"I look after the health and well-being of both young people and their families."

I qualified as an adult nurse in 2007 and worked on a renal ward for nearly a year before working as a school staff nurse. Initially I worked in a special school for children with severe and profound learning difficulties before I transferred to mainstream school nursing. Since then I have worked in a variety of educational settings including pupil referral units, primary and secondary schools. 

I completed my specialist community public health nursing qualification in 2011 and have since become a band 6 school nurse covering both primary and secondary schools. 

My work is very holistic [1] and I look after the health and wellbeing of both young people and their families. When I’ve assessed a young person for, say, a drugs or alcohol issue, I signpost them to where they can get specialist support. As a school nurse, you’re that first port of call.

Being a school nurse means no two days are ever the same and I enjoy the variety of work the job offers – everything from safeguarding to immunisations and running health promotion sessions and drop in clinics.

There are lots of opportunities for lifelong learning and career progression in school nursing. You can specialise in child protection or take on a specialist school nurse role in, say, asthma, diabetes or epilepsy. You can progress through the pay bands too – starting at band 5 and working up to band 8. 

Most days I leave work with a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction that I’ve helped a young person and their family.