Special Schools Nurse

Job overview

We are recruiting for a Special Schools Nurse who shares our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.

The Special School Nursing Team are responsible for the assessment, delivery and co-ordination of nursing care for children with special educational needs/disabilities and complex health needs who attend the designated special schools. The Special School Nursing Team cover 4 schools in Hertfordshire and comprise of a team of band 5 & Band 6 nurses as well as Clinical Support Workers, managed by the band 7 Nurse Team Manager for Special Schools.

This is an exciting opportunity for a compassionate, highly motivated, and forward-thinking nurse with experience in working with children with special education needs and disability.

We provide health care support for children and young people with medical needs across our four Special Schools within East & North Hertfordshire. We have part & full-time positions available. We are a flexible and supportive team & the post will involve working across the four special schools within East & North Hertfordshire; Amwell View - Stanstead Abbotts, Greenside - Stevenage, Lonsdale - Stevenage, Lakeside - Welwyn Garden City.

Our Values are Include, Respect, and Improve. It is important that you understand and refer to our values during your recruitment process and beyond

Main duties of the job

Working collaboratively with children, families, carers, school staff and the wider multi-disciplinary team within the education setting to ensure a supportive and caring learning environment.

You will be responsible for co-ordinating & supporting the nursing and educational teams at an allocated school site.

You will be passionate about providing compassionate care in a school setting, have excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

You will be responsible for providing advice and support to families and education staff and providing training and competency assessments to education staff.

You will be responsible for providing and compassionate and high-quality nursing care to support children and young people to safely access our special schools. The role includes delivering direct nursing care and supporting pupils with medication management, epilepsy management, enteral feeding, diabetic management, and respiratory care.

The role will include teaching/training and supporting the school team in meeting and maintaining the health needs of the children and young people attending school.

This role requires you to be flexible in a constantly changing environment and to respond to emergency needs as they arise.

Working for our organisation

At East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general & specialist services we provide & our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible & innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford
• Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC), Northwood

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation; our staff & patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We understand that finding and starting a new job is an important life decision. If you need reasonable adjustments for a disability, or a life event, such as menopause - so that we can consider your application fairly & to get the best out of you during the selection process, please let us know.

We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. Employees are entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns & we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made & considered formally, & will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.

Person specificationQualifications/TrainingEssential criteria

• Registered Nurse child or RN Learning Disabilities with recent experience of working with children/young people
• Current NMC registration
• Evidence of ongoing professional development

Desirable criteria

• Mentorship Qualification
• Degree Level Study

Previous ExperienceEssential criteria

• Considerable post registration experience
• General Paediatric experience

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working with children and young people in a community setting
• Experience of working with children and young people with complex needs and disabilities
• Experience of working in an educational setting
• Experience of teaching others

SkillsEssential criteria

• Excellent communication skills
• Competent in basic nursing skills
• Ability to work co-operatively in a team of people
• Ability to remain calm and composed in a challenging situation
• Excellent organisational skills
• IT skills

Desirable criteria

• Good understanding of the role of the multidisciplinary team work with children and young people with complex needs
• Early leadership skills

KnowledgeEssential criteria

• Knowledge of NMC code of professional conduct
• Knowledge of safeguarding children and young people
• Knowledge of key health related issues affecting children and young people
• Knowledge of clinical governance and quality issues
• Health and safety awareness
• Positive, caring approach
• Evidence of self-awareness and reflective practice
• Ability to travel between sites

Other RequirementsEssential criteria

• Understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion
• Role model our Trust values every day

Our values

We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do.

Include
We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.

Respect
We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.

Improve
We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.

Committed to our Community

East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients and the wider community. We want to create a workforce which represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background. In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce .

We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.

We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing resourcing.enh-tr@nhs.net

We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.

We are committed to being a carer-friendly environment, addressing the complex needs of families with caring responsibilities. In partnership with Carers in Hertfordshire, all our working carers have access to support from recruitment. We are also a member of Carers UK, providing resources to make balancing work and caring easier. Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.

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