Learning disability nurse

Learning disability nurses work to provide specialist healthcare and support to people with a learning disability, as well as their families and staff teams, to help them to achieve a fulfilling life.

This page has information on being a learning disability nurse and links to further information.

Working life

Children identified as having a learning disability are living longer, more fulfilled lives into adolescence, adulthood and older age, and learning disability nurses play a vital role working across the whole life span in both health and care settings.

The main areas of your role as a learning disability nurse involve

improving or maintaining a person’s physical and mental health
reducing barriers to them living an independent life
supporting the person in living a fulfilling life

Learning disability nurses may also help people to learn the skills needed to find work. This can be significant in helping them to lead a more independent and healthy life where they can relate to others on equal terms.

Where will you work?

You will be supporting people of all ages with learning disabilities in a range of settings, including:

hospital wards
mental health settings
education
residential and community centres
patients' homes
workplaces
prisons

If you work in a residential setting, you may work shifts to provide 24-hour care. You’ll work as part of a team including GPs, psychologists, social workers, teachers, general practitioners, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and healthcare assistants.

'Learning disability nursing is quite different to other fields of nursing. It’s about enabling each person to reach their full potential'. Sarah Trute, community behaviour specialist

Read Sarah's story

Want to find out more?

Pay and conditions Expand / Collapse

Most jobs in the NHS are covered by the Agenda for Change (AfC) pay scales. This pay system covers all staff except doctors, dentists and the most senior managers. Learning disability nurses in the NHS will usually start at band 5 and work standard hours of 37.5 per week. With further experience, training and qualifications, they can apply for more senior posts. Terms and conditions can vary for employers outside of the NHS.
Where the role can lead Expand / Collapse

You could specialise in areas such as education, sensory disability or service management. You may want to work or move into management, teaching or clinical research.

More information on training and development in learning disability nursing.
Job market and vacancies Expand / Collapse

There are more than 3500 learning disability nurses in today’s NHS.

Most NHS organisations advertise their job and apprenticeship vacancies on NHS Jobs, including those that run NHS services. Some advertise on their own websites. You can search for NHS organisations on the NHS Choices website. If you're applying for a role either directly in the NHS or in an organisation that provides NHS services, you'll be asked to show how you think the values of the NHS Constitution apply in your everyday work.

Find out more about NHS values.
Further information Expand / Collapse

Learning disability nurse

Working life

Where will you work?

Want to find out more?

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