We have a team of qualified nurses, who are employed by the NHS and provide a wealth of specialist knowledge, skills and expertise working in special schools, supporting children and young people with complex health needs and the school staff. We assess the children and delegate their care to school staff that have been trained and signed off as competent. We provide support during the school day and for the residential students. We support staff to respond to children who may require urgent care to contact emergency services when needed. We support students with more complex needs by undertaking nursing assessments and liaison with other health professionals to ensure tasks can be safely delegated. We support students by providing:

• Core health training of school staff – medication administration, seizure management and enteral feeding
• Training and competency assessment of school staff to safely undertake specific health tasks bespoke to your child, for example tracheostomy care, oral suctioning.
• Support to school for completing personalised care plans.
• Support for returning to schools following a change in your child’s health needs.
• Nursing contribution to the Education Health Care Plan and annual review if required.
• Promoting continence, through proactive toileting assessments, advice and product management.
• Supporting transition to adult services.

In the event that a student is unwell at school or is not responding as expected, there is a clear escalation process which the school will follow. This may include contacting parents if the student is not well enough to remain at school, or calling an ambulance in an emergency. Both school staff and nursing staff refer to NHS Choices for guidance in managing acute illnesses and you will be notified if there is a concern about your child.