School nurses offer a ‘key role’ to support neurodiverse pupils but need additional funding and commissioning to be successful, a nursing body has warned.
The reaction comes after the government this week announced additional support for teachers working with neurodiverse children in mainstream primary schools in England.
Julie Critcher, professional officer for the School and Public Health Nurses Association (SAPHNA), said: ‘We know that school nursing numbers have been declining for the last decade, however if they were appropriately funded and commissioned, school nurses could potentially have a key role in supporting neurodiverse children, young people and their families.’
Ms Critcher stressed that school nurses are the only healthcare professionals ‘universally available’ to all school aged children and young people, and said school nurses would welcome any additional training that enhanced their ability to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
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A £9.5m government investment has been given to the Partnership of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme, which was launched last March, to train teachers to identify the needs of neurodiverse children and improve engagement with parents.
The programme will be extended for another year across a further 1,200 schools, the government has confirmed.
The changes will aim to support around 300,000 children with conditions such as autism, ADHD and dyslexia currently in mainstream education.
Dr Sarah Bekaert, a senior lecturer in children’s nursing at Oxford Brooke’s University and former school nurse, said the announcement ‘aligns with nursing philosophy’ by offering a holistic approach to school nursing, which addresses the physical, emotional and social wellbeing of pupils.
She welcomed the ‘greater emphasis on collaboration’ between education, healthcare and social care staff, and said this could bring more ‘formal recognition’ for the role of school nurses in children’s healthcare delivery.
Dr Bekaert added that improving training for school nurses working with neurodiverse pupils would enable the profession to ‘advocate’ for pupils, working as a ‘bridge’ between the school and wider community.
‘This is likely to reduce the frequency and severity of health-related outcomes such as “meltdowns” or anxiety episodes, exclusion, and referral to school health for specialist input,’ she said.
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In the 1,600 primary schools that previously took part in the PINS programme, staff reported increased attendance, improved behaviour and better pupil wellbeing among neurodiverse pupils.
Schools taking part in the programme will be expected to offer termly meetings with parents and careers, to allow them to give feedback on the school’s approach to SEND pupils.
Education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said the government wants SEND to be ‘inclusive’ and tailored to meet the individual needs of each child.
‘As part of our Plan for Change, we are determined to fix the broken SEND system and restore the trust of parents by ensuring schools have the tools to better identify and support children before issues escalate to crisis point,’ she said.
Last October, SAPHNA revealed that four in five school nurses believe there is not enough staff to deliver a school nursing service and repeated its demands for the government to ensure every school across the UK has a dedicated school nurse.
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The association published data suggesting the average school nurse in England cares for over 4,000 pupils (0.25 full-time equivalent school nurses per 1,000).
