Paperwork ‘threatening’ role of school nurses, report warns

Huge amounts of paperwork are eating into school nurses time with children, which risks reducing their ability to identify children at risk of neglect or abuse, according to a new report.

The Children’s Commissioner for England’s report, ‘Lightning Review: Children's access to school nurses to improve wellbeing and protect them from harm’, found that school nurses spend up to twice as much time on paperwork than on direct work with children in schools.

The report also highlighted concerns with child protection and children in need referrals made to Children’s Services. Four in ten school nurses said they were unhappy with the response they had from Children’s Services on at least half the referrals they make and warned that increasingly high thresholds operated by local children’s services had meant making successful referrals about children had become more difficult.

Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, said: “School nurses have a vital role to play in schools protecting children as well as promoting their well-being.

“They are one of the professionals at the front-line identifying abuse or neglect, as well as supporting children with a host of other issues – whether that’s mental health, age-appropriate relationships and sex education or healthy eating. Being available for children for face to face time is irreplaceable.”

“It is clear from this research that school nurses face significant barriers in working directly with children and young people, with paperwork getting in the way. The support they offer needs to be better promoted and new ways to enhance their engagement with children explored.”