Special School Nurse

Job overview

Islington Additional Needs and Disability Service (IANDS) is a multidisciplinary service for children and young people aged 0- 19. We are seeking a Band 5 School Nurse to join the Islington special schools Nursing Team. The post holder will work mainly at Richard Cloudesley, an outstanding special school, which caters for pupils with physical disabilities and additional sensory needs.

At Richard Cloudesley, you will be part of the Nursing Team delivering  individualised support and care for children and young people with physical disabilities.  You will be provided with full training in order to support children with managing their health care needs, and will assist the team with delivering a 1:1 daily Nursing package.

You will work under the supervision of a Clinical Lead Nurse and will be working as part of a friendly multidisciplinary team in a supportive environment.  You will be given opportunities to develop skills and knowledge relevant to your role.

Main duties of the job

The school nurse will work as a member of the Special School Nursing Team and will be responsible for assisting in the effective delivery of individualised support and care to children attending special schools in Islington.

As well as supporting with daily gastrostomy feeding, medication management, and epilepsy management, they will also support complex health care needs which may include tracheostomy care, ventilation, Bipap, chest physiotherapy and oxygen support.  They will undertake clerical and clinical duties as directed to provide a health service to children and young people attending special schools in Islington.

The post holder will be based at Richard Cloudesley School, working mainly at the Primary  site. Dependent on need, there may be times when they work in other parts of the service. They will receive regular supervision and participate in in-service training and team meetings.

They will use a client centred public health approach to improve health and tackle inequalities.

They will work with professional autonomy organising their own workload and work schedule. They will provide clinical supervision and support to health care assistants and participate in their training and development.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Role Responsibility:

• To be a member of the Special School multi-agency team and share information with team members as directed and appropriate, keeping confidentiality at all times.
• To maintain accurate school records through accessing the electronic notes system (currently Rio), filing and organisation in accordance with Whittington Health guidelines.
• To use a variety of verbal and non-verbal communication skills and tools to communicate with children who are nonverbal, of a non-English speaking background, requiring an interpreter, with a hearing impairment, with altered emotional states, with a cognitive/learning/behavioural disability.

Clinical Responsibility:

• To work towards helping children and young people with a variety of special needs to obtain optimum health and gain access to a wide education curriculum.
• To assist the Clinical Lead Special School Nurse in assessing the health needs of children entering Richard Cloudesley school in consultation with health visitors, school nurse colleagues and other health professionals as appropriate.
• To participate and contribute to agreed health surveillance programmes in special schools including annual health reviews, assessing overall developmental progress and health needs.
• To provide and support the nursing needs of the children and young people with complex learning and physical needs including tracheostomy care, ventilation, Bipap, gastrostomy feeding, medication management, epilepsy management, chest physiotherapy and oxygen support.
• To ensure written statement of nursing need and care plans are produced in collaboration with the Clinical Lead Special School Nurse.
• To work in partnership with other agencies to identify children in need and children on Child Protection Plans, liaising with school staff and Social Workers. To assist the Clinical Lead Special School Nurse in monitoring the vulnerable children with child protection issues, attending Child Protection Case Conferences as required, reviews, and core group meetings, providing written reports where needed. To be responsible for report writing and effective record keeping, facilitating best practice. To prepare and attend meetings for child protection supervision with Child Protection Advisors as required.
• To arrange appointments with parents/carer (school medicals, Dietician/ Professionals meetings).
• Assist with daily care management which may include feeding children via gastrostomy, following epilepsy care plan procedures, administering medications, suctioning, and other relevant health care activities.
• To complete relevant continence assessments as required.
• To provide training and support to HCA’s, parents, carers and school staff on a variety of topics around management of children with special needs including suctioning, tracheostomy care, medication management or other health care plans, and be involved in assessing and recording staff competencies.
• To undertake growth measurements, to include percentile calculations. To identify and refer any concerns arising from growth measurements.
• To assist in the planning and implementation of immunisation sessions within the school setting.
• To assist in completing risk assessment of environment and safety under the guidance of senior team members following local and 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.
• To meet regularly with the Clinical Lead Special School Nurse to plan work to be undertaken and to receive feedback.
• To assist the Clinical Lead Special School Nurse in providing clinical supervision, delegate work to, and support 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.
• Adhere to the Trust’s Policies and Procedures including Moving and Handling Legislation, Infection Control, Clinical Supervision and Child Protection, referring any concerns to supervisor or Team Leader.

Administrative Duties

• To keep up to date records on clients following Service Policy.
• To attend relevant staff and service meetings.
• Keep nursing equipment clean, safe and secure and assist with ordering supplies including stationary when required.

Financial Responsibility

• Highlight stock issues to team members.
• Ensure the security of stock and the safe use of equipment.
• Responsibility for checking the condition of an area or equipment for the department.

Service Development and Improvement

• Implements the Policies and Procedures that have been determined by Islington Additional Needs & Disability Service.
• To highlight service provision problems to line manager in order to identify unmet needs and gaps in service provision.
• To undertake surveys or audits as directed by supervisor/line manager.
• Ensure that work areas are well maintained are comply with Health and Safety Guidelines, ensuring the safe use of equipment, cleaning and storage of materials.

Responsibility for Dealing with Difficult Situations

• To regularly deal with emotional circumstances with children and families to promote achievement of goals with close guidance and support.
• To regularly work with children and young people with complex emotional, social and behavioural difficulties.
• To identify and report concerns regarding Child Protection issues.
• To be able to complete required workload within time frames and deadlines set by line manager/supervisor, which may be stressful at times.
• To deal with children and their parents/carers with a variety of emotional conditions e.g., depression, anxiety, aggression, frustration, apathy, and cognitive/learning/behavioural disabilities and mental illness.
• To deal sensitively with clients and their carers who may be distressed.

Physical Working Conditions and Environment

• Assists with transfers of children occasionally using equipment such as hoists and wheelchairs.
• Developed physical skills for assessment and manual treatment of children.
• Light to moderate effort for several short periods during the day requiring use of lifting equipment e.g., hoists and transfer manoeuvres.