Service overview
Our Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster Health Service supports the physical and mental health of children and young people from five to 19 years offering a valuable link between health and education services.
We work in partnership with parents, school staff, GPs, health visitors, safeguarding services and other agencies to promote the good health and wellbeing of school-aged children and young people.
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What does the School Health Service do?
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We offer specialist nursing care and confidential advice and support to school-age children, their parents and carers, and school staff with a focus on:
- Staying healthy
- Emotional and mental health
- Weight management
- Sexual health
- Drugs and alcohol-related problems
- Stopping smoking.
We also provide some specific services for certain year groups.
Reception class
- Parent health questionnaires: these offer a chance to review a child’s physical and emotional health and wellbeing, growth, development and immunisation status
- Health review including height, weight, hearing and eye screening
- Health assessment where concerns are identified
- Advice on health issues and outstanding childhood vaccinations
- Educate children on issues such as healthy eating, dental hygiene and hand washing
Year 6
- Height and weight measurement which is part of the National Child Measurement Programme
Year 7
- Health questionnaire following transfer to secondary school
- Health assessment where concerns are identified
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Who works in our School Health Service?
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Our School Health Service team is made up of:
- School nurses
- Community staff nurses,
- School health technicians,
- A specialist CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) nurse
- Specialist relationships and sex (RSE) workers.
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What do our school nurses do?
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Our school nurses are qualified nurses with additional training. Every school has a named nurse.
School nurses play a key public health role in promoting and encouraging children and young people to take responsibility for their own health, and to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Our school nurses deliver public health initiatives to children and young people in school as group sessions and classroom-based sessions, as well as on an individual basis through bookable appointments and drop in clinics.
Our health promotion focuses on key public health priorities including:- Reducing childhood obesity
- Raising awareness of dental health and healthy eating
- Improving immunisation uptake
- Reducing teenage pregnancy
- Reducing substance misuse
- Improving mental health and emotional wellbeing
- Personal hygiene
- Safeguarding children and promoting information to raise awareness of domestic violence and abuse.
We can attend multi-agency team meetings and educational care plan meetings to provide health information and advice.
We can make referrals to services and coordinate the sharing of necessary health information between these services. -
How does our School Health Service support school staff?
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We support children and young people aged five to 19 attending mainstream and special schools in Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster. We are also here to support school staff.
We play a key role in supporting schools by:- Supporting schools to manage medical conditions of children in school
- Delivering training to teachers on specific medical conditions
- Supporting schools to make sure that children have health care plans
- Coordinate the health and care of vulnerable children who have unmet health needs or are subject to child protection plans.
We can attend multi-agency team meetings and educational care plan meetings to provide health information and advice. We can make referrals to services and coordinate the sharing of necessary health information between these services.
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Who do our school nursing teams work with?
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We work with parents, school staff, GPs, health visitors, safeguarding services and other agencies. Our school nurses can make referrals to other services and coordinate sharing of necessary health information between these services.
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Where do we provide our School Health Service?
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Our school nurses visit schools to deliver health promotion and advice to staff and students, undertake health reviews of children who may have health or emotional concerns or are subject to a child protection or child in need plan. We also offer drop in clinics for students.
Our School Health Service office is open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm during term time, and 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday during school holidays so you can if your school nurse is not available you can still contact us.
You can also contact us directly through our website. -
How do you access our School Health Service?
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Generally, children are transferred to the School Health Service from the Health Visiting Service once they reach five years old.
We support children and young people aged five to 19 attending mainstream and special schools in Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster. We are also here to support school staff.
School staff can refer students to our service by completing a referral form and giving this to their named school nurse. Staff must gain consent from the child’s parent or carer before making a referral.
Parents who have a concern about their child can contact the School Health Service directly or make a referral through their child’s school.
We operate an open referral system so healthcare professionals, including health visitors and GPs, and other services and Children Centre’s can refer children and young people to our School Health Service. You contact us to make an enquiry or speak directly to the named school nurse.
Contact us about a referral or if you have a query