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