Hounslow School Nursing is a universal service for children aged 5-19 years old who attend a school in Hounslow, are home schooled in Hounslow, or are not in education but living in Hounslow.
The Hounslow School Nursing service has a public health role, working specifically within schools with the school age population to identify early problems which may affect the health or development of children and young people.
Each school in Hounslow has a team of school nurses with whom children, young people, parents and education staff can discuss any concerns.
In the referral section, you can find our school nursing referral form - parents, healthcare professionals, teachers and GPs can use this form to refer a child to the service.
What we offer
School nurses offer 3 levels of service to children and young people attending schools in Hounslow.
In the community there are a range of health services for children, young people, and their families. School nurses work with these services to make sure they are accessible to everybody and can provide information about these services.
School nurses lead and deliver the healthy child programme from 5 to 19 years to ensure healthy growth and development for every child and young person. This includes promoting positive physical and mental health, supporting parents, and routinely assessing the health and development of children and young people.
School nurses can support parents, children, young people and families when they need extra help. Some examples include support with physical and emotional health, medical needs in school, continence concerns, growth and development.
School nurses can provide ongoing support, as part of a range of local services working together with the family to deal with more complex issues. This may include those families who are getting additional support due to safeguarding concerns.
Additional Information
School nurses assess the health and development of children and young people as they progress through school.
These health assessments help parents, carers or children identify anything that may impact on a child’s ability to live a healthy life and achieve their full potential.
For example, they may have a long-term medical condition, such as diabetes, asthma or anaphylaxis, be a young carer, or perhaps need counselling to cope with bereavement or a relationship problem.
A health needs assessment can also help to support a child’s smooth transition into primary or secondary school.
The school nurse will review each of the completed assessments. You and your child may be invited to talk to one of our nurses. If your child needs specialist help, we can refer them.
All data is treated confidentially and is anonymised before it is shared with other agencies. Data from the questionnaires enables the School Nursing Service to develop population based public health reports which are shared with schools and help to address the health and wellbeing needs of pupils.
More information is sent out from the school to parents and the school nurse will happily answer any queries. No child is forced to complete it and there will be support offered at the time of the session to help the children with any questions. The team are always discreet and will do their utmost to maintain confidentiality throughout the session.
ChatHealth is safe, secure and confidential text messaging service that is designed for young people aged 11-19 to easily and anonymously get in touch with one of our school nurses, for confidential advice and support regarding their health.
The service is manned by Specialist Community Public Health Nurses who respond to messages within 24 working hours.
Opening hours: 9am - 4.30pm
Text your school nurses on 07507 333 176
This service is not an emergency service and text messages will not be seen outside of the working day. If you need medical advice outside of these hours, we advise you to contact your doctor, visit an NHS walk-in centre or call NHS 111.
If it is an emergency, dial 999 or visit A&E.
Related information
ChatHealth poster
The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) is an important element of the government’s work programme on childhood obesity and is operated jointly by the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Department for Education.
Every year, as part of the NCMP, children in Reception and Year 6 are weighed and measured to:
- help plan and the deliver services for children
- gather population-level data to allow analysis of trends in growth patterns and obesity.
The level of childhood obesity is still high - nearly one in three children is overweight or obese by the age of 11 years.
When children are in Reception and in Year 6, parents will receive a letter through their school informing them about the NCMP.
The School Nurse teams collect the measurements of children in school and send parents and carers their child’s results with additional information and advice around healthy lifestyle choices and weight management.
Related information
The National Child Measurement Programme - NHS
National Child Measurement Programme film
Useful websites
Getting your 5 a day (NHS website)
At around four or five years old, children in Reception year will be offered a vision test.
A letter written from our service will be sent out to parents through your child’s school.
If you consent to the screening, your child will have their vision screened during their first year of school by a member of the School Nursing team - you will not need to be with them.
The screening will seem more like a game to the children and nothing will touch their eyes.
Children who have already been prescribed glasses or contact lenses should wear them for the test.
The results will be sent out to you in a letter following the vision screening. If your child’s results indicate that further assessment is needed, you will be advised to take your child to an optician for further testing and onwards referral if necessary.
No screening results will be given to school staff or other children, and all information will be treated confidentially.
The lawful basis for processing children’s personal data for this purpose is considered to be provided by:
- GDPR Article 6(1)(e) - processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority
- GDPR Article 9(2)(h) - processing is necessary for medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems
All personal information will be held on the Trust secure patient database, which has role-based access to ensure only the relevant and appropriate staff have access to the data. The data will be held as part of the patient record in line with the 2016 NHS Code of Practice.
This screening test is only being offered to pupils in Reception year and does not substitute an eye examination by a qualified orthoptist/optometrist. The NHS provides free regular eye examinations at opticians for all children under 16 years old.
Early help is about providing extra support at an early stage for you and your family. This helps to prevent small problems from getting worse. These could be difficulties with parenting to health to education to support for teenagers.
Many services in Hounslow offer early help including schools, children’s centres, health, and education services and more. Ask about the support available.
After asking for support, the most appropriate service/s within early help can be identified. Some of the services will need a Child & Family Assessment/Notification Safeguarding Form (CFAN) to be completed. Other services within Early Help may have their own referral form or procedure. Contact the service directly to enquire.
- The National Child Measurement Programme - NHS
- National Child Measurement Programme film
Information for parents about vision screening- ChatHealth website
- Healthier Together
Advice on health conditions, symptoms, healthy living and help in the Hounslow area.
Physical activity for children and young people
School height and weight measurements
Schools Staff Wellbeing During Covid - Information for Schools
Parents, teachers, GPs and other healthcare staff can refer a child to the service.
Young people can self-refer into the service.