Your child's School Health Service

When your child started school, the School Health Service, provided by Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust took over their health care from the Health Visiting Service. They will continue to look after them until they are 19.

Who are they?

The school health teams are made up of school nurses, who are qualified nurses with specialist training in public health. They work closely with schools, health visitors, community paediatricians and other local community services.

What do they do?

The team works hard to improve the general health and wellbeing of children, young people and their families and they do this in many ways, at home, in school and at community based venues.

The service they provide has been designed with the involvement of children, young people and their parents and carers.

They are responsible for delivering national child health initiatives such as:

• Health assessments for children in reception and in year 6 to help parents or carers identify anything that may impact on a child's ability to achieve their potential
• Vision and hearing screening
• Immunisations
• National Child Measurements Programme.

They offer expert advice, support and help, sometimes in partnership with specialist services when needed, on issues such as:

• daytime and night time wetting and soiling
• behaviour management
• healthy eating and lifestyle
• emotional health and wellbeing
• puberty and growing up
• sexual health
• stopping smoking
• drug and alcohol misuse
• sleep
• complex health needs.

How to contact your child's School Health Service

The team is available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, including during the school holidays.

They can be contacted by parents, teachers, children and young people and other health care professionals such as GPs.

Tel:       0300 123 5205 option 2

Email:   kchft.schoolhealth@nhs.net

www.kentcht.nhs.uk/schoolhealth

What children say about the School Health Service

'She helped me and it was nice to see her again to talk'

'You're very nice'

'It helped me a lot about my bladder'

'I like the nurse a lot'