Children’s special needs school nursing - run by Bedfordshire Community Health Services

What we do

The special needs school nursing team support children and young people aged 3-19 years old, with learning disabilities and associated additional health care needs within the special school setting.

The service is provided by a multi-skilled team of registered nurses and specialist nursery nurses. The team work in partnership with parents and carers, education teams, children’s community nurses, continuing care, social care and the wider multi-professional team to enable children and young people to access the curriculum.

Care planning

The team develop individual care plans to meet the health care needs of children and young people through a process of assessment, planning, implementing care and evaluation of outcomes.

The team co-ordinate pre and post-operative planning in order to ensure all services are in place to promote a timely return to school following surgery. The team take an active role in transition planning to promote effective transition from children’s to adult services.

Education

The team provides training to parents, carers, education staff, respite provision and voluntary agencies in a variety of clinical interventions specific to individual care plans, to include, administration of medicines, enteral feeding, rescue medication (buccal midazolam/rectal diazepam), epilepsy awareness, oxygen therapy, suction,  and the management of anaphylaxis (Anapen/ Epipen).

Clinics
The team work in partnership with the multi-professional team to co-ordinate health care clinics held within the special school setting in order to ensure that children and young people spend as little time as possible attending appointments outside the school setting. Clinics provided are:

• Medical reviews (led by Community Consultant Paediatrician)
• Continence
• Dietitian
• Vision
• Audiology
• Immunisations (planned and provided by the special needs nursing team)

Health promotion
The nursing team work in partnership with the education staff in the planning and delivery of health promotion to include healthy eating, sexual health, drug awareness and other government initiatives.

Family support
The special needs nursing team act as an advocate and provide advice and support to families meeting their children’s health care needs. The team are responsible for sign-posting to and referring to specialist services as necessary, sourcing relevant information, liaising with and when appropriate taking the Lead Professional role in conjunction with the family and other health care professionals.

Where this service is based

St. John’s School
Austin Canons
Bedford Road
Kempston
Beds
MK42 8AA

Tel: 01234 344366 (direct line to nurses office)

Ridgeway School

Hill Rise
Kempston
Beds
MK42 7AB

Tel: 01234 402402 Ext. 216

Hours of operation 

Flexible to meet the needs of the service.

Core Hours: Monday – Friday 09.00 – 15.30 (term time only)

How to contact this service

Contact the special needs nursing team directly at the special school child/young person attends.

Alternatively contact:

Caz Webster, Special Needs Nurse Coordinator
Union Street Clinic
Union Street
Bedford
Beds
MK40 2SF

Tel: 01234 315858