School Health Assistant

Main area: School Health Nursing

Grade: NHS AfC: Band 3

Contract: Permanent, Term Time Only - weekday working

Hours: Part time, 22.5 hours per week (Term Time Only - with travel throughout North Somerset)

Salary: £25,760 - £27,476 per annum, pro rata

Job overview:

School Health Assistants (SHA) work within the School Nursing Service as part of a skill mix team, supporting the delivery of integrated, evidence-based services for children and their families, with a focus on prevention, promotion, and early intervention. They mainly work in schools but could also work in families’ homes, children centres, health clinics, and other community venues.

School Health Assistants are required to deliver Sirona’s Public Health Nursing Service vision engaging with transformation programmes to support change. This includes working in partnership with children, young people, families, and schools to deliver the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) and other health promoting work relevant to the role.

The School Nursing service is an innovative and progressive service, and this role requires a flexible, warm, and reflective practitioner committed to ongoing development of their skills and knowledge to maintain the excellent standards of the service.

Main duties of the job:

• You will be supporting the delivery of the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP), arranging dates with schools and completing the measuring of children’s height and weight and subsequent follow up in line with the national programme with support and supervision from service leads.
• You will carry out vision screening as per local guidance to include arranging dates with schools, completing the screen, capturing data, and managing any subsequent referrals and follow up.
• You will, if appropriate, deliver specified support packages to families, which are short term, time limited interventions. This may include extended brief interventions to support the local NCMP pilots.
• You will participate in the planning, organisation, delivery, and evaluation of health promotion activities.
• You will prepare health promotion boards that engage children, young people, and families in health promoting information.
• You will perform general administrative and clerical duties as required.
• You will be responsible for accurate and contemporaneous record keeping in line with local and national guidelines and policy.
• You will follow agreed processes to ensure that work is focused and time limited and outcomes are shared with the Nurse Associates, School Nurses, Clinical and Locality leads as appropriate.
• You will support the local implementation of the Healthy Child Programme and specific public health programmes such as Extended Brief Intervention programmes.

Working for our organisation:

We are Sirona care & health – England’s largest provider of Adult’s and Children’s Community Services and we’d love for you to join us in Bristol, North Somerset or South Gloucestershire. Agenda for Change Salary, full NHS benefits, 27+ days’ annual leave, and participation in the NHS Pension Scheme – just a glimpse of the benefits you’ll receive.

We welcome and encourage all applicants. We are committed to having a workforce that reflects the communities we support and are proactively seeking to improve the diversity of our workforce. We know diversity fosters creativity and innovation.

We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where all belong. We aim to draw upon the widest possible range of views and experiences to meet the changing needs of our colleagues, partners, and communities we serve.

Whether you’re starting your journey in healthcare, looking for a fresh challenge within the NHS, or contemplating a career change, don’t be daunted by the prospect of something different – we create development opportunities for all our colleagues and apprentices.

Person specification:

• Qualifications and Credit Framework QCF/NVQ 3 or equivalent in a related subject such as health and social care or childhood studies.
• English and Maths at GCSE Grade C or equivalent or Functional skills (English and Maths) Level 2.
• Evidence of a commitment to continuing professional development.

• Demonstrate good communication and interpersonal skills in a range of situations.
• Demonstrate an ability to remain focused on the child and child outcomes when working with families.
• Demonstrate a willingness to undertake further training e.g. in health promotion skills, communication skills.
• Evidence of a clear understanding of the safeguarding role of SHA within a universal service and multi-agency context.
• Demonstrate knowledge of child development at a level required for the role.
• Evidence of ability to work autonomously with periodic supervision.
• Evidence of ability to work flexibly and be adaptable according to service and service user needs.
• Experience of health promotion.
• Experience working in a similar community role.

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.