Figures released from the NHS workforce statistics show that the number of school nurses has fallen by 13 per cent since 2010 – with just 2,606 left in NHS employment.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned that the lack of school nurses is a danger because of the vital role they play in delivering sex and relationships education (SRE) as part of PSHE in schools.
Without a school nurse to support effective SRE, the RCN is worried that too many children are missing out or receiving poor-quality lessons.
Figures from May 2015 showed that there are 1,186 fully qualified schools nurses catering for the 8.4 million pupils in England. There were also 1,867 health professionals working in school nursing roles – a total of 3,053. At the time, the RCN raised fears that many local authorities were considering further cuts to school nurse funding to plug budget gaps in other areas of public health.
This issue was high on the agenda when the RCN held its annual School Nurses Conference last month, which heard calls for the government to act to secure more school nursing roles to help deliver effective SRE.
Fiona Smith, RCN professional lead for children and young people’s nursing, said: “School nurses are there for all children and young people, providing support, encouraging healthy lifestyles and protecting those who are most vulnerable.
“They have the training and expertise to really drive forward effective SRE in schools, but with numbers dropping all the time school nurses simply don’t have the capacity to follow this through.
“The government should be prioritising this expertise – not cutting the roles when we need them most. The RCN supports the call for compulsory SRE in all schools, but we need the workforce that can deliver this crucial aim and make sure all children and young people are safe and healthy.”
The National Association of Head Teachers has backed the RCN’s call. General secretary Russell Hobby said: “Schools nurses play a vital role in supporting children’s health and wellbeing. Since 2014, schools are legally required to address the medical needs of pupils but these can be very complex and leave pupils and staff at risk if they don’t have access to a school nursing service.
“The last financial year has seen the biggest proportional decrease in the number of school nurses. As the service has reduced, schools whose budgets are already under extreme pressure are having to provide to fill the gaps. Two-thirds of respondents to an NAHT survey last year stated that they have been funding the commissioning or delivery of services previously delivered by health or social care.
“Schools must have access to a school nurse to ensure pupils have timely access to their help in potentially critical situations.”