Job overview
Special Schools Nurse - Band 6
Islington Additional Needs and Disability Team (IANDS) is a multidisciplinary service for children and young people 0-19.
Our service supports babies, children and young people with additional needs and disabilities.
Main duties of the job
We are looking for a Special School Nurse to be part of our special schools team. This includes Richard Cloudesley school which is an outstanding school for children with physical disabilities and additional sensory needs. Health care management on this site includes enteral feeds, diabetes, epilepsy and medication management.
The role is busy and diverse with no two days the same. You will support children and young people with a variety of special needs to obtain optimum health and gain access to a wide education curriculum. Working closely with the Clinical Lead Special School Nurse, Band 5 School Nurse and Healthcare Assistants, you will deliver personalised support and care for students attending all the special schools in Islington as required. You will also have a key role in the training of teaching staff, parents and other professionals around the management of children and young people with special needs.
The ideal candidates will have experience in learning disabilities, and physical disabilities. You will be working as part of a friendly multidisciplinary teams in supportive environments. You will be given opportunities to develop skills and knowledge relevant to your role.
Working for our organisation
Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
MAIN DUTIES
Role Responsibility:
1. To be a member of the special school multi-agency team and share information with team members as directed and appropriate, maintaining confidentiality at all times.
2. To work towards helping children and young people with a variety of special needs to obtain optimum health and gain access to a wide education curriculum.
3. To act as a resource and point of contact representing the Special School Nursing services to internal and external agencies.
4. To maintain accurate school records through accessing the electronic health notes system (currently Rio), filing and organisation in accordance with Whittington Health NHS Trust guidelines.
Clinical Responsibility:
5. To assess the health needs of children and young people entering special schools in consultation with health visitors, school nurse colleagues and other health professionals as appropriate.
6. To participate and contribute to agreed health surveillance programmes in special schools including annual health reviews, assessing overall developmental progress and health needs.
7. To assist the wider special school nursing team in covering support in times of short staffing to children and young people with complex learning and physical needs.
8. To maintain up to date accurate health records for all school children and young people and ensure recommendations regarding referrals; treatment and/or review are carried out.
9. To prepare and attend meetings for child protection supervision with safeguarding advisors
10. To ensure financial transactions are carried out in accordance with Whittington Health NHS Trust’s instruction.
11. To maintain stock control for schools, supervising the ordering by the health care assistant, ensuring appropriate checks and records maintained and highlighting any issues to the Team Leader and Clinical Lead Special School Nurse.
Service Development and Improvement
12. Implements the policies and procedures that have been determined by IANDS.
13. To highlight service provision problems to the Team Leader in order to identify unmet needs and gaps in service provision
14. To undertake surveys or audits as directed by the Team Leader or Clinical Lead Special School Nurse.
15. To ensure that work areas are well maintained are comply with Health and Safety Guidelines, ensuring the safe use of equipment, cleaning, and storage of materials.
Responsibility for Dealing with Difficult Situations
16. To regularly work with children and young people with complex emotional, social and behavioural difficulties.
17. To deal sensitively with pupils and their parents, carers, and families who may be distressed.
Revalidation and Registration
It is the responsibility of all staff registered with a professional body to:
18. Act within the Professional Bodies Code of Practice
19. Maintain their own work profile to ensure revalidation standards are met and assist junior registered staff in achieving revalidation.
20. Contribute and participate in the development of colleagues professional practice across the Trust through leading on projects and supporting training.
Infection control
All staff have a responsibility to prevent and control infections within the Whittington. This includes ensuring personal and team compliance with all relevant policies, especially hand hygiene, the trust dress code, and MRSA screening policies.
Safeguarding
To comply with the Trust’s Safeguarding Children and Adults policies, procedures and protocols. All individual members of staff (paid or unpaid) have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults This will require you to:
21. Ensure you are familiar with and comply with the London Child Protection
Procedures and protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people.
22. Ensure you are familiar and comply with the Croydon Multi Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan London Procedures.
23. Ensure you are familiar and comply with local protocols and systems for information sharing.
24. Know the appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines.
25. Participate in required training and supervision.
26. Comply with required professional boundaries and codes of conduct
Whittington Health is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
See job description for full details
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
27. RSCN or RN (Child Branch
28. Evidence of Post Registration training and development
Experience
Essential criteria
29. Recent experience working with children and families with complex needs
30. Experience working with learning disabilities and Autism
Skills
Essential criteria
31. Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
32. writing in an effective way with people from a variety of backgrounds and different ages.
SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN AND ADULTS
To comply with the Trust’s Safeguarding Children and Adults policies, procedures and protocols. All individual members of staff (paid or unpaid) have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults This will require you to:
33. Ensure you are familiar with and comply with the London Child Protection Procedures and protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people.
34. Ensure you are familiar and comply with the London Multi Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan London Procedures.
35. Ensure you are familiar and comply with local protocols and systems for information sharing.
36. Know the appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines.
37. Participate in required training and supervision.
38. Comply with required professional boundaries and codes of conduct
Whittington Health is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.