Specialist Community Public Health Nursing Student – Health Visiting in Wigan

Specialist Community Public Health Nursing Student – Health Visiting

NHS AfC: Band 5

Main area Community 0-19 Health Visiting and School Nursing (SCPHN) Grade NHS AfC: Band 5 Contract Fixed term: 12 months (Training contract) Hours

• Full time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week (Monday to Friday) Job ref 302-26-8261764S-MCFW

Site Chandler house, Poolstock Lane, Wigan, WN3 5DX (with cross site travel) Town Wigan Salary £32,073 - £34,592 per annum, pro rata Closing 30/09/2026 23:59 Interview date 12/10/2026

People at the Heart. One Team. Your Career at WWL.

Job overview

We are looking for highly motivated Nurses or Midwifes who are keen to develop their skills working with children and families in the community. Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust are pleased to be able to offer the opportunity to train as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (SCPHN) within Health Visiting in conjunction with the University of Greater Manchester (Bolton).

Please read the requirements carefully before you apply as you will not be considered if you do not demonstrate how you meet the criteria:

• Applicants must be an NMC registered Nurse (level 1) or NMC Registered Midwife and have post registration experience.
• Meet the Universities academic requirements for entry - 2:1 degree classification, or better in a relevant subject.
• For applicants whose first language is not English, the University requires an IELTS test score of 7.0 or equivalent (with no element below 6.5) is required on entry to the programme.
• This is a 12 month, full-time training course commencing January 2027 and will complete in January 2028. It consists of 50% academic and 50% practice placement and runs as a joint programme between WWL and University of Greater Manchester (Bolton).

THIS VACANCY IS SUBJECT TO FUNDING

Main duties of the job

• The post is full time only: 37.5 hours to be worked Monday to Friday. The post cannot be undertaken on a part-time basis.
• You will be paid a salary to the maximum of mid-point Band 5. All university tuition fees are paid for you. Students will be employed on a 12 month fixed term contract for the duration of the course. There is no guarantee of a permanent post at the end of the traineeship.
• Applicants must be able to travel across the Trust independently to make multiple site visits daily. This means you must hold a valid driving licence and have access to a car with appropriate business insurance. You must refer to this in your supporting statement.

Those invited to interview must be able to attend in person for one full day. There will be an unseen task followed by a formal interview session. No other dates or remote interview method will be available.

If you are passionate about the public health agenda and improving health outcomes for children, young people and families, then this may be the career choice for you. We are looking for high calibre qualified nurses/midwives who can demonstrate that they want to be at the forefront of leading the Healthy Child Programme.

Working for our organisation

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is proud to provide high‑quality acute hospital and community services to the people of the Wigan Borough and surrounding areas. At WWL, our staff are central to everything we do — we believe that happy staff make for happy patients, and this ethos underpins our culture and our success.

We have a strong, recognised track record in staff engagement and in living our values:

People at the Heart

Listen and Involve

Kind and Respectful

• ONE Team

We are committed to placing patients at the heart of every decision and delivering safe, effective care that protects dignity and enhances experience. We seek to recruit people who share our values, our passion for high‑quality care, and our belief in working together as One Team.

At WWL, we recognise the strength that comes from a rich and diverse workforce. We welcome applications from all sections of society and are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities

• Students must successfully complete the 50% taught theory and 50% practice elements of the programme before they can register and practice as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse.
• Throughout the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing programme the student must experience practice in a range of different settings and areas of practice to enable them to develop understanding of the breadth of Specialist Community Public Health Nursing practice.
• To develop an understanding of the principles of working in partnership with others to prevent the occurrence of needs and risks related to health and well‑being.

Clinical Practice

• To enable the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing student to develop the skills and competencies to:
• Provide comprehensive assessments of the health needs of clients.
• Raise awareness about health and social well‑being and related factors, services and resources.
• Raise awareness about the actions that groups and individuals can take to improve their health and social well‑being.
• Develop, sustain and evaluate collaborative work.
• Collaborate in a multi-disciplinary environment to ensure children are safeguarded.
• Develop capacity and confidence of individuals and groups, including families and communities, to influence and use available services, information and skills, acting as an advocate where appropriate.
• Identify and evaluate service provision and support networks for individuals, families and groups within the local area.
• Identify individuals, families and groups who are at risk and in need of further support.
• Develop and sustain relationships with groups and individuals with the aim of improving health and social well‑being.
• Undertake screening of individuals and populations and respond appropriately to findings.

Communication

• To develop the knowledge and skills that are essential to enable the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing student to:
• Communicate complex information to children, parents, guardians, patients, carers, colleagues and other professionals acknowledging barriers to understanding.
• Communicate condition related information to clients and relatives that requires empathy and reassurance for example, issues relating to child abuse and mental health issues where there could be emotive or hostile issues.
• Have the knowledge and clinical skills for assessing and interpreting any acute or other client focused problems giving advice and planning any further actions as required.
• Utilise problem solving and analytical skills used to assess clients with complex assessments that also require interpretation and comparison to offer clients choice and ownership of care.

Leadership

• To develop the knowledge and skills that are essential to enable the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing student to:
• Lead and manage projects to improve the health and well‑being of a defined population.
• Develop the knowledge and skills required to support change management.
• Develop the knowledge and skills required to manage teams, individuals and resources ethically and effectively.

Clinical Governance / Quality

• Students must adhere to the WWL's organisation policies and procedures and the University regulations.

Standards:

• Maintain professional accountability in all matters relating to client care.
• Participate in the development of service standards.
• Maintain knowledge on and participate when possible in quality initiatives including benchmarking and audit.
• Develop, sustain and evaluate collaborative work.
• Collect and structure data and information on the health and well‑being and related needs of a defined population.
• Analyse, interpret and communicate data and information on the health, well‑being and related needs of a defined population.

Education, Training and Development

• Students must undertake all theoretical and practice components of the programme within the given timeframe.
• To undertake mandatory training as per requirements.

Professional Responsibility

• The post holder must maintain patient records according to NMC guidelines.
• Be aware of and act in accordance with the NMC Code Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for Nurses and Midwives.

Responsibility for Health & Safety

• Compliance with the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 – the post holder is required to fulfil a proactive role towards the management of risk in all of their actions. This entails the risk assessment of all situations, the taking of appropriate actions and reporting of all incidents, near misses and hazards, and a statutory duty of care for their own personal safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions.

Work Circumstances - 37.5 hours Monday to Friday. Travel expected borough wide.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Applicants must be an NMC registered Nurse (level 1) or NMC Registered Midwife
• Meet University academic requirements for entry for specialist community education and practice. 2:1 degree classification, or better in a relevant subject.
• For applicants whose first language is not English, the University requires an IELTS test score of 7.0 or equivalent (with no element below 6.5) is required on entry to the programme.
• Mentor/teaching qualification, or equivalent, or equivalent work-based experience

Knowledge

• Ability to demonstrate a clear understanding of the Specialist Community Public Health Nurse role – Health Visiting
• Demonstrates knowledge of key health policy relating to Health Visiting
• Demonstrates knowledge of safeguarding policy and procedures
• Understanding of the wider determinates of health
• Previous experience of safeguarding children or adults

Experience

• Previous experience of working with children and families
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Experience of working in a community setting.

Skills

• Demonstrates excellent communication skills both written and verbal.
• Shows their ability to prioritise and plan their own workload.
• Demonstrates their ability to work in partnership with other agencies and members of the multi-professional team
• Demonstrates their ability to work cohesively within a team.
• Ability to study independently at Level 7 (masters level)
• Competent IT Skills
• Demonstrates their leadership skills within their current or previous roles.
• Previous study at level 7

Additional

• The ability to travel by car independently to various locations.
• The ability to take responsibility for your own learning and to exercise independent judgement in the investigation, analysis and evaluation of Specialist Community Public Health Nursing Practice

Our preferred method of application is online. If you experience any difficulties submitting your application, please contact the Recruitment Team on 01942 773823 for support.

Using AI when writing job applications
If you choose to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) or other tools to assist in writing your application, it’s essential to personalise this information, particularly your supporting statement to reflect the skills and experience to match your job application. Relying solely on AI to write your application or supporting statement is not advocated by Wrightington Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as it could negatively impact your chances of success in the application process. Please refer to the attached "Applying for a role in the NHS guidance" for further information regarding the use of AI.

The Trust reserves the right to close adverts earlier than the stated closing date if there is a high volume of applications.

We endeavour to inform all applicants of the outcome of their application by email or SMS text message.

Guidance on Completing Your Application

Applications are assessed against the person specification. We strongly encourage you to use the supporting information section to demonstrate how you meet the essential and desirable criteria, providing clear examples where possible.

On-Call

Please note that some roles may require participation in an on-call rota, particularly those that are operational in nature.

WWL is part of the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment. We recognise continuous or ‘unbroken’ service from any Greater Manchester Local Authority, NHS organisation, Transport for Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service or the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. This ensures access to our service-related benefits.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.